GitLab

Commitment to remote work. As a remote-only company, GitLab is forced to do remote work right. Since everyone is remote, you never feel like you're "missing out". GitLab has a number of innovative policies and processes that help make remote work successful.

Technical competency. Since GitLab has access to the global talent pool, the level of talent at GitLab is incredibly high. Every employee I've interacted with has an impressive background and a deep knowledge of their craft.

Inspiring product. It's incredibly satisfying to work on a product that millions of people use.

Dogfooding. GitLab uses its own product to develop its software. It's satisfying to see your improvements in the product you use on a daily basis.

Culture of openness. All of GitLab's values and company policies are explained in the "handbook", a massive, searchable, publicly-accessible document that anyone can edit.

Positive work/life balance. GitLab employees aren't pressured to work overtime and are encouraged to take vacations.

Generous spending policy. GitLab will pay for any equipment you need to do your job, and there's no red tape or approval processes.

Global. It's a ton of fun to work with people from all over the world.

High morale. At the time of writing, there's a lot of interest and investment in GitLab. Everyone at GitLab feeds off this excitement.

Salaries are (kind of) transparent. You can get an idea of what you'll make before you even apply using the interactive salary calculator.

Clean code base. GitLabbers spend a lot of time making sure GitLab is developed using the best practices.

Competent leadership. In particular, the CEO (Sid) is incredibly knowledgeable about the product and related technologies.

Growing like crazy. This is an exciting time to be working at GitLab.

• Depending on your area, compensation is sub-par.

• Benefits for non-US workers are sub-par or non-existent. For example, Canadian GitLabbers are not offered any health benefits or retirement plans (at the time of writing).

• No annual bonuses.

• Even though GitLab does remote work really well, remote work can still be hard.

• Members of the HR team (referred to internally as PeopleOps) have a ton on their plate, since they are managing a global workforce. They do an incredible job, but sometimes things slip through the cracks simply because they have so much to do compared to your "average" HR person.

• Make sure all employees are offered adequate health benefits and retirement plans, regardless of location.
• Make sure compensation is at least average for each employee's location. This is particularly true for areas outside of the US, like Canada.
• Invest in HR.