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Brilliant engineers, broken culture — burnout disguised as impact

Senior Software Engineer
Former Employee
Worked at Meta for 4 years
October 17, 2025
Menlo Park, California
2.0
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookDoesn't Approve of CEO
Pros

Talented engineers everywhere. You’ll learn a lot if you survive the pace.

Top-tier tools and infrastructure; technically, everything works beautifully.

Compensation is excellent — they pay well for your time, sanity, and weekends.

Remote flexibility (when allowed) helps offset how draining the culture can be.

Cons

Meta confuses urgency with importance. Everything’s a fire drill, even the things that don’t matter.

The “move fast” mantra has turned into “move constantly.” There’s no real space for deep work or thoughtful engineering.

Performance culture rewards visibility over substance — those who talk loudest get ahead, not those who build the most stable systems.

Managers often act like political players instead of technical leaders. Feedback loops are shallow, and actual mentorship is rare.

Genuine work-life balance doesn’t exist; burnout is normalized, not solved.

Advice to Management

Stop treating engineers like replaceable productivity units. You hired some of the smartest people in the world — trust them, listen to them, and stop running the company like an adrenaline experiment.

Replace performative urgency with thoughtful execution. The culture doesn’t need more slogans — it needs empathy, focus, and long-term vision.

Additional Ratings

Work/Life Balance
1.0
Culture and Values
1.0
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
4.0
Career Opportunities
3.0
Compensation and Benefits
5.0
Senior Management
1.0

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