Pros: From day 1, you're working on something quite important and will be shipped to millions of users. No 20-person committees, endless QA processes, or product counsel in the way. You get to own things end-to-end, and the team pushes you to move faster.

Cons: If you need tons of support and time, you won't be very happy here. Everyone works super hard, and working through weekends isn't uncommon, especially if you're close to a deadline. You're expected to QA stuff yourself, and if things are buggy, all eyes are on you to fix them. As a former founder, this is all familiar, but if I joined a few years earlier, I would've found it really tough. It's also high intensity, as founders are always on.

Pros: Very smart coworkers, all the way from search and AI to business. They have impressive backgrounds, and lots of people are truly mission-driven about building the next great search engine. Tons of opportunity to work on a range of products across various verticals like shopping, finance, ecommerce, etc., and contribute to AI products like Labs, Deep Research, and the browser. The office is well located, and feeling the energy and growth is always exciting.

Cons: You'll feel very stretched, especially as it seems like we always need more engineers. The usage and speed of shipping means lots of things break, so you might get called in a few times a month if whatever you shipped is having issues. Don't think you can clock out at 6 p.m. The massive AI wave makes this all worth it, but for those that simply want a job, this likely wouldn't be your favorite thing. The leadership is trying their best to grow along with the company, but can definitely be a bit too direct, which rubs certain people the wrong way.

Pros: A really exciting place to work, as people are really focused on shipping and delivering great features. Individuals are immediately given lots of autonomy and trust, so people can make a big difference very quickly. Pretty good transparency, as the CEO goes over revenue and numbers each week and encourages people to ask questions. Nice SF office.

Cons: It can be intense at times.