Revolut

Lack of Technical Growth and Learning Opportunities Revolut prioritizes speed over technical excellence. Engineers are expected to iterate extremely fast, often rushing through tasks without enough time to deeply understand or refine their work. There is little emphasis on improving skills, researching new technologies, or exploring best practices. Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) in the company are at a very basic level, yet there is no encouragement to elevate them—reading articles, attending conferences, or upskilling is simply not part of the culture.

Minimal Recognition and Unfair Reward System Hard work is rarely acknowledged at an individual level. While engineers and other contributors put in the effort, it’s the managers who receive recognition, promotions, and extra bonuses. No matter how much value you bring to the team, your contributions often go unnoticed. The company promises great bonuses, but in reality, they amount to only around 30% of the annual salary, mostly in restricted shares that cannot be sold immediately. This makes the incentive system feel misleading and demotivating.

No Salary Growth Even After Years of Work Salaries remain stagnant for long periods, especially if they are considered "above benchmark." Many employees, including myself, have not received a raise for years, regardless of performance. This creates a frustrating situation where there’s no financial motivation to stay, and employees are forced to reconsider their long-term prospects at the company.

Poor Management and Leadership There are too many managers, yet most lack the ability to work as a team, motivate employees, or create a healthy work environment. Instead of facilitating productivity, they micromanage, demand unrealistic deadlines, and fail to provide any real support. Many of them have no technical skills and contribute little beyond discussions. They expect projects to be completed at an extreme pace without considering their complexity, creating a stressful and chaotic workflow.

Toxic and Demotivating Work Environment The overall atmosphere in the company is cold and impersonal. There’s little sense of teamwork or camaraderie—people barely acknowledge each other’s milestones, and even small gestures like wishing someone a happy birthday are rare. Team members often work in isolation, handling multiple projects alone without any real collaboration. The lack of an engaging and supportive environment makes it difficult to feel any sense of belonging.

No Strong ML Leadership and Weak Senior Talent The company lacks experienced lead ML specialists who could provide guidance and mentorship. The company can't attract great specialists or simply saves on them. Senior-level engineers are often not as skilled as one would expect in a top-tier tech company; their knowledge may be decent for fintech, but not competitive in the broader tech industry. Without strong leadership or experts to learn from, professional growth in technical fields is significantly limited.

No Real Teamwork, Just Isolated Efforts Collaboration is almost nonexistent. Managers take on too many key performance indicators (KPIs), split tasks among a small number of people, and expect individuals to work on several projects simultaneously. Instead of fostering teamwork, this approach forces employees to operate in silos, preventing the application of best practices. In the end, managers take credit for successful outcomes, leaving those who did the actual work unrecognized.