ServiceNow

The company is a stable and prominent global player with a highly popular product, which provides a sense of security. There haven't been any layoffs in the engineering organizations for a long time, which is a huge plus.

The technical challenges are genuinely interesting, and I've had the opportunity to work on some complex problems. The best part, however, is the people. My coworkers are some of the smartest and most hardworking engineers I've ever collaborated with.

The tech stack is outdated and heavily proprietary, which means the skills you gain aren't easily transferable to other jobs.

The code and architecture are extremely complex and convoluted, making it a painful and slow process to fix bugs and build new features. This leads to a lot of defects and impacts development speed.

We operate on a long waterfall release cycle, and the company as a whole lacks agility due to its size. Teams often work in silos.

Upward mobility can be a real challenge; it seems to be more about politics and appearances than technical merit.

To improve the engineering experience and product velocity, I would advise management to invest in modernizing the tech stack to attract and retain top talent. Focusing on simplifying the existing convoluted architecture and a commitment to reducing technical debt would greatly improve development efficiency and product quality. Adopting more agile methodologies and fostering a culture of cross-team collaboration would also help the company regain agility and move faster.

Finally, I recommend establishing a transparent and merit-based career progression system to reward hard work and technical contributions.