Pros: TripAdvisor has great profit sharing and great compensation with respect to the Ottawa market. They also offer cool benefits like catered lunches and reimbursement programs for transit. The office environment is medium-sized, with about 30 engineers, and sports an open format, so you really get to know everyone. People are friendly and willing to help. Generally, there isn't much stepping on top of others, at least in engineering.

Cons: High expectations, sometimes stressful because releases are weekly. Since this office is virtual, communicating with HQ and always being in the loop is a challenge. Things move very quickly at TripAdvisor.

Pros: The work environment is pretty friendly and flexible.

Cons: A long process to deliver something new.

Pros: TripAdvisor is growing aggressively, and this means there are plenty of promotion and advancement opportunities for people who have ability and are willing to work for it. I've worked at places where there are at least three qualified people jockeying for each opportunity to advance. TripAdvisor is NOT one of them. As of 2013, TripAdvisor is an excellent place for those who want to break through from senior to principal engineer or into management. Overall, the level of bureaucracy in engineering is still low, and it's possible to get things done without waiting a long time for management to make opaque decisions behind closed doors.

Cons: The location in Newton is not convenient unless you happen to already live in one of the western suburbs. TripAdvisor does not do a lot of fundamental R&D on new technologies. Look elsewhere if that is a priority for you.