Walmart

If you have the opportunity to work with the Walmart.com team, you'll learn what's involved in running a multi-billion dollar website.

There are a lot of moving pieces, and learning about the function of each one in the development, release, and customer lifecycle is very rewarding.

Some of the more interesting teams to work with come from outside acquisitions. These teams are not mired in the bureaucracy created by the way things used to be done. Also, there are a lot of opportunities for data science within the @Labs teams.

If you have a strong manager, you will do okay in the "alignment" process for raises. If your manager is weak, you will get screwed.

Where to begin...

There is a huge lack of accountability for the success of projects at all levels. Years of work can be thrown out because of poor planning and coordination between teams.

The current breakdown of Web Operations, Services, and Markets is failing miserably. Poor leadership and no clear vision have led to teams working on products with no clear customers in mind. The success rate for any of the new "pangaea" projects is non-existent.

It's definitely not a meritocracy within Engineering. Your relationship with the executive team will determine how high you move up within the organization.

Web Operations is a total mess. The failure of the business rests a great deal on their shoulders, with Services following quickly behind.

Contractors continue to fill empty seats. The employee to contractor ratio is incredible.

If you work on any of the customer properties (Walmart.com, Sams.com), write off your holidays. Engineering is on call 100% and typically onsite.

At some point, Bentonville is going to look at what they are getting for their money, and there will be a major reorganization.

The executive management team needs to be evaluated based on deliverables. Even the projects that are touted as "successes" are clearly not working. Hold people accountable.