Pros: Food (I heard it is gone), pay is decent.

Cons: Poor execution. Director-level leaders are typically non-technical. Program managers run the show, holding meetings, giving status updates, and assigning the wrong people to jobs. They promote young, inexperienced engineers to managerial positions so their boss remains safe, as he or she is typically a non-technical "sleek talker." All is about looking good in meetings, talking at a "high level." Everyone seems good and makes sense, but it is all hollow. Real engineers will find themselves being asked to install a window on the wheel of a car so it can make coffee. Many, many real engineers have left, and the company did absolutely nothing. It is a very "pretending" culture. It is just about fooling around.

Pros: Zoox has a mission-aligned team. The technical challenges are real. Work-life balance is reasonable. Benefits are good.

Cons: Amazon's buy-out immediately damaged the culture. Company progress has all but stalled because of huge technical challenges. The best engineers and leaders have already left.

Pros: Great food, good work-life balance, and financial security, at least for the time being, with the Amazon acquisition.

Cons: The company built its reputation on its urban self-driving capabilities. The company has been experiencing growing pains as its size doubled last year. Generally speaking, it does not have good, strong leaders for a young, inexperienced team. Often, you see an arrogant attitude from management, who are weak technically but strong in opinions, as they view disagreement as a challenge to their authority.