Pros
- Incredibly flexible work environment. The best work life balance of any role I've had as a developer/engineer. This is something I keep talking about. I think they are sick of me saying it. - Genuinely just great people. I've made some great friends from countries I have never been to. I've learned a lot culturally speaking as well. - The most transparency in a companies leadership I have ever seen. Possibly even too transparent at times. I have worked for the largest online e-commerce software company on the planet, two engineering companies, University R&D and a corporate pharma software company in both the public and private sectors. None of them come close to MWS in terms of approachability at C-Level and generally getting insight into the operation and performance of the business. There is no whispering in hallways, there is no chatting offline. The CEO and COO are 100% open to new ideas, either product or team or business related and sometimes actively seek input from you directly. - No 'clique' culture, promotion based on favouritism etc. This seems almost unavoidable at a corporate company. It's not an old boys club at MWS. No one even talks about golf. - Every week I get the opportunity to voice my concerns/opinions. - Not perfect, but good female representation in the engineering team which is uncommon. - Product driven development which can be awkward for engineering teams but its very good for the company as a whole. The company does a great job of listening and delivering based on what its customers want. - You are given the agency/trust to research and implement appropriate new technologies and solutions without needing to go through 7 hells worth of bureaucracy. - The company is quite cognisant of team culture and background. The engineering team is made up of a diverse group of people, Irish, Czech, Spanish, Dutch, Indian, Georgian, etc. It can be a difficult market to hire in, especially when competing with corporations who tend to be able to pay a lot higher salaries and suck in all the talent. They do a great job of attracting talent. The companies benefits are extremely generous for its size.
Cons
- Its a startup, so team sizes are a little smaller (sometimes a good thing, subjective). If you are junior-mid level or prefer a structured, mapped out daily plan, then this is not the company for you. We have to build things very quickly, and break them just a quickly. It's very fast paced, but very rewarding. You won't be sitting at a desk doing the same boring crap over and over, slowly diminishing your skillset over time. - Salaries are not as high as they are in corporations but your benefits and work life balance is better.