fun, fast growth, smart people - Anonymous employee Airbnb Employee Review

5.0
8 Feb 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- lots of opportunities for internal mobility. i know several engineers who have done rotations through both product and infrastructure teams. some stayed and some returned to their old teams. generally, the company wants you to go where you'll be the most useful—there isn't much politicking to keep people from moving around. - high technical bar -> smart colleagues. hiring is optimized for preventing false positives. - people are really nice and really collaborative. everyone will talk to you about what they're working on. people make real friendships at work and hang out often. - good parental leave policies, focus on diversity recruiting - insane revenue growth, even now, with no compelling end in sight

Cons

- growing pains as a result of rapid growth - functions can feel siloed from each other unless you explicitly try to break down barriers

Explore other reviews about Airbnb

5.0
4 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Airbnb's mission of creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere strongly resonates with me. I'm excited by the opportunity to build products that operate at global scale and directly impact millions of users. My background in full-stack engineering, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and AI-powered applications aligns well with Airbnb's focus on innovation, reliability, and exceptional user experiences. I am particularly attracted to Airbnb's engineering culture, emphasis on ownership, and commitment to solving complex technical challenges while delivering meaningful value to hosts, guests, and communities worldwide.

Cons

One challenge of working at Airbnb is the complexity that comes with operating a global platform at scale. Engineering teams must balance reliability, performance, compliance, and user experience across many markets and stakeholders. While this can make development and decision-making more complex, it is also one of the aspects that makes the work technically interesting and professionally rewarding.

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