Worst Culture I have Ever Worked In - Anonymous employee Align Technology Employee Review

2.0
21 Nov 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Compensation and that is frankly about it

Cons

Highly depends upon your department. The one I was a part of was highly immature and full of gossip. There was an unlimited amount of politics at play, slacking off, rumor spreading, and poor treatment of teammates. I will say that it was the worst experience I have ever had, at any employer, in my entire career. It was not the startup that it used to be, and management (Mangers and above to Sr. Directors) is highly underqualified for their positions and are more absorbed with playing political games, and with themselves. They are, in no way shape or form, equipped to handle the end of patents (which has recently happened) to clear aligners which generate a large influx of revenue to Align for years, and compete with rising competition. Avoid, don't get distracted by the salary like I did, and find better employment.

Explore other reviews about Align Technology

5.0
21 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture and work life balance

Cons

No salary adjustment for where you live

3.0
22 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It used to be a good company who made a premium product, with smart coworkers, interesting tasks that involved a lot of math problems, with detailed code reviews. It still has generous PTO, sick days and a discounted lunch (in Raleigh office).

Cons

Management changed and there is an ongoing optimisation with hidden layoffs / force quits with no severance. Biased performance reviews with high expectations. Frequent goal changes and useless projects that will eventually be terminated and the whole team will be shuffled or dismissed. Complete delivery mess. Left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Knowledge transfer sucks. The only way to understand the feature is to dig into the code (bad for newbies). New unqualified and arrogant low-level managers and team-leads, hide their uselessness on endless meetings, blah-blah-blahing with no real impact just to add visibility. A lot of stress, 5 days from office in an open space with no remote option even for new parents. The base is low with no stocks. Pro-Russian company, previously based in Moscow, relocated the whole office to the US and Europe due to sanctions during Russian-Ukrainian war (they recently laid-off a few Ukrainian guys).

5
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