Setup for failure - Lead Software Development Engineer Capital One Employee Review

1.0
24 Aug 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay is ok for the job title, but they'll take every second of your time on or off the clock so it's lousy pay-per-hour. Switching companies, I got almost the same base pay as a Senior Engineer as I was getting at Capital One as a Lead Engineer.

Cons

Race to the bottom culture. There are turnover targets that range from 10% to 20% per year throughout the company, and I was told in no uncertain terms that "If you just fulfill the responsibilities of your role, you won't last long." In addition to your regular job, you'll be expected to spend your personal time volunteering to run groups/events at the company, and to study for and earn certifications so that higher ups can brag about having the highest percentage of associates with X-certification. If you don't distinguish yourself, you're at risk for being used to fill a turnover quota. Obviously security needs to be a concern for banks, but they've taken it to an extreme where it's difficult to perform basic job related tasks. You need to get personal approval from a VP for anything. Other members of my team were using Excel to work with csv files, so I applied for permission to install Excel on my machine as well, but I was repeatedly told by my VP that I didn't need it. Be prepared to beg to be allowed to get your work done, and then make up the time spent begging and waiting for approval. If you plan to work remotely, make sure you live VERY far from the nearest office. At the moment, Capital One requires anyone within 50 miles of an office to commute to that office, even if none of your team members are at that office. This was the breaking point for me: when they wanted me to spend 4 to 6 hours per day in traffic in order to join virtual meetings with my distributed team. I joked that it'd be cheaper to hire background actors to pretend to work at their office every day. The current threshold for being required to commute is 50 miles from any office, but that could change and I wouldn't trust any distance under 100 miles. I've worked at some notorious companies like Amazon, but Capital One was the first job where I felt like I was fighting against the company trying to get me to fail. They really are looking to meet their turnover quotas and will keep looking for excuses to fail you until their meet that quota.

Explore other reviews about Capital One

5.0
7 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Excellent benefits Great community, major opportunities for growth

Cons

The training process can be challenging due to the volume of information and the absence of a dedicated trainer, though the team is supportive and committed to helping new employees succeed.

1.0
1 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay can be decent compared to GovCon. Some people are a pleasure to work with. Other non-pay related incentives.

Cons

Never heard more nonsensical topics during meetings; people sharing their sexual preferences, flaunting overly dramatic personal lifestyle decisions, diversity to the point of failure, etc. Hearing the term "white guilt" in a professional setting was, well, pretty unprofessional. Stack ranking for performance reviews is a mess. Someone has to have an "F" regardless of their performance because that is what their line of business is allotted. Be prepared to be held responsible for actions any Sr Leadership would just sweep under the rug under their own circumstances. If a manager doesn't like you, regardless of your productivity, you're toast unless you're able to find another LoB to support. HR / AR are just a check in the box and will most likely point you from one to the other and back again without resolving any issues. You'll find yourself curious as to what leadership does as they continue to scrape managerial responsibilities from their plate, to yours. Last but certainly not least; you may find yourself working hard on a project; nights and weekends, just in case that work life balance is feeling a little too perfect. Fret not, someone will surely assist in taking credit for the hard work you've put in. I'm sure none of these things will happen to you, though. Best of luck!

4
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