Toxic culture with flawed management practices - Software Engineer II Cloudera Employee Review

2.0
5 July 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. Nothing 2.Nothing 3. Nothing 4. Nothing 5. Nothing

Cons

Cons: Management Culture: Leadership hiring practices seem flawed. There is a noticeable lack of psychological and emotional safety, particularly for female engineers. Lack of New Graded Support: There is no structured mentorship or onboarding pipeline for Full-Time Employees (FTEs) joining straight out of college. New grads are largely left to fend for themselves. Broken Escalation Pathways: There is zero support or mediation from HR or upper leadership when conflict or misalignment occurs with your direct manager. Favoritism Over Merit: The culture does not reward merit, technical excellence, or strong engineering principles. Instead, it favors individuals who blindly agree with management without asking critical questions. Performative Well-being: Initiatives like "unplug days" are purely performative. On the ground, no one actually cares about your mental health, well-being, or job satisfaction. Met some of the most difficult and toxic management and team members during my tenure here.

Explore other reviews about Cloudera

5.0
10 June 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Everyone is willing to help and wants to see you succeed Lots of opportunities to grow within the company/organization Flexible work/life balance Strong Technology

Cons

Multiple platforms - troubling at first to balance between them all, but after some time it is a breeze.

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Cloudera Response
3w
Thank you for the 5-star review. We are delighted to hear that you find Cloudera to be a supportive environment with strong growth opportunities and great work-life balance. We also appreciate your feedback regarding our multiple platforms. We are glad to hear that navigation becomes smoother over time, and we are proud to have you on the team in Austin.
5.0
10 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

* Amazing and supportive community with highly talented and approachable colleagues. * Welcoming, inclusive, and friendly culture that makes it easy to feel part of the team. * Excellent technology stack built around Apache Software Foundation projects and modern engineering practices. * Strong open-source-first mindset that promotes innovation, transparency, and collaboration. * Flexible work arrangements with the option to work from home, while office attendance is encouraged to foster collaboration and maintain a strong sense of community. * Gorgeous offices worldwide that provide an inspiring and comfortable work environment. * Plenty of opportunities to learn, grow, and work on impactful projects alongside exceptional engineers.

Cons

* The highly flexible work-from-home culture, while appreciated by many, can sometimes lead to sparsely populated offices. Employees who value face-to-face interactions and spontaneous collaboration may find it harder to build connections and discover new opportunities. * Processes and organizational structures are intentionally lightweight, but this can occasionally result in unclear ownership, shifting priorities, and coordination challenges when deadlines approach. * The strong emphasis on autonomy means teams may operate differently, which can make cross-team coordination and planning less predictable. * Communication and collaboration often require a proactive approach, especially in a distributed environment.

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Cloudera Response
3w
Thank you for your 5-star review and your eight years of dedication to Cloudera. We are glad you value our inclusive culture, open-source mindset, and talented team. We appreciate your constructive feedback on cross-team coordination and distributed collaboration. Your insights are incredibly valuable as we continue to improve our planning processes while maintaining the workplace flexibility our employees enjoy.
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