Pros
incredible lateral mobility, responsibility, autonomy, and opportunity for growth. very good culture around making everyone feel valued, respected, and heard - regardless of position or seniority. the employee retention rate at Factual is much higher than average which reflects well on the company's top priority of keeping its employees happy. the hiring bar is incredibly high (even when compared to other top-notch engineering companies in LA/Venice/Santa Monica/San Francisco) in terms of all fit, technical competence, raw analytical ability, and drive - so the system of self-led work does really well for those who meet that bar. very attentive, flexible, and humble middle management help make my work rewarding even in the grind of things. an all-around honest, transparent, and thoughtful institution that I think is unparalleled by a lot of tech companies both in and out of LA.
Cons
recently scaling out the global places product has created a very big need for current engineers to step up their work (in terms of volume and commitment to project longevity), and for more engineering resources. it also adds more value to prioritization of various projects, which can put a strain on the product and engineering teams - whose visions aren't always aligned. this often puts the non-managers in the middle of a tricky tug-of-war between teams. I see this as an inevitable byproduct of our growth that will iron itself out with time - with the people of Factual being the first priority of the company, it's hard to imagine that this won't be the case in the near future.
