Save yourself the headache - Software Engineer II Reverb Employee Review

Wonderful community of like minded people

3rd CEO in 6 years. Unstable executive leadership

Reverb once attracted a lot of smart, politically progressive people across departments. Engineering is technically opinionated in the right ways and consistently chooses the most reliable, secure tools for the job. The codebase does have some tech debt, but even large refactors are easy to manage. Work/life balance is good depending on what department/team you're on.

If you're a person of a marginalized gender or race, you may notice the product and engineering department isn’t an equitable environment. While there’s lukewarm emphasis on inclusivity, microaggressions are common and the company’s performative progressivism rarely translates into meaningful impact. The dominant culture at Reverb prioritizes sameness. Those in managing roles struggle to support those who don’t immediately hit the ground running at the same pace as those who’ve historically been overrepresented in tech and benefit from implicit biases. They often seem unequipped to support the growth of direct reports who don’t mirror their own identities, hobbies, or working styles. Rather than offering structured support, “underperformers” are usually managed out. Employees who don’t align with unspoken norms are often deemed a “poor culture fit.” PIPs are never used, so expect sudden termination. Even with a documented career framework to reference, feedback and career conversations can be inconsistent, subjective, or missing entirely. Advocating for yourself often leads nowhere once your manager has made up their mind about you. This stalls career growth and creates real institutional barriers to advancement which disproportionately impacts employees of marginalized identities. Following the first round of layoffs, those who were using FMLA for medical or mental health reasons (many of whom identified as queer and/or gender non-conforming) were let go. Some who returned from FMLA before the re-org were often treated with skepticism, and passive-aggressive remarks about their technical competencies weren’t uncommon. Taking extended leave (unless it’s for paternity leave) is frowned upon even though employees are well within their right to do so. Empathy and common sense are lacking, and those who embody those qualities don’t tend to stay long. Despite clear attrition of diverse talent, leadership hasn’t acknowledged this as a serious issue. They have the data to support this but refuse to share it when asked. The review from Jan 8, 2024 also seems more like damage control than an authentic recount of events. It reads as if it were written by someone in leadership (I still chuckle at the “very qualified, competent leadership team” line) due to the wording. This kind of tone-deaf messaging reflects the broader leadership culture: resistant to accountability and dismissive of feedback. They’re consistently insulated as a protected class from the impact of their own poor decisions and behavior. HR doesn’t seem to notice a pattern with certain managers where women and people of color consistently flee from their teams or show signs of burnout. After two rounds of layoffs within 13 months, any DEI momentum was abandoned. Similarly, new executives hired would contribute to continual company vision adjustments because they, too, felt the need to hit the ground running. When this happens at that level, though, it points to a lack of clear vision as a company and adds a sense of confusion for the rest of the teams. Bottom line: Reverb has been unstable since its inception. I’ve heard horror stories about pre-Etsy but there hasn’t been much improvement since the acquisition besides not being berated in front of your colleagues by the founder anymore. From what I’ve been able to glean from current employees, post-Etsy seems just as bleak if not more. Morale is constantly in the gutter, but it’s always suggested that you put on a smile and ignore the flames around you for fear of losing your job. If you choose to work here, document everything. Reverb has been hurdling towards litigation for years and it’s a wonder they haven’t (to my knowledge) been hit yet. Seek external support if you feel you’re being treated unfairly. At the end of the day, an unclear and inconsistent approach to DEI negatively impacts all employees. Unfortunately, this isn’t unique in tech, but that doesn’t make it excusable.