Pros
Mission-driven on paper, and some very kind people across the broader company.
Remote flexibility.
Cons
The most toxic work experience of my career. The product and engineering org is defined by instability, insecurity, and fear. Leadership consistently fails to support employees, listen to feedback, or provide even the most basic role clarity.
From the beginning, there was no accountability or clear structure within leadership. Less than a month into the role, my responsibilities were abruptly removed without explanation. The CPO later admitted it was due to personal insecurities about their role and the company’s AI strategy. When I raised this with the CEO, the change was downplayed as a miscommunication, even though I had briefly been presented with a hard copy of a revised job description that made it clear that my role had been stripped of all it’s core responsibilities. That document was never shared with me again, and no effort was made afterward to define what my role actually was.
This wasn’t a one-off experience. I was actually handed four different job descriptions in total, none of which came with clear objectives, support, or even a proper explanation. The CPO consistently avoided meeting with me, as they knew I would ask for clarity. When feedback was given, it wasn’t tied to my work or deliverables. It was personal, erratic, and often contradictory. I was told I had “bad judgment” or was a “bad leader,” but never shown how that related to any actual performance issues. On multiple occasions, the CPO told me I hadn’t earned my place at the company or the right to work on projects, even though no expectations or criteria were ever outlined. It became clear these attacks were not based on performance, but were meant to justify decisions that had already been made behind closed doors.
The most shocking part was that I only discovered I was on probation after an internal AI-generated meeting summary was accidentally shared with the broader team via a company call recorder. In that transcript, leadership discussed removing me to avoid paying recruiter fees and referenced a “probation” period—something that had never once been communicated to me. The summary also included multiple misleading claims about my performance, including delays that ignored pre-agreed time off and examples that had nothing to do with my actual responsibilities. I was ultimately forced out the day before the recruiter fee was due, despite supposedly being halfway through this so-called probation. At no point prior to this was I informed of any performance concerns or behavioral issues. The entire process was clearly driven by cost-saving and optics, not merit.
During this period, I continued to send regular updates, progress reports, and meeting requests to the CPO and broader leadership, all of which were ignored. Every feedback session was either skipped or rescheduled. Despite being on what was allegedly a performance plan, I received no coaching or direction. Eventually, a coworker—not my manager—stepped in to offer some semblance of guidance. I also attempted to raise concerns with the CEO, but those meetings were repeatedly canceled or postponed. It became clear leadership was trying to push me out quietly rather than address the issues directly.
When I escalated these problems, I was dismissed. The CEO insisted certain conversations and decisions “never happened,” despite written evidence and screenshots. There was no accountability, no transparency, and no support. With no HR or operations team, there was no safe channel to raise concerns. The CEO, lacking real management experience, avoided conflict entirely. When I reported toxic team dynamics, I was ignored—and ultimately punished for speaking up.
This wasn’t just my experience. Turnover in the product and engineering team has been staggering: multiple VPs of Engineering in under a year, designers and engineers leaving in waves, and no introspection from leadership. I’m not surprised the CPO has since been removed from managing people…for now, that is the best decision the company has made.