Sinking Ship - Engineer Symbotic Employee Review

1.0
16 May 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good engineers, fun problems to solve.

Cons

Management. When the current CEO (Gahagan) took over, things went downhill. He walked into a company that had built an impressive robotics solution and acted like he invented it and knew better than people with years of experience with a highly complex piece of tech. Where he got this confidence I have no idea...he was previously at Avid, an A/V company with a falling stock price during his tenure...not even remotely related to robotics, warehouses, or distribution chains. Well anyway, he created a new bloated upper management layer which he filled with his friends from Avid, mostly in positions they were not qualified for. Internal promotions basically stopped. Raises went from decent and merit based to almost non-existent. I guess that money was diverted to all those new managers. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. Constantly changing priorities despite the unrealistic deadlines making it pretty much impossible to 'succeed' in management's eyes. Oh yeah, you need to work this weekend. Oh btw, you are on call tonight. They cut 401K benefits for an entire year and threw their hands up "there's nothing we can do, it's a tax thing" related to the parent company. They could have made up for that with the bonus that year, but they did not. The owner comes from the warehouse world and I think he generally thinks of his employees as easily replaceable...not the attitude you expect in a highly competitive field like this.

Explore other reviews about Symbotic

5.0
27 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

• Cutting-edge A.I.-powered robotics — you work on technology that's actually transforming the supply chain • Brilliant colleagues across engineering, robotics, controls, and software • Real ownership from day one — step up and you'll be recognized • Direct customer impact — your work runs in live operations for the world's largest retailers • Fast growth means real career opportunities

Cons

• Pace is intense — tight deadlines and demanding periods come with the territory • Steep learning curve early on due to system complexity • Processes are still maturing as the company scales rapidly

2.0
1 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Interesting technology and exposure to advanced automation systems. Opportunity to work on complex engineering projects.

Cons

Poor work-life balance with high expectations and little flexibility. Communication from leadership and the general manager was very limited, making it difficult to stay aligned. There was also a lack of transparency around performance expectations and job security. Even when performing well and fully understanding the environment and workflows, employees could be let go without warning or a second chance. This creates unnecessary turnover and results in lost knowledge, requiring time and resources to retrain new engineers who are unfamiliar with the systems.

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