Core values don't align with reality and poor leadership - Network Administrator TrueNAS Employee Review

2.0
29 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company genuinely had a strong, energetic culture in its early days. There was a real Silicon Valley startup vibe — innovative, collaborative, and exciting to be part of. People were passionate, teams moved fast, and it felt like everyone was genuinely working toward something meaningful. For a period, it was one of the better places I’ve worked in terms of culture, autonomy, and the sense that we were building something special. Unfortunately, that changed quickly once the company started seeing significant dollar signs. Growth and profit became the priority at the expense of the very culture that helped them succeed in the first place. The original spirit and values slowly faded as the focus shifted toward short-term financial gains, leading to many of the issues mentioned in the Cons section.

Cons

The company's core values sound excellent on paper, but the reality on the ground is very different. Our Core Values: Think People Before Profit Ultra Collaborative Trailblazers Pursue Kaizen What it actually looks like: Think People before Profit — if you have the right last name. Nepotism is rampant. Hiring, promotions, and job retention are far more dependent on who you know than what you know or what you deliver. The company claims to offer US-based support while laying off local employees and offshoring roles to the Philippines. Ultra Collaborative Trailblazers — Not really. Direction from leadership is often unclear or inconsistent. Several departments lack real management, and the approach feels more like “do it our way” (even when “our way” isn’t well defined). The team is trailblazing straight to the bottom rather than breaking new ground. Pursue Kaizen — Continuous improvement is nearly impossible when leadership decisions are actively harming the business. The company has given away significant portions of the business, heavily rebranded, and pushed through multiple rounds of layoffs. Sales numbers and morale have suffered as a result. Overall, the gap between the stated values and actual practices is large and disheartening. If you value competence, clear direction, and real continuous improvement, this may not be the right place long-term.

Explore other reviews about TrueNAS

5.0
1 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great company. Well organized with a clear vision.

Cons

I cannot think of any cons.

2.0
1 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefits package, hybrid work arrangement, and genuine scheduling flexibility day-to-day. The breakroom and physical work environment are well-maintained and comfortable. The work itself is genuinely interesting; if you care about open source storage infrastructure, you will find the problems meaningful. The people on the ground are a real highlight: collaborative, knowledgeable, and easy to work with.

Cons

Onboarding is largely unstructured. Expect to figure things out yourself and hope the right people are willing to answer questions. Your early trajectory depends heavily on who you happen to sit near. Performance reviews feel sporadic and lack meaningful substance, and promotion paths are equally opaque. It is difficult to gauge where you stand or what advancement actually looks like. Management rarely provides concrete goals for features or tasks, and the company roadmap often feels undefined or subject to change without much communication. Leadership can feel disconnected from the realities of day-to-day engineering work. Remote employees outside of California should be prepared to work into their midday hours regularly, as meetings are often scheduled without consideration for non-Pacific time zones. The layoffs were handled abruptly and with little transparency. Given the unclear direction the company had been operating under, it was not entirely surprising, but the execution could have been handled better. Lastly a heavy and abrupt push toward AI integration created confusion around product direction and left many existing features and customer commitments feeling deprioritized

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TrueNAS Response
1mo
Thank you for sharing such a detailed and balanced review of your experience with us. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed the collaborative culture, the interesting nature of our open source work, and our flexible hybrid environment. We truly appreciate your candid feedback regarding our onboarding process, career progression transparency, and the challenges faced by our distributed teams. Your insights into our communication during leadership shifts and product pivots are invaluable as we work to improve our internal processes and strategic alignment. We are actively focusing on these areas to ensure a more structured and supportive experience for all our employees. Thank you for your contributions to the team and for helping us identify these critical areas for growth.
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