Rocketlane Reviews

I worked at Rocketlane as a Lead SDET and would rate it 1 out of 5 based on my experience. 🚫 No Learning or Growth As a Lead SDET, there was no scope to learn, innovate, or implement quality practices. The role was limited to basic manual testing—similar to an entry-level IC role. For anyone targeting IC3 or senior growth, this company is not suitable. ⚠️ Lack of Engineering Process - No clear PRDs - Outdated or inaccurate Figma designs - Testing 4–5 features in parallel - Almost no focus on automation - Heavy dependency on PMs for clarity We often had to “chase” PMs just to understand requirements, and the actual UI differed 70–80% from designs. ⏰ Poor Work-Life Balance - Weekend work is common - Long working hours are expected - Work pressure is constant - Founders expect more than reasonable output You are expected to give “2x effort” without support. 🏠 WFH Policy Is Misleading Officially, 30 WFH days are allowed. In reality: - You are discouraged from using them - Questioned by founders - Made to feel guilty - What HR says about WFH is misleading. - Flexibility is only on paper. 🔍 Micromanagement Culture - Even a single leave requires justification to founders - Working fixed hours (9–5:30) is considered “unproductive” - Staying late is praised, efficiency is ignored - No real ownership This creates unnecessary stress. ❗ No Respect for QA - Features are shipped without QA sign-off - P0 bugs are released and fixed later as hotfixes - QA feedback is often ignored Quality is not a priority 📅 Unstructured Friday Demos - No fixed start time (5:30 PM / 6:30 PM / 7:30 PM) - Leads must attend multiple demos - QA inputs are sidelined Mostly used for micromanagement We were expected to sit and wait without clarity. 🧑‍💻 Heavy Dependence on Interns Many features developed by interns - Poor code quality - Hundreds of bugs even in a simple form like feature - Frequent reopening and retesting like a cycle. You test and close 10 bugs. 10 will newly reopen. - Delays blamed on QA 🚧 No Focus on Automation or Stability If you say you want to automate, you’ll be overloaded with manual testing instead. Company focus is only on shipping fast, not on: Technical debt - Stability - Automation - Long-term quality 📱 No Personal Boundaries - Even on holidays, founders ping employees. - There is no mental peace or personal time. ❌ Overall Verdict Rocketlane is a PM-driven company with: - Weak engineering culture - Poor respect for QA - High micromanagement - Low work-life balance - Limited growth opportunities I frequently felt demotivated and mentally exhausted working here. I would not recommend this company to anyone looking for a healthy, learning-focused, or respectful work environment—especially in QA/SDET roles.

1. PMs use standups as a platform to question and pressure developers rather than for coordination. Instead of discussing technical blockers offline, they often question your knowledge publicly, which is very discouraging for a junior. 2. Senior Frontend Engineers offer very little mentorship. If you ask a doubt, the common response is to "go figure it out yourself" or "use AI." 3. As a fresher, you are expected to perform without any room for the natural learning curve. There is no relaxation or understanding that juniors are still learning; you are treated like a machine that should never make a mistake. 4. PMs can be very aggressive toward new joiners. PMs use standups to publicly grill and "bark" at new joiners. Instead of discussing blockers offline, they question your skills in front of everyone, treating juniors like machines rather than people who are still learning. 5. I’ve seen new joiners "abscond" because the mental pressure and "torture" were too much to handle. Management frequently uses the threat of job loss if you are "slow" or make a mistake, creating a culture of fear rather than growth. 6. Management has no respect for personal time. I once took a leave for a family function, and the PM called me to ask, "Why can't you just work from home? Is the function more important than work?" This level of intrusion is common. A Critical Warning for Interns & Freshers If you have to support your family or you have financial responsibilities, please think a hundred times before joining. Once you are in, you are trapped. The pressure is so suffocating that you won’t have the time or mental energy to even attend interview for a better job. At the same time, you live in constant fear because management uses your job as a weapon—threatening to fire you over a single mistake or for being "slow" while you are still learning. You will find yourself stuck in a cycle where you can’t leave because you have bills to pay, but you can’t stay because the mental torture and lack of security are unbearable. Don’t put yourself in a position where your livelihood is used to threaten you.