Arista Networks Reviews

Pros

Arista is growing really quickly, which means there are always something new interesting problems to solve. The engineering team is very good, and management is committed to solving problems the right way (no quick hacks to get a feature out, use automation for building and testing). There is very minimal management, and engineers are encouraged to lead/complete projects their own projects.

Cons

Quick growth means Arista has lost most of its start-up feel, as much as management is fighting that. There is some tendency to see engineering as a sunk cost, and everything else as expensive.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep it up. Keep hammering testing, doing things right, and personal responsibility.
Invest in resources that make engineering more efficient.

Pros

- leadership team. Andy Bechtolsheim is a hardware genius, so you can be confident you are building products people will buy. Jayshree Ullal knows the networking business like the back of her hand... Andy builds it, Jayshree sells it. David Cheriton's insight into software architecture has provided a way of decoupling processes that is unique in the networking industry and removes so much of the painful overhead in network OS engineering. It adds up to a promising situation for pre-IPO stock options.

- software culture. Open, honest, helpful, collaborative, good tools, emphasis on no-nonsense productivity. The software management team is made up of people who really get and appreciate software and support software engineers in creating great software.

- interesting product space. Data center networking is growing 30%+ per year and the transitions to higher-speed Ethernet and merchant silicon are creating dislocations in the market. Networking software is just cool --- managing high-performance silicon, running complex distributed state management protocols.

Cons

You work on products that your non-techie friends are unlikely to understand. It's not as sexy as social networking or whatever.

Advice to Senior Management

Preserving the culture through the kind of growth we are experiencing will take focus and commitment. We cannot be victims of our own success.

Pros

I really enjoy working here.
The people are great. Everyone is very smart and helpful.
The high level of competency among engineers and managers enables independence. I feel that I am trusted by management to do the right thing on my projects and this lets me work unhampered.

Cons

The independence and trust that I talked about above also implies responsibility: I am the owner of the project I am working on. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does lead to stress and possibly long hours when you are trying to get a feature finished. These long hours are not imposed on me, but something that I decide for myself, both because I am interested in what I am working on and I would like to impress my superiors.

It would be awesome if the office was closer to San Francisco.

Pros

Great place for young engineers to work and learn. Because of Arista's size, new engineers are placed on meaningful projects.
Open environment where everyone is willing to help out.
Employees take pride in creating the best products on the market.
Fast growing company, brings a sense of excitement.

Cons

Learning curve may be tough at times, but plenty of people offer help.

Advice to Senior Management

Company will face growing pains as it expands. Management will have to figure out how to maintain company culture as Arista grows.

Pros

Great business results, industry-leading products, interesting/innovative software environment, good use of automation, engineers treated with respect

Cons

It's not "Web 2.0", not as many fringe benefits as some other silicon valley companies

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to recognize great software as a key differentiator in the networking space.

Pros

Top-notch engineering and management team
Open and transparent company culture
Amazing equity upside
Great opportunity for professional growth
Individual contributions are recognized and rewarded

Cons

As with any startup, Arista Networks is trying to do a lot while keeping control of costs. This means some teams are running short-staffed and have room to grow.

Advice to Senior Management

We have an amazing opportunity ahead of us, continue to invest in growing Arista Networks and turning it into a world-class company.

Pros

Top flight engineering team
Well known executive team
Huge equity upside
Great location, building, cafeteria, team spirit

Cons

Lowest compensation possible
'A beggars wages' if you are not in engineering, barely afford living in Bay Area
CEO reducing all benefits and constant re-negotiation of your incentives
No performance based incentives

Advice to Senior Management

CEO needs to delegate, empower, and reward equally all employees
Focus on paying a low to market wage so you can retain employees
Performance based compensation works, use it
Invest in the growth of Arista so it can be great, don't be penny wise and pound foolish