Dolby Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Dolby as a contractor for more than 3 years

Pros – Stable company, no competition, industry leaders

Cons – favorism, politics, less growth, mundane

Advice to Senior Management – less of politics. everyone knows !

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dolby full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Stable.
Work life balance - 9/80.
Nice co-workers.
SOMA location.

Cons – Lack of growth opportunities.
Way too much politics.
Not much sense of shared purpose or mission.
Talented employees leaving.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop hiring so many execs and senior directors, it's not motivating to rank and file employees. Do some real corporate flattening. People don't seem to be promoted on merit but rather on ability to play politics.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dolby full-time for more than a year

Pros – --very, very bright research and (to a lessor degree) development
--few employees under 35 is not good, but it means the culture is mature, adult, high-functioning, and respectful. I enjoy working with (most of) my co-workers more than any position in my career.
--excellent pay and benefits, especially every other Friday off
--periodic educational presentations on various audio topics
--fascinating audio research in a number of areas, though little of it turns into products or revenue

Cons – --stagnating company means politics (land grabs and maneuvering to secure ongoing roles)
--heavy internal promotion of under-qualified employees who have been here for years, and have no outside perspective or experience to help bring positive change. The result: frustrated top talent steadily leaves (or is pushed out) to work at companies which actually build products. Remaining management turns into group-thinkers overseeing disspirited "yes men".
--long-tenured mediocre performers not removed
--inconsistent and often poor people management, with nearly no management training or monitoring by HR
--vast majority of revenue from a single product (Dolby Digital Plus surround sound), which is increasingly irrelevant because of stereo devices like tablets and smartphones.
--near total failure to execute in mobile (public information)
--key underlying patents are expiring (also public information)
--few employees under 35, and just as few customers under 35 who know or care about the company
--consumer marketing is a muddled mess, and partners aren't marketing on behalf of the company
--multiple acquisitions with no clear on-boarding process, and little-to-no resulting revenue

Advice to Senior Management – I appreciate that the business problem of weaning a company off huge revenue from one product is seriously difficult. But retaining top talent would appear to be the most-likely path forward. The company has to train managers, institute universal 360 reviews, find out why provocative voices are leaving or being fired, and get an organizational expert to turn down the volume on the political climate.

These changes could lead to talent retention, professional development, necessary risk-taking, and hopefully revenue-generating innovation.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Dolby full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – - 9/80 (every other Friday off)
- Great people to work with
- Awesome technologies and products
- Network with the best in the industry

Cons – - Lot of political issues for a small organization
- Changes seem to happen constantly
- Promotions rarely happen, they usually hire "experienced" professionals outside of the company and give them Director positions

Advice to Senior Management – You have a wealth of knowledge and passionate individuals who want to make a difference internally, but you keep losing them because they are stuck in the same position doing the same thing for years. People try to break out and are reprimanded...Promote from within so you can keep your knowledge base and not have them go to competitors or your customers.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dolby full-time

Pros – 9/80 schedule
Good work/life balance
Interesting technologies to work on
Fun people to work with

Cons – Not a nice environment outside the company building

Current Employee – been working at Dolby full-time

Pros – Fantastic environment for people who love digital media.
Small development teams lend to your ability to work on a variety of responsibilities.
Work is meaningful and challenging.
Collaborative and team oriented work environment.
Strong sense of culture.
Talented and smart peers.

Cons – Not a place if you like to hide your cube. The pro to small teams can also be a con for people that are accustomed to being in a sea of cubicles.

Advice to Senior Management – At Dolby there are amazing employees. People who work hard and create some of the most brilliant advancements in technology. I feel fortunate to be work alongside some of the most smart and grounded people I have ever met. My only advice, a little acknowledgement goes a long way.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Dolby full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Amazingly talented engineers, 9/80 work schedule (every other Friday off), Excellent benefits, brilliant products

Cons – Too top heavy, and getting more-so. Seems every new hire is a Director. Not enough "worker bees." Company is weak in Marketing. Some programs lack focus and direction changes every 6 months.
Company pays seasoned pros to know the market, the customer and the competitive environment... and then ignores the input they receive from their front line folks. Seems to be more focused on high visibility promotions and associations ("Dolby Theater") than might be best for the overall company.

Advice to Senior Management – Listen to your front line people. Trust their input.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dolby

Pros – Every second Friday off, and a competitive salary.

Cons – Where to begin... Unless you're a talented engineer, look elsewhere for something that will improve your career. Working here is really like that movie "Office Space" - politics and mediocrity are deeply entrenched. Dolby is an engineering company through and through, and it seems only engineering brilliance is recognized and promoted.

The marketing organization is a mess right now. Dolby desperately needs qualified people with proven track records, to bring the brand up to date. (It feels like 1998 right now.) The recent marketing re-org was a travesty, but you have to hand it to the management who advised their way out of this – It's truly laughable... those who are the core of the problem, advising on the solution.

Advice to Senior Management – Find a new consultancy that will actually guide you through this transition – a consultancy that will actually do something, rather than dazzle you with a song and dance for six months. We can do better. It's not too late... but, remember Kodak?

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Dolby

Pros – Excellent coworkers
9/80 schedule (every other Friday off)
Decent salary & benefits

Cons – Unfocused vision
Little room for advancement
Lack of marketable innovation
Senior management from outside the industry lack understanding of environment

Advice to Senior Management – Stop trying to be something the company is not, and focus on being a solid ingredient technology. Instead of the high profile splashes at the Oscars, premiers, etc. put funds toward really building a large engineering team instead of one that is stretched too thin and across too many projects.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Dolby full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Extremely smart, dedicated, engineers, patience, emphasis on delivering products that matter. Excellent facilities, connected to all players in the filmed entertainment value chain.

Cons – Politics, history of consensus-driven decision-making, majority of shares still closely held. Possibly unable to re-establish relevance in industry as market evolves beyond their current IP packages.

Advice to Senior Management – Take bigger risks. Consider a serious management purge.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company