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Dolby Software Engineer Reviews
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Software EngineerApprove of CEO
Kevin J. Yeaman
6 Ratings
Pros
The benefits are fantastic - 9/80 work schedule, 401K, parental leave, ESPP (in 40 reviews)
The company has a true work/life balance, without sacrificing either (in 33 reviews)
Cons
Slow decision making with very little accountability (in 19 reviews)
Too many decision makers with contradictory agendas at upper management level (in 9 reviews)
![Dolby Logo]()
"Good benefits"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
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RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Dolby full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
- Good benefits, flexible working time and 9/80 is one of the best.
- Free movies.Cons
- A lot of managers and politic.
Dolby 2017-07-10 21:57 PDTHelpful (6)
![Dolby Logo]()
"Large company with massive organizational and technical debt."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsNegative OutlookNo opinion of CEOI have been working at Dolby full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Relaxed work culture. Many different projects are always going on at once, so during your time as an engineer here you'll have the opportunity to work on a lot of different kinds of projects. Competitive pay for the area. Great facilities.
Cons
Middle and upper management is risk-adverse and lack a clear direction. This leads to many different projects being created to pursue many different platforms that often end up reinventing and repackaging the wheel. Projects are often born as cobbled together frankensteins of other projects, leading to a lot of technical debt. Management oftentimes ignores this, instead pushing for feature creep.
Advice to Management
Take the time to align projects across the company, rather than focusing solely on marketable features.
Dolby 2017-04-25 14:04 PDTHelpful (2)
![Dolby Logo]()
"Senior Software Engineer"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
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RecommendsPositive OutlookI have been working at Dolby full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
Passionate Colleagues
Working in SF
9/80 work schedule is awesomeCons
Market outreach can be better
Processes can adapt better
Better pay would be niceDolby 2016-09-05 00:11 PDTHelpful (5)
![Dolby Logo]()
"This Is a Review Title"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Dolby full-time
Pros
The company seems interested in the well-being of its employees. 1275 Market street is a brand new building with many amenities. 9-80 work week gives employees an extra weekday to enjoy. Never pressured to work overtime. Flexible hours. Truly the leader in the audio space. Many 30+ year employees with lots of experience to share.
Cons
Not at the bleeding edge of software development (most development is in C). Old school methodologies and software development philosophies are hard to budge at times. Not many young engineers.
Dolby 2016-07-07 10:09 PDTHelpful (17)
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"A Bad Place for Women in Tech"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
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RecommendsPositive OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Dolby (More than a year)
Pros
A comfortable place for white old males to retire.
Cons
A punch of white males over 40 running the company. Zero % woman in upper technology management positions. Women are populated in submissive administrative positions, such as Executive Admins.
Advice to Management
Wake up and warp into 21st century. Promote women into management positions.
Dolby 2015-12-15 18:49 PSTHelpful (5)
![Dolby Logo]()
"Average"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookNo opinion of CEOPros
9/80 work week, results in lots of time off.
Cons
Commute to SF from south bay takes a very long time. Decisions are made slowly - so slow that sometimes the market has past the want. Indecision because of consensus building takes so long.
Advice to Management
Focus actual delivery of a usable product and not the next new thing
Dolby 2015-08-11 07:50 PDTHelpful (2)
![Dolby Logo]()
"Great relaxed culture"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Dolby full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Innovative, Relaxed, Great location, Great people, 5/5 work life balance
Cons
Not much room to grow, not big benefits like bigger companies
Dolby 2014-03-26 00:58 PDT![Dolby Logo]()
"A sleeping giant with lots of potential."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
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RecommendsNeutral OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Dolby full-time (More than a year)
Pros
The innovation in audio technology is sheer brilliance.
Cons
I feel that the technology and opportunities are there. But the company is slow to react to them. Too much political hoopla and not enough initiative.
Advice to Management
The engineers are the ones who and will make this company great: take care of them and they will take care of the company.
Dolby 2013-10-17 07:41 PDTHelpful (3)
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"Needs some tough love."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
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- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookNo opinion of CEOI have been working at Dolby full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
It's in San Francisco.
9/80 is great for long weekends.Cons
- Overly corporate.
- Some really terrible middle managers - control freaks to be sure. Maybe just too young and trigger happy. However this is causing employees to leave at a steady rate.
- Somehow not a good culture for innovation, which is not good for a company that depends on it more than most.Advice to Management
- Act boldly - it's sad when you cant do basic things your competitors are doing.
- There are better management candidates amongst your current employees. Being a good manager is more than telling people what do do and making lots of noise.
- Also replace employees who leave, or try and improve retention.
- These corporate re-org's which just re-arrange a few things don't ever seem to have the desired effect. Some real restructuring to a much flatter system might be useful. Does Dolby really need assigned parking?Dolby 2013-10-26 07:37 PDTHelpful (3)
![Dolby Logo]()
"Meh"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
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- Comp & Benefits
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Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Dolby full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
Lots of really sharp people
Cons
Disorganized, haphazard and yet very corporate
Advice to Management
Talk to your grunts on the ground
Dolby 2013-08-06 17:48 PDT
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