Avoid especially for Backend Engineer (Software Engineer) jobs - Software Engineer Algolia Employee Review

3.0
Jan 25, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Used to be better - Good perks

Cons

- An unhealthy environment. - Everyone is on edge most of the time, collegues are often not considerate when communicating, they are often defensive, retaliatory or aggressive - Weak management. Do not expect support/care from your manager; mine sometimes makes me feel I am the problem when I bring concerns about the poor work environment. I also sometimes feel manipulated. - Poor accountability on leaders. Managers are not held accountable for poor management, but they are quick to use accountability as an excuse to put pressure and enforce unreasonable expectations. - Poor wellbeing support. In spite of the perks, I feel like I am on my own in this company to manage workplace pressure/stress. - The workload is high, especially in backend. They often use fake deadlines to pressure us to do more. There is a strong push for multitasking and we're often spread too thin across multiple tasks. - Understaffed, especially on backend engineering. There is no time to recharge and take stock, and the pressure is always on. - No care, little humility, no accountability to align with their values and clearly uphold their code of conduct. If you still want to work here, you need to be tough-skinned, strongly resilient, and you need to know how to say no and resist pressure. If you're a caring person, look elsewhere; your kindness may be wasted and go unacknowledged.

Explore other reviews about Algolia

5.0
Nov 8, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great people Core values and culture are excellent Cutting edge technology

Cons

Some technical debt. Company's overall focus is on more features, less about simplifying and consolidating complexity for end users. Sales process changes frequently. Expensive service.

3.0
Apr 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Talented, hard working ICs. Many genuinely intelligent people who care about doing quality work. - Technology that COULD be powerful if employed correctly. - Much opportunity for full remote (this could be a negative for some, depending on preference) - Opportunity to travel to conferences, customer onsites, etc. if desired - Fairly good WLB. If you're a top performer, management will trust you to get work done without badgering you.

Cons

- TLDR is this was a great company to join during post-covid ecommerce boom. In the current state of AI hype, Algolia (and the search industry as a whole) have really struggled. I would stay away. I also acknowledge that I am writing this review AFTER the new CEO started. Take that as you will. For those who want a longer list: - Bizarre loyalty to incompetent middle management. If you get stuck with a bad manager, good luck with any form of career development. - At a company level, an absolute refusal to look into what competitors are doing well and reacting to the market. Everything is very rooted in the Algolia way of thinking without an ability to think outside of the box. During my time there, I attributed much of this to having long-tenured engineering leadership. The CTO, for example, has literally only ever worked for Algolia. Great career story, but not great for innovation. - Lack of accountability across the board. Under-performers stick around far too long, particularly at the top. - Zero user research or feedback loop from the field to product, which allows competitors to advance ahead.

4
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