Strong Engineering Culture Undermined by Executive Misalignment and Top-Down Decision Making - Senior Software Engineer XTM International Employee Review

There is a clear disconnect between the C-suite and the day-to-day realities of projects and team workflows. This gap often results in decisions that feel misaligned with how the company actually operates, making it harder to drive effective and sustainable change. Since the recent CTO transition, there has been an aggressive push for changes. While change itself is not the issue, many initiatives appear to be driven by assumptions rather than a solid understanding of the current state of the organization. Communication is inconsistent, expectations are not always clearly defined, and follow-through is lacking. Major decisions are frequently made without sufficient consultation with experienced direct reports. Process shifts (e.g., enforcing sprint-based workflows) should involve strong alignment with Product leadership and product managers. Structural changes or discussions around role redundancies should be closely coordinated with Engineering Directors and HR to ensure decisions are informed, fair, and data-driven. There is also a visible bias against remote work at the executive level, yet this position has not been clearly justified or supported with evidence. This creates frustration and uncertainty, especially in a company that previously operated successfully with mature remote processes.