Challenging tech problems, big scale - Software Engineering Groupon Employee Review

5.0
Jul 29, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting challenges to apply technology to innovate in the "local" space, we're way more than a "daily deal" company. My colleagues at Groupon are smart, driven, and fun. We're an "agile shop" organized into small feature teams all doing focused work where we are expected to not just deliver software but design and innovate the product. We've just scratched the surface with the systems and products we'll build to achieve our goals and that means lots of opportunities to learn new things and work on different projects, there are new teams forming all the time. Things are getting better and better for engineers, from an employee driven "open transfer" policy (if you want to move teams, find a fit and go for it), per engineer conference/training budget, and regular hack-a-thons everyone is putting effort into making Groupon a great place to be an engineer.

Cons

It's a young company that grew really fast. Lots of things to get better at like making decisions and communicating throughout the organization. With lots of small teams working independently it's tough if you need to coordinate things. It's been a rough year with poor public press and CEO change out.

Explore other reviews about Groupon

5.0
Feb 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Strong technical stack - Strong growth opportunity - Collaborative Environment

Cons

- Tight timeline for work

1.0
Apr 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

No pro’s whatsoever. If you’re thinking about joining this company, save yourself a headache and run.

Cons

“Burn and churn” culture with minimal long-term investment in employees. Limited support and inconsistent coaching from management. Quarterly quotas frequently change, directly impacting compensation and making earnings unpredictable. Commission, if you’re lucky to get any, gets paid every 3 months- if terminated, you lose out on THOUSANDS of your hard earned money Compensation does not align with responsibilities—BDRs are often expected to perform full-cycle sales functions similar to Account Executives on a low base salary, ($40,000) Once placed on a performance plan, there is little path to recovery and increased scrutiny follows. High-pressure onboarding environment—new hires are expected to close deals quickly, with limited ramp time. Promotions appear inconsistent and not always based on performance, which can impact team morale and leadership quality. Concerns raised to leadership or HR are not always addressed in a transparent or timely manner.

3
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