Horrible place for engineers - Staff Software Engineer PayPal Employee Review

1.0
Oct 12, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary was competitive at the time, stock price is currently good.

Cons

Horrible, dysfunctional internal politics. Management that is staggeringly tone def. Willingness to announce 900 million in acquisitions and 12% layoffs in the same memo shows total disregard for employees. Virtually no investment in the technology platform that runs the company. Project managers are allowed to force engineering compromises, then move on to the next project before the bills comes due.

Explore other reviews about PayPal

5.0
May 15, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good company to work for, good work life balance

Cons

They should have more developers than other titles.

2.0
Apr 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

PayPal has a lot of potential. It has two very strong brands in PayPal and Venmo with significant awareness and user bases that other companies envy. There are pockets of teams that are really pushing the envelop to reimagine what PayPal and Venmo could be—especially the Venmo team—and to move with speed given the company must stay focused and not waste time with Apple Pay, Shop Pay, and so many other competitors nipping at PayPal's heels and aggressively taking market share.

Cons

While some teams are pushing to self-disrupt and are moving fast, too many teams—and I'd argue the majority of the company–are living off of PayPal's laurels from the late 2010s through the pandemic. The culture and mindset have to change for the company to remain competitive. Otherwise, they are the Titanic and they're sinking slowly. The former CEO who only last 2 years tried diversifying the company's revenue, planning for the future. But the board and its former chairman (now new CEO) felt he wasn't moving fast enough to stabilize and marketshare. Instead, the board hired the former chairman who made computers and printers at HP—another sinking ship—to lead the oldest fintech company. The loss of confidence in the leadership team and the strategy are only accelerating.

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