Thought Machine Reviews

Pros

Everyone that works here is extremely intelligent and there are lots of opportunities to learn and grow from them. Alongside this, the tech stack is cutting edge, utilising pretty much the latest frameworks and version for all tools used. There are also lots of social events organised by the company and you are actively encouraged to take part in sport/hobby clubs, many of which are subsidised by the company.... Another big plus is dedicated time with your manager every week/two weeks to discuss anything you want

Cons

Due to the rapid expansion, there are some teething issues with going from a smaller team to a larger team. But I know that management are already in discussions as to how to resolve this issues, so I'm not worried about it.

Advice to Management

Keep doing what you're doing - I really like the emphasis on listening to your employees and making changes as a result of it.

Pros

The greatest thing about Thought Machine is its people. Extremely friendly at every level, with a culture of helping each other out whenever possible. There is no pressure to do more than one is capable of and everyone is encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle, both physically and emotionally. People take part in clubs to forget about work for a while, and those can range from games to sports to music.... There are also many events aimed at getting everyone to meet and hang out with as many other people in the company as possible, from every department. This creates a great feeling of belonging, regardless of team or goals.

Cons

The tech stack, while modern and extremely well maintained by the engineers, is not what I would have chosen. But then again, every programmer has strong opinions on languages.

Pros

A great environment to learn and tackle interesting technical problems. Furthermore, it is a culture built on iterative feedback with the aim of maximising everyone's chance of success.

Cons

Feedback and expectations can sometimes feel/seem ambiguous

Pros

- Working with cutting edge technologies - Great colleagues both technical and social - Space is given to make decisions and own your work - Startup environment with not much bureaucracy helps you to spend your efforts on software engineering matters

Cons

- Work life balance could improve

Advice to Management

Keep the efforts on socialisation, it makes people bond easier and keeps the culture stronger. Deadline settings could be improved by trying to get estimations from engineers doing the work. This is time consuming and with this much client demand hard to achieve but should be aimed for.

Pros

- Strong engineering culture - Work hard and party hard environment - Young company - Many socializing events

Cons

- The environment and events make you stay longer hours in the office - Work from home is discouraged

Pros

* modern tech stack * hugely friendly atmosphere * autonomy * smart, smart people * fantastic business model * pragmatic attitude to spending * truly flexible working * great work/life balance

Cons

* there will be challenges going live * the office is quite dark

Advice to Management

* less middle management please

Pros

This company has a great idea, that is sold really well at interview.

Cons

If you are not in Engineering then you are a second class citizen. They hire very expierenced staff and then have nothing much for them to do. The product is a long way from being finished but the engineers think they are Gods gift.

Advice to Management

The senior management are mostly cluless when it comes to dealing with clients but are really good at buying vast amounts of booze.

Pros

Interesting work, very engineer driven. Fantastic atmosphere and community, extremely welcoming for people of all levels.

Cons

Work volume/pressure can be quite intense, depending on what area you work on. Still a few start-up style kinks to work out.