Tough Business but Rewarding - Recensione dipendente - Product Ops Manager presso CASTLE GLOBAL

I have been working at Castle for 2+ years so that makes me one of the earlier employees. The work environment here is extremely positive and supportive, although we are all a close bunch so arguments do happen and we do fight. This is not a culture for the meek, but we all want to do big things. People here really want to see you and the company perform at a high level. There is increasingly some healthy competition in the office now that we are getting more products, and finally some decent sized engineering teams. With all great things Castle has to offer, it does come with some expectations. You are expected to both work hard and have a great attitude. Top performers here have good work ethic, attitude, and make an effort daily to deliver. you also should be a fast learner as the company does move fast and sometimes changes come from lot of seemingly random places. top performers at the company breathe castle and they are always online and available - whether it is 3am or they are attending their sister's wedding.

I don't have any negative things to say about the company. But I can provide some realities which other people seem to complain about in other reviews. As you may read in other reviews from past employees, this job is not for everyone. In engineering, you have to be one of the strongest and willing to work hard. people who love engineering and can build scaleable products do well here. academic pedigree is important here as well given the backgrounds of the founders. there is an office in india as well so you ahve to avialable to that office late at night if in sf, and in indian office you have to be available in the mornings. you are given lot of ownership, and people who produce here are given lot of autonomy but the company does have a need for reporting as it is a way we can maintain a no manager culture. everyone here does real work so if you want to coast, this is not the place for you. company is fundamentally frugal and values the money it generates from its properties and has raised from investors, so this is not a place where you will be showered with more and more perks. you have have more than functional facilities in both sf and indian offices, and standard perks for startups. but if you want pool tables and ps3 stations, this isn't the company for you. new indian office is pretty nice that was designed by a professional firm with lot of new furniture and art work, whereas sf office was the work of our CEO and COO's trip to Macy's. they bought a bit too many couches so there is lot more space to sleep in the office after a long night. but the furniture doesn't really match... they bought used furniture from a failed startup for sf office.

Learning is always in abundance, either through the vigor of the work you are personally doing or through interactions with very smart and helpful colleagues. The team is very strong technically and is able to work remarkably quickly. The opportunity to personally impact one or multiple large scale products is incomparable to anywhere else I can think of. Every employee truly has the opportunity to help shape how the company operates, and eager employees with a lot of initiative take the most advantage of this. Everyone is friendly and fun to be around. It is a company that balances high ambition with an ability to not take itself too seriously, and that makes the day to day work experience both enjoyable and enriching.

There is a lot of work to be done, and the goals are ambitious enough that employees often find themselves stretched thin. The team is underemployed, so until that is resolved the team is at times overworked. A lot of the team is inexperienced. That, compounded with the unique vision for the company, means that there are plenty of growing pains and often employees are forced to deal with a lot of ambiguity.