Vantaggi
Interesting product and concept, and opportunity to do more tech-driven work than most urban planners do. Great colleagues across teams - they've always done a nice job hiring a lot of bright, considerate, good people. Not a bad opportunity for early-career planners interested in technology, with decent salary and benefits. Oddly, great work-life balance because the work of planners here is not prioritized or valued. Unfortunate to have to report the cons below, because I had a lot of hope for what this company could become.
Svantaggi
Where to begin? Like many tech startups, Localize is not all it purports to be. What started as a unique vision morphed into a facsimile of other real estate sites, much duller than it could have been. The leadership and vision for the company was hard to pin down, with direction and even day-to-day work often fluctuating wildly at the whim of investors with little explanation. Great colleagues but almost no opportunities to collaborate with them. No opportunities for advancement. Management that is incompetent, micromanaging, deaf, and will periodically denigrate employees or their work, is untrustworthy, and super shaky in their ethics internally and in their marketing - if you're an urban planner by training, expect to have your professional ethics challenged frequently. Ideas, creativity, and independence from employees are not welcome, employee concerns are not taken seriously or addressed professionally, and employees are bullied when raising concerns or negotiating compensation. A highly hierarchical and software-centric structure keeps urban planners from having any real influence or authority in the final content. Sadly, despite the image of a fast-paced and dynamic startup workplace, the work was repetitive, boring, and without intention.