
Ask HN: What is it like working at Netflix? - kjackson
I&#x27;m considering accepting an opportunity at Netflix, but I&#x27;m not sure what the environment is like.  Can someone at Netflix or who has worked at Netflix give an objective description as to what it&#x27;s like there?  I&#x27;ve read that everyone there is very smart, and the bar is set extremely high.  I am very good (amongst the top people in every group I&#x27;ve worked at), but I&#x27;m not a god so I&#x27;m worried that I&#x27;m not good enough and that I will be let go within a month.  Are things really that competitive and cutthroat as I&#x27;ve heard, given what I heard was a 10%&#x2F;quarter turnover rate?
======
kethinov
I've known people who've worked at Netflix and have complained about some
toxic policies.

Some highlights I can recall:

Unlimited ESPP rewards already wealthy employees. If you can afford to not
take any pay for six months, you basically get a big bonus.

I was told there was (and may still be) some kind of stack ranking system.
Employees are fired if they're in the bottom x percent of performance reviews,
even if they did a good job. In a company that's obsessed with everyone being
exceptional, merely being adequate is considered failure.

Unlimited vacation time is like an Orwellian joke. What it really means is you
don't accrue PTO, can't cash it out like at other companies, and how much
vacation you really get to take is a constant negotiation with management. The
net effect is nobody takes any because nobody wants to be the guy who takes
too much vacation, for fear of being perceived as one of those lower
performing employees that gets let go each year.

The whole thing sounded icky to me.

~~~
eddiezane
I really like Travis CI's take on unlimited vacation time [0]. Probably won't
ever catch on in the US though.

0: [http://www.paperplanes.de/2014/12/10/from-open-to-minimum-
va...](http://www.paperplanes.de/2014/12/10/from-open-to-minimum-vacation-
policy.html)

~~~
nchelluri
That was a great article and I now have a good deal more respect for Travis
CI. Thanks for posting. Seems like a very healthy way to look at things.

------
diab0lic
I currently work at Netflix. Opinions contained herein are entirely my own,
sorry for any errors I typed this on a phone. Hope I can help you make a
decision. More than willing to answer any questions, just reply here. :)

The turnover rate you quoted is undoubtedly overstated or at least out of
date. As for getting fired within a month, it won't happen. People are
generally let go for a repeated pattern of major failures, and I can elaborate
here if necessary.

I work on an incredibly high performing team at Netflix and would consider
myself to be one of the bottom percentile people on the team. I don't fear for
my job, and I don't have to. I get amazing coworkers, and I learn a lot almost
every day. I can really depend on my team.

I'll address a few criticisms I've seen in other comments:

Unlimited vacation: It's not BS. My manager recently told the team to take
more vacation. I responded by letting him know that next week if be taking a
month off. His response "just so we're both clear, you're telling me, not
asking me, because I'd be really uncomfortable if you felt like you had to
ask."

Performance: Coworkers are generally really high performers, people genuinely
care, but the tendency to hire senior employees means a lot of family people,
and there is work life balance. There is no "stack ranking" system in place
and to my knowledge there never has been.

Unlimited stock contribution being a bonus for already rich employees: Really?
Really?! I say this as someone who came in with a negative net worth and no
cash flow. You're taking risk in exchange for potential reward with the stock
plan. Those who are rich can afford to take more risk, and they are taking
more risk by putting more in. Sure maybe not risk of ruin but there is
financial risk. What's wrong with this? it's been lucrative, I was considered
a "heavy contributor" by company standards but pretty light compared to some I
talked to.

Expectations: You set and manage these for yourself. Sometimes you screw then
up. This is sometimes a challenge for me, but it's entirely within my own
influence. This quarter I set lower commitments and took the first month off.
It hasn't been an issue.

Again, opinions are my own.

~~~
kethinov
> Those who are rich can afford to take more risk, and they are taking more
> risk by putting more in.

No, that's not how ESPP works. There is zero risk that they'll make less money
than someone who takes it all as salary instead. It's a guaranteed significant
increase in income.

> Unlimited stock contribution being a bonus for already rich employees:
> Really? Really?! I say this as someone who came in with a negative net worth
> and no cash flow.

Yes, really. Wealthier Netflix employees are paid more than you because they
can afford to defer 100% of their comp for six months.

~~~
diab0lic
Right, I apologize, I had assumed you're familiar with the Netflix option
program and just inappropriately using the term ESPP. We have a rather
straightforward option program in which you purchase an immediately vesting
option for 40% of the current market price, strike price is equal to the
current market price. If the stock doesn't increase 40% (used to be 20%) then
you don't just break even, that money is gone. There is risk.

I wasn't asking really in terms of wether or not it was true, I'm asking
really as in you somehow think this is some negative point against the
company. I'm just not sure I understand how providing an opportunity to
employees is a negative?

The wealthier Netflix employees who accept more risk than me are paid more
than me, because they're in a position to accept more risk.

~~~
kethinov
Interesting, thanks for the additional detail. I am not a critic of a system
like that.

However, that doesn't explicitly refute my point. Am I wrong in assuming that
there are no limits on ESPP contribution?

If that is indeed the case, then my argument stands.

~~~
diab0lic
I don't believe there are any limits on the option program contribution. I'm
not trying to refute your point, I imagine we just both have a philosophical
difference in view on wether or not this is good.

~~~
kethinov
I'm not talking about options, which as you pointed out do indeed carry risk,
I'm talking about ESPP. They're different programs.

~~~
svachalek
I don't think there is an ESPP at Netflix.

~~~
CrankyFool
Take this as authoritative: There's no ESPP at Netflix. I've been here long
enough to remember when there was one :)

~~~
kethinov
Back when it was in place, was 100% contribution a thing or was my info
incorrect for back then too?

------
mbesto
I don't have any intimate knowledge of working at NetFlix, but holy crap they
pay well: [http://data.jobsintech.io/companies/netflix-
inc/2015](http://data.jobsintech.io/companies/netflix-inc/2015)

PS - In almost every business I've ever encountered, people are a lot less
godlike than you might perceive from an external view.

~~~
anxrn
Netflix pays only base salary, no stocks (RSUs). Total compensation at most
other comparable companies has a significant stock component. The H1B reports
only include base salary. So which they do pay well, no doubt, it is
misleading to compare them to other companies based solely on H1B data (i.e.,
base salary).

~~~
lewisl9029
Fair enough, but personally I'd rather take the extra cash and manage my
investments myself (and avoid the whole golden handcuffs business that I keep
hearing about).

~~~
anxrn
I agree. I didn't mean to imply the Netflix model was poorer.

------
relix42
If you're good and what you do and have passed the interview process, you'll
be fine. The fact that you are self-aware enough to understand the high
performance culture and what it takes to meet that bar further indicates that
you'll fit in.

There isn't a stack rank system at all. Nothing like it in fact.

High turn over - more so in the customer service side of the business; not the
engineering side.

Source: work at Netflix, interview a lot of engineering candidates, have
thrown things at diab0lic.

[edit 1] Answering a few other questions:

Unlimited vacation - yup it's true and encouraged. Being unable to cash out
2-3 weeks of vacation isn't something I see as a big deal. I take more time
off than that. My co-workers not my managers make me feel bad about it. Why?
They're on vacation.

Work and work load - I choose much of what I work on. My job is to make things
better at Netflix and I'm trusted to do so.

High salary - many other companies put some of your remuneration in RSUs,
options, or other vehicles that may create future benefit. So you're gambling
and you have to stick around to see if it pays off. Netflix pays you your
salary in cash right now; no golden handcuffs in the form of vesting schedules
or stock levels. (There is an optional options program)

~~~
diab0lic
Thrown work at me? Or are you in the CORE bullpen next to me and have
physically thrown things over the wall at me? :P

~~~
relix42
Both

~~~
diab0lic
Well I appreciate all the swag and whiteboard markers that come over the wall.
:)

------
spoon16
I worked in two different groups while I was at Netflix. I loved it. The
engineers on their team are consistently good and there is low tolerance for
under performers. They take their culture seriously and their leadership is
very strong. I'd be happy to work for them again in the future.

Re: expectations about excess work. It's your own responsibility to set
expectations about what you can get done and how quickly you can get it done.
I was reasonably successful at this and took lots of time off the last year I
was there, m wife had our first baby. Since I was able to set reasonable
expectations I got a great raise that year, despite the time that I took off.

~~~
cesarbs
> low tolerance for under performers

I panic whenever I read stuff like this. What is an under performer? How do I
know if I'm one? How can it be expected that everyone in an environment is a
spectacular code ninja that does utterly awesome stuff all the time?

~~~
beachstartup
_> How can it be expected that everyone in an environment is a spectacular
code ninja that does utterly awesome stuff all the time?_

it's not. you just have to find a range of tasks that you are able to perform
at a high level at, and then make sure that your job is doing it, with
confidence, day in and day out.

if the link in the other comment is true, it seems like their senior salary
range is 200-300k/year. in that range, the excuses stop, and the results
begin, or you're fired, have a nice life.

in the real world it actually begins at 100k but technology skews this figure
much higher since basically anyone with a pulse and a keyboard can make 100k
in this industry.

~~~
joshrotenberg
And sometimes they may not even have a keyboard.

------
justizin
I had a manager who worked for Netflix, and looked into a position with them
after leaving his group, asking him roughly this question.

Unsatisfyingly, his answer was, it depends on who you work for. They have a
"Freedom and Performance" culture that I'm sure you have seen a slideshow PDF
for, and my old manager said that to some people this means, "Get your shit
done and work when / wherever you want", to others it means, "Categorically
you must work 80 hours a week". Since he was of the former school, I got the
impression he worked for someone from the latter school.

I didn't get an offer, so it was an easy choice. ;)

~~~
perfTerm
Yea I'm working for a company focused on "autonomy" at the moment. What this
has resulted in is calls at all different times of day and night, and an in
inability to get questions answered during normal working hours.

The calls themselves I don't mind so much, it's the stress of looking at your
phone on a Saturday morning and seeing five messages "Hey are you awake?",
"How about now? Time for a call?". Or messages at 9:30 at night, 2:00 in the
morning, 8:00 AM. Instead of autonomy it's more a constant feeling of stress
about work. Instead of freedom it ends up being prison.

I've let them know I'm moving on in two weeks to greener pastures. I'll have
an office instead of working from home, and a schedule. The heirarchy won't be
flat thus reducing the number of people I have to communicate with. Everyone
will be based in my hometown meaning I won't be communicating over google
hangouts which I am so looking forward to. And as an engineer I sort of really
dislike meeting with clients and I'm glad I won't have to anymore. I can
explain things to people, and I will willingly, but to have to explain
technical concepts to the nontechnical frequently and over hours of hangouts
is tiring, uninteresting, and frustrating.

Essentially, it's not for everyone. And that went a bit off topic, but beware
the virtuous intention which paves your path to hell.

------
nailer
Don't work there but friends in ops industry have them as a client. Cool
story: to handle EC2 performance variance, they systematically spin up some
multiple of required capacity, have all the instances run a benchmark, then
terminate the slowest and least deterministic.

~~~
taf2
Pretty sure this was in this presentation
[http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/brendangregg/performance-
tu...](http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/brendangregg/performance-tuning-
ec2-instances)

------
kentbrew
Netflix employee 2009-2011; built the user-facing parts of the original iPhone
and Android apps. If you are an engineer--sorry, can't speak to other roles--
and you can possibly swing a stint at Netflix, do so. They move fast, pay a
ton, and you'll build a universally-loved product with some of the smartest
people in the world.

~~~
kentbrew
Oh, and with regards to unlimited vacation (or parental leave, for that
matter): if your company offers it, take it. Especially if you are a manager,
and 10x especially if you are a founder or C-level person. If leadership
doesn't take vacation, vacation is Not Taken.

------
mrspeaker
Just out of interest, Did you ask about this in the interview, and if not, is
there a reason you didn't? Did it feel "not very open"?

------
jtwebman
Normally high paying jobs means they are trying to keep people and not the
most fun jobs.

------
superfunc
Had a friend who worked at apple, went to netflix, and was back at apple
within under a year. It may have been a move to get a raise with apple, but it
could have also been a reflection on netflix. Take that for what you will.

~~~
discardorama
I have a colleague who did this too; and he explicitly says that he did it to
get a massive raise at his current position. Since Netflix pays a lot, he was
able to get his current employer match Netflix.

------
CrankyFool
I've been at Netflix for 2211 days (a little more than six years). Joined as
an IT engineer, became an IT manager, became an engineer in the Product
Engineering side, then became a manager in the Product Engineering side. At
least two of the people who've already responded in this thread report to me.

I wrote my impressions of six years at Netflix here:
[http://royrapoport.blogspot.com/2015/06/when-youre-having-
fu...](http://royrapoport.blogspot.com/2015/06/when-youre-having-fun.html)

------
noobplusplus
Don't treat HN like Quora.

~~~
vonklaus
> I've known people

> I don't have any intimate knowledge of

> Don't work there but friends in ops industry have

> I had a manager who

> Had a friend who worked at apple, went to netflix

Just to disagree with the hivemind here, at this point literally only one
reply talks about actually working at Netflix personally and I would expect
glassdoor, quora or linkedin to be a much better venue for this.

Your attitude aside, this sentiment is likely correct.

edit: 4 people showed up and are answering questions and being generous with
their time. nvm, suck it Quora, HN it is.

