Google / Facebook Seattle Campuses
What are the differences - cultural, political, day to day, or otherwise - between SF and Seattle's newest FB / Google offices? Are they growing fast? How does it compare to MS? — A Designer.
I've been to Microsoft in Redmond which reminds me a lot of google in Mountain View. We've got more random perks and meaningless trinkets but the general vibe is very similar. When I used to live in San Francisco I spent two sometimes four hours per day on the bus
It actually takes a big toll on you. That won't be the case in Seattle. Fremont and Kirkland are both so freaking nice I've definitely toyed with the idea of moving there
working hours and culture don't seem to be very different than what it's like down here. People are very chill, they work from home fairly often from what I can tell, they check out early on Fridays. The culture at both of the offices seem very googly. If I had to pick one though, I would pick Fremont.
That might be because I went there in the summer and Googlers were paddle boarding or just the quaint small office vibe. Whatever it is, I definitely left feeling like I could work here for years.
I don't know the political landscape of our two offices in Seattle. In general, things are way more political and HQ. But there's also a lot more opportunity and upward mobility down here. It's unlikely that you will have access to some of the most exciting projects in Seattle. It's still very much a remote engineering center.
Just about every single person I've ran into used to work at Amazon or Microsoft.
In my humble opinion, depending on what stage in your career you are in moving to google even the Seattle office is probably a good step forward. Especially if your team is pretty cool and you get to work on projects that you find to be relevant. There's no denying that Mountain View is where all the excitement is at but these days I wouldn't necessarily recommend people to move here
Why not recommending moving to MV?
Good responses. Anyone know about the Facebook presence in Seattle?
We're in the process of moving offices in Seattle. The current office is a dump. Especially compared to our Menlo Park set up.
I'm not a designer, but I can tell you that the Seattle offices are small and quite nice in my opinion. I've been up in the area for work related trips and personal visits the past two years.