I'll keep this brief. My brother received an offer to join Niantic, specifically the team working on Go Battle League. After research, we have some concerns that this sector of the company is currently in turmoil, but would like some clarification. If anyone can provide insight, it would be much appreciated. #gaming #offer #pokemongo #niantic
Niantic is a shitshow. You see some very senior people leaving. Leadership is in shambles, no idea of strategy or vision. The company is highly political and promotions are done based on buddy-buddy system. There is more-less 2 kinds of people here, those who are here for very long time and happily coasting and those who are here less than a year and waiting for their signup bonus to vest. On top of that, not really any refreshers (they tell you every 2 years, don't trust that), no yearly salary adjustments, bonus based purely on politics and not at all at performance. The team you are talking about has some very nice people but I know at least 2 people from that team who are interviewing right now. Big problem is also inexperienced leadership. Most TLMs, which are tech-lead manager are neither good tech leads, nor managers. This comes down to vague definition of leadership at Niantic. The higher-ups cannot let go and micro-manage and are scared let others do decisions. I can refer you to people who recently left, they can give you more insights. There are some people who were brave enough to share their opinions on Glassdoor but many don't. This is mostly because the company has a retaliatory legal system against past employees who reveal the bad practices in the company.
Did he get options or RSUs?
What turmoil
Something about a major re-design of this portion of the game and disagreements between management on how to handle certain aspects. But take this with a grain of salt as my source isn't very reliable. Was hoping to get some clarification.