Employer of choice, or of necessity? - Senior Manager Adobe Employee Review

2.0
Dec 5, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Benefits & compensation are competitive * Site leaders plan events to make us feel included and part of one company * Intriguing mix of employees, via many acquisitions ... everyone from corporate folks to creative folks; it's a nice blend

Cons

* Lots of long-term employees can mean obduracy ... "This is how we do things here." Running a business unit via oligarchy is risky. Without fresh opinions, how can you know you're not seriously off track? * Little chance for promotion or mobility because of low attrition at the top * Senior-manager-heavy: we are having trouble hiring younger people, and some of our key talent isn't that far from retirement * PTO policy *sounds* great, but many managers discourage you from taking time off * Some truly abysmal people managers who have little experience running teams but who are given no motivation or resources to change their ways. * Everyone seems burned out most of the time. No one smiles any more. If you say 'good morning' in the hallway, people wince because they're afraid you're going to ask for something they don't have time to do.

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5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

all good things considered to work here

Cons

often times, it can feel pretty boring

4.0
Jun 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Refreshing focus on employee wellness * Brilliant colleagues * Compelling problems on interesting tools * Good work/life balance culture... generally (see cons) I've been at a few big tech companies and Adobe is one of my favorites. I feel empowered to make impactful changes here, I'm constantly stretching myself in fun ways, and the products we make are incredible. Product and engineering have big dreams, and all the resources we need to realize them.

Cons

* Big time crunch culture around arbitrary goals By far my biggest disappointment has been just how hard product pushes on big projects with arbitrary deadlines and difficult scope. It turns into cutting corners and delivering sub-par experiences even though we absolutely have the talent and capability to make some exceptional things if we just let the dang thing bake a few more months. I'd be more impressed with the tight clip if the goals were reasonable for good business reasons, but as far as I can tell the reason usually boils down to "some high-level manager wanted X and thought Y sounded like a good target date". * Comp growth leaves something to be desired. Raises feel pretty flat, though it's not the worst thing since stock rewards can be pretty good as appropriate for performance. Career progression is pretty good here too - I just find it odd how stale the base pay increases are year to year.

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