Depressing, no growth, last of the old guard - Software Engineer Adobe Employee Review

1.0
Oct 2, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pulling market capital out of years of unrealized gains, creative cloud is a marketing move for the ages. Great work lifestyle, 6 hour days, lots of vacation, over paid when threatening to quit... Great to be a lifer.

Cons

Anyone with an ounce of motivation has left this company. You will fall behind and become over paid, leaving you with little experience to move on. No growth products and little innovation. Command and control leadership. Rules and plans are handed down from above.

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5.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits Treated well Sabbatical Policy

Cons

Large Sometimes bloated Political Manager dependent

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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