What makes us strong also makes us weak - Anonymous employee Adobe Employee Review

5.0
May 2, 2010
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Adobe is great at fostering a collegial, collaborative environment, respecting its workers, and taking the time to think problems through. I love working for Adobe, am proud of my company and what we have accomplished, and I hope to be here for a long time.

Cons

The downside of our deliberative, collaborative approach is that we don't move fast enough when there's a need to act. We risk losing everything if we don't make fast, smart decisions about the future of Flash, HTML5, and our role in the new multi-screen world, and then execute really well on the plan. We have the talent. We need direction and more leadership. We cut a lot of people in the last 18 months but we're still hamstrung by too much process. Instead of a layoff this fall, how about we revamp our processes instead? Purchasing, Legal, HR, IT -- it's a nightmare trying to get something new through the system.

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5.0
Jun 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Company does its best to take care of employees and avoid layoffs. Great office amenities and flexible work-life balance

Cons

Company is struggling with AI and needed changes. Management is scrambling to figure out the future, and many teams and employees are being bulldozed as a result

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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