Smart People. Terrible Culture - Lead Software Engineer Capital One Employee Review

2.0
Aug 23, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Decent Tech Stack. Everything is AWS based -Work with very smart people -Benefits are some of the best I've seen outside of Government

Cons

- Toxic work culture created by stack based ranking performance reviews. Managers keep lists of other teams/individuals screw ups during the year and use it during performance reviews. You could have a team of 8 rock star engineers but because of stack ranking, one has to be fired every year. -Nothing gets done unless something is on fire or escalation. -Performance review criteria constantly changing and benchmarks for roles are hidden. -Secret layoffs. Co Workers suddenly disappear and management doesn't talk about it. - The internal hiring process is broken. The workday job reqs don't actually reflect anything the positions entail. The only way to find a new job internally is networking during corporate happy hours.

Explore other reviews about Capital One

5.0
Jun 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Nice people and truly great work life balance (can be team dependent). Most people are in office 2-3 times a week. Food options are decent (6.8/10) but not as subsidized as I would prefer although they are less pricey than eating out at a Cava/Chipotle.

Cons

Not many, don't have anything to say.

3.0
Jun 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the smartest individuals in their fields. The focus is always “forward” and the company is willing to adopt new tech to stay ahead for the purposes of the company’s (key word there) benefit. Great PTO and benefits.

Cons

The company’s drive to keep itself moving forward has caused it to regress in other aspects. As a leading tech company first, and leading bank second, it’s embarrassing what their stance is on hybrid and remote work. The company can easily accommodate remote options for their employees not near main offices, but chooses not to. I am relocating to a major city with no major CapOne presence and their response was “too bad, either fly up weekly or you’ll be terminated for not meeting the hybrid requirements”. It’s embarrassing because most of my week is remote anyways. I wonder how many current and past employees have been impacted, and I’m worried about how much talent they’ll be pushing away in the coming years.

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