Is IBM a good company to work for as a Staff Software Developer?

Staff Software Developer professionals working at IBM have rated their employer with 3.6 out of 5 stars in 478 Glassdoor reviews. This is a lower than average score with the overall rating of IBM employees being 3.9 out of 5 stars. Search open Staff Software Developer Jobs at IBM now and start preparing for your job interview by browsing frequently asked Staff Software Developer interview questions at IBM .

Does IBM pay Staff Software Developer employees well?

Staff Software Developer professionals rate their compensation and benefits at IBM with 3.3 out of 5 stars based on 478 anonymously submitted employee reviews. This is 8.7% worse than the company average rating for salary and benefits. Find out more about Staff Software Developer salaries at IBM.

How happy are Staff Software Developer professionals working at IBM?

63% of Staff Software Developer employees at IBM would recommend their employer to a friend. This rating has decreased by 20% in the past 12 months. Staff Software Developer professionals have also rated IBM with a 3.9 rating for work-life-balance, 3.7 rating for diversity and inclusion, 3.5 rating for culture and values and 3.5 rating for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at IBM?

Software Engineer (4346) , Applications Developer (2909) , Software Developer (2420) , Project Manager (2322) , Senior Software Engineer (2036) , Senior Consultant (1846) , Consultant (1844) , IT Specialist (1112) , Application Developer (1105) , Associate Systems Engineer (1030) , Business Analyst (1025) , Systems Engineer (871) , Manager (850) , Managing Consultant (847) , Intern (824)

What are the pros of working at IBM according to real employee reviews?

"Good work life balance and good to be able to work from home although that’s often at the discretion of your manager" ((in 11024 reviews)); "The people are great and the Extreme Blue program was excellent for learning principles of product design." ((in 4994 reviews)); "IBM Canada provides flexible work hours and one can work from home almost all the time." ((in 4351 reviews)); "1. Extremely good work culture 2. Packages are good 3. Direct contact to senior level employees" ((in 3396 reviews)); "Good benefits; IBM prides itself on being a leader in Healthcare Benefits and incentives for healthy living." ((in 3327 reviews))

What are the cons of working at IBM according to real employee reviews?

"Low salary and the increment was less than 2% even top performer unless you got band promotion" ((in 5427 reviews)); "• Hard to get a promotion unless you have a good manager that is respected and fights for you" ((in 2180 reviews)); "The pay is low and not much hope it will get better even through hard work and delivering results" ((in 2008 reviews)); "No Salary hike.No On site opportunity.Very few are lucky getting visas and traveled to on" ((in 1778 reviews)); "Poor Leadership; Weak Execution; Benefits to employees are getting worse; Money spent on dividends instead of R&D." ((in 615 reviews))

IBM Staff Software Developer reviews

3.6

63% would recommend to a friend

(478 total reviews)

Arvind Krishna

51% approve of CEO

48% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (478 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Staff Software Developer employees have rated IBM with 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 478 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Staff Software Developer professionals have a good working experience there. IBM is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Staff Software Developer professionals compared to other employers within the Informationstechnologie industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

478 reviews

3.0

Nov 27, 2025

R&D Declining in North America

Staff software developer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of different products / projects. Promotes learning, innovation.

Cons

Has been transferring R&D positions to less expensive countries. No more growth in North America.

2.0

Nov 13, 2025

Hire and Fire

Staff software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Competitive Salary Joining Bonus WLB (Totally based on project and seniors/Manager) Hybrid work culture Free courses to learn Yearly events and parties

Cons

Hire and Fire policy, every year or two year once mandatory layoffs will happen...will be picked by PM based on some random criteria and tagged as Low performer and force people to put down papers.(No option of internal transfer also) Too much favouritism. Internal politics. No proper HR team, anything required should go through some AI bot which will take eternity to get what we need. No proper KT will be given here as they are scared that people will learn and replace them.

2.0

Oct 30, 2025

Good Benefits, Poor Leadership & Communication

Staff software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Honestly, I couldn’t identify any real pros during my time here.

Cons

Internal politics — reports of a political culture, high turnover depending on leadership.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 478 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

General Dynamics Information Technology

3.7★Compensation & Benefits

SAIC

3.7★Compensation & Benefits

Concentrix

3.6★Compensation & Benefits

Dell Technologies

3.5★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at IBM

IT-Systemelektroniker (m/w/d) - Assembly, Installation, Test, QC

Halstenbek

View job

Fachinformatiker (m/w/d) für Systemintegration - Assembly, Installation, Test, QC

Halstenbek

View job

Restaurantleiter (m/w/d)

Erfurt

View job

Restaurantleiter (m/w/d)

Jena

View job

Assistant Manager (m/w/d)

Jena

View job

IBM

IBM Staff Software Developer reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

R&D Declining in North America

Hire and Fire

Good Benefits, Poor Leadership & Communication

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at IBM

IBM reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

IBM reviews FAQs

Company ratings over time

Jobs at IBM