Fantastic coworkers, excellent benefits, management seriously out of touch - Anonymous employee Joby Aviation Employee Review

3.0
2 Oct 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

HQ is gorgeous, meals and benefits are highly competitive, friendly and fun coworkers. Very cool product and lots of good perks.

Cons

Classic mismanagement and poor communication between teams. The company has grown so fast that there is a distinct lack of cohesiveness. Middle management is extremely invested in making themselves and their own IPTs look successful to upper management, to the detriment of cross-IPT collaboration and ultimately the product. Priorities are confusing, unclear, and conflicting. No one really seems to have a clue what the big picture schedule is other than "certify the damn aircraft". You are unlikely to get any real help or feedback from management if you are struggling. They will show you the door without warning rather than implement any form of PIP. Joby is racing head first to the edge of a cliff on a rocket fueled by $100mil+ quarterly spending. I hope they succeed, but I'm not holding my breath. Such is life in the cutthroat tech startup world.

Explore other reviews about Joby Aviation

5.0
17 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Amazingly talented team. Good leadership led by a true engineer CEO. Base salaries are not the highest in this space, but equity packages and associated liquidity make up for it. Decent benefits overall. Free meals are delicious and healthy.

Cons

Some growing pains evident as they transform from a small startup building prototypes to a large aerospace company building certified products at scale. Some dysfunction in the organization; some teams are not well-managed and/or understaffed. Occasional tension between cadres from different backgrounds, e.g. silicon valley, electric vehicles, and legacy aerospace. Leadership priorities sometimes shift unexpectedly, leading to churn and overly-aggressive schedules. Work-life balance can be a challenge at times.

1
5.0
3 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fun place to be as an engineer. The company philosophy is to be highly vertically integrated across the full stack of technologies necessary to build and operate electric aircraft. This results in an environment where you are surrounded by the tools and technical expertise to build pretty much anything. The company mission is motivating. There is a steady stream of highly interesting projects to work on. The company culture is very open and friendly. 3 free meals per day, with most people eating together at communal tables.

Cons

Management frequently sets highly unrealistic schedules and goals, to the point that no front-line worker has any faith in the timelines. No one is motivated to reach and achieve a deadline that is impossible with the resources given. Space is at a premium in San Carlos. Everyone is crammed into the building like sardines. Few windows.

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