No more a good company, promotes toxic culture - Director, Software Engineering Mastercard Employee Review

1.0
5 May 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- HR policies are mostly employee centric. Lot of leaves, flexible working hours.

Cons

I'll talk about only the group(Architecture and Technology) where I was working. The culture may be different in other groups. First advice - If you get a job offer from Architecture & Tech(known as A&T) group then don't join. It is most toxic group I have ever seen in my 20 years(approx.) of career. They hired a group of low skilled(but obsessed about being super smart) individual contributors and given them VP, SVP, Principle Engineer and other senior roles. They are neither good Individual contributors nor a good People Leader but still given top leadership roles. When one person fails entire project in a VP role then they are shifted to IC role. After failing in an IC role they are given back VP role. They keep doing such shuffling just to hide their weaknesses. Talking about their ICs - these low skilled Principle engineers review a small design document for 3-6 months(ideal duration should have been 2-4 weeks) and delay the delivery. In the design review meetings, they discuss about everything but the real problem statement. MICROMANGEMENT is at its peak. People at Director level are also managed in a very bad manner. Either follow every order or you may be forced to leave or mentally harassed by your seniors. Even if you complain about the micromanagement practices, then people will behave as if it is a accepted management practice at Mastercard. Overall, my experience with Mastercard was very disappointing. The company has shifted from having a positive, healthy culture to one that has become highly TOXIC.

Explore other reviews about Mastercard

5.0
24 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture. Stable. Analytical and rewarding if you find the right product.

Cons

Slower career growth. Not as influential

4.0
27 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Mastercard does a great job fostering an inclusive and supportive environment. There are genuinely good people throughout the organization, and leadership often invests in employee engagement through events, recognition, and culture-building initiatives. I enjoyed many of the relationships I built while working there, and there are teams that truly care about collaboration and supporting one another.

Cons

Compensation at the director level did not feel competitive compared to the level of responsibility expected. Career advancement can also be extremely challenging due to how top-heavy the organization is with senior leadership roles. There are a large number of Senior Vice Presidents, sometimes without clear scope or experience aligned to the title, which creates limited room for high-performing employees to grow. At times, it felt like senior leaders were being hired primarily to manage or communicate with other senior leaders, rather than drive meaningful operational impact. In product and go-to-market roles especially, priorities are often heavily driven by funding decisions. It can be frustrating when projects suddenly shift in importance or remain underfunded for long periods of time while awaiting senior leadership review. This sometimes leaves highly talented employees in limbo, unable to move initiatives forward despite strong momentum or market opportunity. The organization can also be very comfortable with the status quo, which creates a slower pace that many employees seem accustomed to. For people who are highly motivated and eager to drive change, it can feel difficult to navigate the number of roadblocks and layers of approval required to move initiatives forward.

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