Oort is a seed stage startup that functions like a soulless corporation.
Warning: You will be completely micromanaged with no autonomy on how you’d like to work.
HR is unhelpful. At the advice of my coworker, I made a complaint to HR verbally and through email - which had screenshot evidence - that I was facing workplace harassment from senior management and that it was negatively impacting my mental health and work performance. Four days after filing a complaint I was terminated from employment and locked out of my email without warning, so I no longer have written evidence of said complaint. Incredibly egregious move. My only take away from this place is to always screenshot your emails at work.
I had several times made verbal complaints to the CEO that I was facing harassment from senior management and rather than address the issue I was emailed a document that was designed to allow my harasser to closely monitor me or otherwise be subject to termination. Horrible.
I had received nothing but positive feedback from coworkers in my six months at Oort until senior management was hired.
Since then senior management has:
- blamed me for mistakes that male engineers made
- constantly berated and talked down to me publicly and privately
- made it difficult to understand requirements
- slapped me on the wrist whenever I’d ask my coworkers a question
- unfairly claimed that I was a “bottom-performer” because I was not working as fast as my mentor who had 15 years of experience (I only had 7 months by the time I was fired)
- made up baseless accusations that I write incorrect code, when in fact it was correct and the design had already been discussed and approved by my mentor
As embarrassing as it was, my mentor had to tell senior management to cut it out.
Senior management knows that they won’t be fired because CEO firmly believes they are necessary to achieve series A.
The irony of it all is that Oort discussed good company culture less than a month before I was fired.
After all that I went through, Oort refused to provide sufficient severance pay.
I truly feel that Oort is not a safe space for women. As a female engineer, I feel completely disillusioned with the tech industry.
