Pros
I was told all kind of horrible stories about the hostile environment in the company before a new CTO appointment. But everything has changed since then. The place is friendly now, at least amongst developers. We also had been regularly going out together to a pub after work, I really hope this tradition will stay in, it really lacks in big companies.
You also get hands on interesting technologies while working on a client/server application. You have a quite big freedom to experiment with the code, learn and try new things with a minimal control. It's also a big problem, because the code lacks consistent quality without explicit design & review process. I believe it's getting better now, because some quality people were hired and they were given freedom to improve things.
The SW manager has a great personality, really nice to work with him and learn from him. He possesses an outstanding system view able to resolve the problems even not looking at the code. He is great software architect comprehending various aspects of the system.
- Work life balance is good, regular 9-5.
- A good location, close to subway.
- Massage on site, free lunch (but junk), kitchen with free fruits, tea, coffee.
- Friendly colleagues
Cons
- Not organized SDLC
- Too many meetings, it's overkill.
- No feedbacks from the management
- No place to grow
- Lack of long-term view which will kill the company imo
- Mediocre salary, below the industry