Ocado Technology Reviews

Pros

Almost everyone there is a pleasure to work with, you'll find people that are very smart but also humble and happy to help out, and at the same time eager to learn from you. Dealing with people from all over the hierarchy (which exists, but isn't thrown at you), is never a stressful situation and there's a genuine interest in solving problems, not finding who to blame. A very fast paced environment, where you'll... feel like you're building a massive airplane while making sure it's still flying (and you're inside....if you're wondering...). I'll list this in the cons as well since it's not for everyone. This company takes learning very seriously and it shows, everyone is allowed to take some time to learn and improve their skills, but of course, you then are expected to share your knowledge with people around you.

Cons

Fast-paced, lot's going on at the same time and sometimes it seems like we should just focus on one thing at a time. Some processes are still maturing, so not everything runs smoothly...but then again, tell me one place where it does... The complexity of the software, systems and the business in general means that it doesn't suffice to be good in tech, you'll have to learn about other areas.

Advice to Management

Not all departments are treated equally and that causes a bit of discomfort among the employees, more effort should be put into making sure this doesn't happen. Keep doing the changes that are been done recently, it's painful to some but very needed, most people agree with them. Keep being open and as transparent as possible, people appreciate that. With that in mind, sometimes things just take too long to be... decided, as an ex-employee I think it would be ok for the CEO/CTO/CxO to use this quote more often: “If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.” ― Jim Barksdale All in all, management is doing a great job.

Pros

- smart and friendly colleagues - company is investing in interesting technologies (vertical farming, automation, etc) - opportunity to work on a product at scale - free fruit - free safari online subscription + conferences (if you don't get your request rejected) - company seems to be doing well with a lot of deals signed recently and growing a lot - possibility to change teams

Cons

- people team do not help or care even though they spend an hour explaining to newcomers that they help for everything - you have to chase HR a long time in order to get any answer/legal document - too few toilets, they are always full and seldom clean - code quality is disastrous in Ocean (legacy product) and mediocre in OSP (new product) - impossible to work remotely so everyone lies about having doctor... appointments or waiting for deliveries to "justify" working from home - no career growth if you are shy as working outside your team is the only thing that is valued to get promoted - SE4 (highest grade for Software Engineer) is impossible to attain unless you work in the platform team - Social event only happens once every two months and you would be lucky to get a slice of pizza and a beer as there is not enough for everyone - No time is given to improve code or processes - low salary compared to London - if you are unlucky enough to end up in Ocean (legacy product) your career will take a massive hit as technologies and processes are outdated and code quality is abysmal. Management too is outdated in Ocean. - graduate recruits are lured in with promises of working on the new platform with microservices but are then told that there is no room and sent to Ocean - free instant coffee is not good - high turnover

Advice to Management

Value your developers more.

Pros

A lot of different technologies, Linux, Unix, Cassandra, you name it - they use them all.

Cons

I can’t tell any, but must enter at least five words here.

Pros

Interesting technology. Good working environment.

Cons

Unclear / inconsistently applied progression path

Pros

Friendly and capable team, plenty of office benefits, good wage, nice office

Cons

Location - Hatfield isn't the nicest city

Pros

There is a great variety of work. If you're not happy with the current team you are in it is very easy to move to another that is more suitable.

Cons

It's relatively well paid but does not compare to similar jobs in central london regardless of the fact that the work being done there tends to be more complex than your average software engineering job.

Pros

- The company promotes a friendly and positive work culture. - There is always opportunity to learn new things when required. - The company provides a comfortable rewards package, including a generous salary in addition to a wide range of other benefits. - Ocado works on some particularly engaging problems and allows employees the opportunity to work on new projects if requested.

Cons

- The Hatfield head office has become slightly overcrowded due to the company's rapid growth in recent years.

Pros

Great environment, strong in technology

Cons

Less competitive when you become senior