senior software engineer

software engineer

software test engineer

software engineering manager

principal software engineer

Sonos

There are come incredible and unique things about Sonos that I love - directness and transparency at all levels of the organization, people who are deeply passionate about music and the music-listening experience (and therefore our mission), and a level of caring and ownership about the company that I've never experienced anywhere else.  That said, it's a hard and exciting time for us right now.  There is a lot of foundational work to be done to build a truly long lasting company and not always enough resources to do it.  We've lost some of the "start-upy" culture elements that people who've been here a while loved and small pockets of employees are trying to retain that while we also work on the scaling and process work and become more cost-containment focused.  So we are in a stage of a lot of change and evolution - it will be a telling 6-18 months and so far I feel optimistic that we'll be able to keep the fundamental things about us that make us different.

Cons:  
 -They do not  let employees review their managers, so when people are mismanaged no one ever knows. People quietly disappear often due to not being set up to succeed or they were mismanaged and no one would ever know. I have seen people uproot their life to move to one of the main locations then disappear a few months in. 
 - Not much upward growth. Its a big company that does not do well working across silos. 
- They now have lot of competition. 
- Company is not as cool as you think it would be, don't believe the product branding crosses over into the work place. Not diverse, some silos can be bro-ish.
- No 401K matching 
- No Raises 


Pros   
   - Good discount on product
   - Decent Bonus    
   - Office spaces are nice in all the locations  
   - Stock - would be nice if it was something that could be cashed out. 
   - Cool product to work on
   - Decent Vacation and time off policy 

Advice to Management:

Set people up for success, it is not always the individual contributor that is the problem. You created a culture where managers are never given reviews are not held accountable from the people they manage. Get more people leaders, treat people well not just managers/directors.

I scheduled interviews and made sure that all candidates were taken care of during their interview process.  

I learned a lot about the full-time work world and plan to apply all of my knowledge gained into my new roles in the future. 

My manager was remote in Boston, which made things rather difficult since he wasn't always there to see what I do day to day or help me in the work place itself. 

My co-workers were absolutely amazing and so helpful in everything I did.  

The hardest part of the job was the heavy, high stress workload where I would be juggling 15-20 candidates and all their paperwork at one time and would find myself jumping all over the place. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was the constant workflow I had and the environment was amazing as well.

Working at Sonos has been an incredible experience! A typical day is collaborative and engaging, filled with problem-solving and teamwork. I’ve learned so much about innovative tech, customer focus, and cross-functional communication. Management is supportive and approachable, fostering growth and creativity. The workplace culture is inclusive, inspiring, and dynamic, encouraging new ideas and celebrating diversity. The hardest part of the job can be balancing multiple priorities, but it’s rewarding to see the impact of hard work. The most enjoyable part is working with passionate, talented colleagues to create products that truly enhance people’s lives.

Very fast paced work environment yet bogged down by too many managerial decisions, not a lot of room for calling your own shots to do the right thing without kicking a hornets nest of critical opinions.  Not a lot of career advancement opportunities.  Complete lack of understanding from global leadership on how the rest of the company works, no understanding of necessary workforce requirements and headcount for the magnitude and responsibilities the job entails.  With the most recent round of layoffs the company just made incredibly difficult jobs even more difficult by cutting manpower when it should be feeding the machine to make itself run smoother.

Great product, visionary engineering team and a growing brand that consumers love to advocate. Open work environment in very nice offices. Ping pong table, numerous lounge areas and awesome music systems throughout. Employees work hard and do find time to play as well, and take time out for their families. Very much a start up environment, with challenging cross-functional project management. Somewhat sink or swim environment with minimal onboarding. Perfect for the employee who wants to jump in, and doesn't mind a constantly changing atmosphere. Good people.

I have seen many workplaces and this was by far the best: the atmosphere, the culture, the products, the benefits...Second to none!  The management was flexible and caring, professional and knowledgeable.  The office was terrific, they went through great pains to make you comfortable and my colleagues were a breath of fresh air to work with.  Lots of interesting work and you get see everything all the time.  Only issue is that the office is in Santa Barbara area which has a really high cost of living with VERY limited housing options, similar to bay area in California.  But, it's a great small town and I will always remember my time with the company as a positive experience.

Used to be a great place to work where people were supported and cared for, so despite the lower salary range people were still happy because they enjoyed working with each other and were passionate about the product. 
In the past year, there were multiple rounds of layoffs due to the catastrophic app launch (mostly due to mistakes in senior leadership's long-term planning, despite warnings from engineers) and morale has dipped to the lowest it has ever been. Employees are pushed to work double-time to fix the leadership's mistakes while all promotions, salary increases, and bonuses are canceled. 

Sonos is a great high tech consumer product pioneer success story, it has stuck around from competing in the early 2000s with the audio companies (e.g. Bose) and then all big tech and their smart speakers. The company has a unique culture and great vibe. Technology-wise there are different areas to learn from, but on the software side it feels slower-paced and risk-adverse. Work life balance is generally good, although it depends on the group.

The company has some serious issues to work out in terms of it's contract workers. They need to either be explicit that the position will not be converted to full time or provide an explicit time frame. Just having some one hang on with vague promises of a full time position is bs. Otherwise the company is fine. Decent working culture but they aren't really willing to take the steps to take the company to the next level. Lots of potential to expand but due to internal policies it's difficult to actually act on expanding.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior software engineer 6 salaries reported	$166,433 per year
Software engineer 1 salary reported	$178,131 per year
Software test engineer 3 salaries reported	$158,333 per year
Software engineering manager 3 salaries reported	$182,667 per year
Principal software engineer 3 salaries reported	$151,167 per year

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