Reviews by job title

24 reviews
1.0
16 Mar 2024

Tech Geniuses ≠ Great Leaders

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- The company's position on the war in Russia is admirable. - The opportunity to work alongside with smart and talented colleagues

Cons

Location Policy is total mess. There is a noticeable disparity in how employees are treated based on their geographical location. Staff in Amsterdam and Munich appear to enjoy significantly better working conditions compared to their colleagues in Serbia, Berlin, Cyprus, Armenia. It kinda feels like where you're based determines how well you're treated. It's like there's an invisible line dividing the cool kids from the rest. Yuck! HR Feels Like a Myth. Interaction with HR seems to be confined mostly to managerial levels, with a lack of direct engagement with mid-level employees. Trying to get a straight answer from HR is like going on a treasure hunt, but without the map. They seem to have their favorites, and if you're not a lead, good luck getting their attention. And if you got, it would be 90% lies and manipulation. Onboarding Process. The absence of a structured onboarding program can be challenging for new hires, requiring them to navigate their roles and responsibilities without formal guidance. It's more like being thrown into the deep end and told to swim. Work a lot without any appreciation. There is an expectation for employees to work beyond their regular hours. But if you like you profession and enjoy to do it in all of your time, don't hold your breath for a pat on the back, a bonus in your paycheck or even just “thank you” words. It's expected that you'll enjoy working at JetBrains every waking moment for your own pleasure, without extra compensation. One-on-One Meetings? No, haven’t heard. Regular one-on-one meetings tend to feel like formal reports to management rather than opportunities for genuine feedback and professional development. They're less "How can we help you grow?" and more "Here's what you've been doing wrong." Tech Geniuses ≠ Great Leaders. Being a coding superstar doesn't automatically translate to being a team leader. We've got people leading the charge who can tackle any tech challenge but struggle just be polite with people and other basic people skills. This mismatch can create some uncomfortable moments, from feeling undervalued to dealing with some pretty elementary attempts at wielding power. It's like they're more into the power trip and playing mind games than actually leading. And if your JetBrains’ team leader seems a bit too full of themselves, talks down to people, or acts like they're the center of the universe, well, you shouldn't be too surprised.

avatar
JetBrains Response
2y
Hello, Thank you for your feedback. As a company, we genuinely appreciate your willingness to share your thoughts with us. Your insights help us identify areas for improvement and work towards creating a better working environment for all our employees. You've raised several important points, and we want to assure you that we take them seriously. Allow us to address each of them: 1. New Office Locations: We've made a serious decision to react to the war, prompting us to urgently open new offices in various locations. We moved employees based on to better match the cost of living at the location, documentation situations, and competences. Offices in Armenia, Serbia, Cyprus, and Berlin are being developed rapidly, and this year, we're transitioning employees to newer, more comfortable spaces. Serbia: expected Q3/Q4 2024 Berlin: May 2024 Armenia: running Cyprus: expected Q3/Q4 2024 While construction takes time, we're committed to ensuring that all employees, regardless of location, have access to similar working conditions. 2. Human Resources Support: Our HR department has been heavily involved in the startup processes for our new locations, which temporarily affected our ability to support employees at the same level as before. However, we've introduced the Team Partners initiative to address this gap. Team Partners provide employees with a dedicated channel to voice concerns, seek support, and exchange information. 3. Onboarding Processes: We acknowledge the need to adapt and scale our HR processes, including improving the onboarding experience for new hires. We understand the importance of formal guidance and are actively working to enhance our onboarding programs to provide better support and guidance for all employees. 4. Feedback Mechanisms: In response to the increased demand for one-on-one meetings, we're implementing a 360 review program by mid-summer 2024. This program will allow employees to provide feedback, seek development opportunities, and foster better communication between teammates and team leads. 5. Continuous Improvement: We're committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and transparency. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us achieve this goal, and we encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts and suggestions with us. Once again, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We're committed to addressing your concerns and creating a more inclusive, supportive, and efficient work environment for all our employees. HR Team
5.0
17 Oct 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Lots of challenges and opportunities. - Good benefits. - Cool office space. - Many smart colleagues.

Cons

- Chaotic, although it seems to be improving. - Way too much of a Russian environment.

5.0
3 Jan 2025

Excellent

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work culture, nice colleagues

Cons

Actually, I’m not sure that there are ones

4.0
22 May 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I’ve only been working here for a short time, but I already feel truly grateful to be part of the team. The hiring process was perfectly organized, and from day one, I’ve been impressed by how supportive and inspiring my colleagues in the sales team are. I’m really happy to be here and proud to be part of the company!

Cons

I’ve noticed the company is slowly starting to feel a bit more corporate. I hope we can maintain the great culture and personal touch that makes working here so enjoyable.

5.0
13 Aug 2025

A great place to work

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good culture and colleagues, excellent workplaces and offices

Cons

The company is growing, which introduces many new processes and complicates the hierarchy. But I think these are just growing pains.

1.0
18 May 2026

Toxic leadership

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Once you get over the fact that the majority of employees and nearly all team leads are white Russian men and you hear Russian everywhere, you realise that JetBrains employees are actually so kind. Yes, there are many problems but the people are genuinely good people.

Cons

Extremely toxic, abusive leadership in two largest departments, yet the business does absolutely nothing to address this. Feels like they actually want this to transform the culture and naturally reduce the number of employees, pretending not to want layoffs. CEO and board couldn't care less. Everybody knows about it including HR while people are paying with their mental health and great colleagues are leaving.

2.0
22 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Large stable company with good benefits and a nice office. Some colleagues are great.

Cons

As a company that builds IDEs, they only care about developers. If you are not writing code or managing someone doing it, you are considered an underclass. Diversity issues: 80% of colleagues are Russian-speaking. They're trying to change that, but it will take a very long time. Management style in some departments is unempathetic and overall toxic. When I was fired for "underwhelming performance" without zero prior communication from my manager, my colleague who worked there for over 5 years said "classic JetBrains". My other colleague was almost fired as well. Instead of giving them proper feedback, the manager offered them to "think about their behavior" and figure it out on their own. Luckily, they had a chance to rotate internally.

1.0
28 Nov 2024

experiece

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

experienced colleagues, cozy office, interesting tasks

Cons

constant stress, hypocracy, russian speaking

Viewing 1 - 3 of 24 Reviews

Glassdoor has 339 JetBrains reviews submitted anonymously by JetBrains employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if JetBrains is right for you.