Terrible, delusional leadership - Software Engineer Capital One Employee Review

1.0
18 Nov 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay and benefits were competitive

Cons

“Strategy” consists of 4 days of the CEO talking AT you about, no lie, how the discovery of electricity led to the invention of computers. Amazing insight from a bank that wants to think of itself as a tech company. Onboarding new hires is one size fits all. Stacked ranking performance reviews reward managers who can BS, and ICs who gate keep knowledge and pretend they work alone/the team doesn’t exist. 15% of workforce was mandated to be placed in Below Strong ranking and automatically put on performance improvement plans. This is a ploy used by leadership to fire massive amounts of employees without calling it a lay off. Teams were reorganized 3 times in less than a year of service. Remote employees treated poorly, preferential treatment given to those who commute to the office. Haphazard plan and no transparency for requiring RTO.

Explore other reviews about Capital One

5.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Capital One is a tech-first company. Most of the latest tech skills, tools, and practices are implemented. Most teams have interesting work where you learn and get to apply your skills.

Cons

Often, the new development work is assigned to the full-time employees. Access to many of the tools is also restricted to the FT employees

1.0
1 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay can be decent compared to GovCon. Some people are a pleasure to work with. Other non-pay related incentives.

Cons

Never heard more nonsensical topics during meetings; people sharing their sexual preferences, flaunting overly dramatic personal lifestyle decisions, diversity to the point of failure, etc. Hearing the term "white guilt" in a professional setting was, well, pretty unprofessional. Stack ranking for performance reviews is a mess. Someone has to have an "F" regardless of their performance because that is what their line of business is allotted. Be prepared to be held responsible for actions any Sr Leadership would just sweep under the rug under their own circumstances. If a manager doesn't like you, regardless of your productivity, you're toast unless you're able to find another LoB to support. HR / AR are just a check in the box and will most likely point you from one to the other and back again without resolving any issues. You'll find yourself curious as to what leadership does as they continue to scrape managerial responsibilities from their plate, to yours. Last but certainly not least; you may find yourself working hard on a project; nights and weekends, just in case that work life balance is feeling a little too perfect. Fret not, someone will surely assist in taking credit for the hard work you've put in. I'm sure none of these things will happen to you, though. Best of luck!

4
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