Pros
I worked as a software engineer at Research Now, so this review is from that perspective. 1. Research Now has a very interesting problem space and the opportunity to use a huge range of modern, cutting-edge technologies. Name something cool, and RN engineers are probably using it every day. 2. Teams work in an agile environment, with well designed team rooms. The teams are cross-functional, and include the product owner and QA. 3. The technical leadership is all about getting stuff done. You won't die a slow death in hundreds of meetings. 4. Engineers are given great leeway in how solutions get implemented. There are not ivory tower "architects" preaching down to you. We used Java, Groovy, Kotlin and NodeJS/ReactJS with deployment to Docker. 5. Fun-loving, casual work environment. Definitely a startup feel. Shorts and teeshirts, with a fridge full of beer on Fridays. 6. Good work-life balance, if you pay attention and manage it. There is an infinite amount of work, so don't boil the ocean. 7. They'll pay well for talent, but the rest of the benefits are merely average If you want to work on hard problems using great technology in a low friction environment, you can have a lot of fun here. This has a very startup-like feel. People who can't handle a fast-paced environment won't survive here, but those that do can have a rewarding experience.
Cons
The business side of the company is a trainwreck, and ultimately why I left. 1. The company was purchased by a flaky east coast PE group, and they micro manage finances at a monthly level. 2. The CEO is purely a bean counting sock puppet for the PE guys. There is no leadership or strategic thinking. Everything is about how to make the books look good to keep the puppet masters happy. 3. The company used to have a strong culture but that's gone into the toilet. Plenty of stealth layoffs on the business side. The engineering organization is largely shielded from this, but you definitely get the feel you're tolerated only because they desperately need you.