Great worksplace - Software Engineer Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team Employee Review

Enthusiastic and friendly team members, remote work, lots of learning opportunities

Some things don't get followed up on and occasional disorganization but nothing too bad

HOT fills a niche in the sector which is fun to be a part of. Flexible work schedule is nice. There is a lot of opportunity for HOT, I just hope HOT is still around in 2 years based on the current lack of direction and funds coming in.

After receiving a large sum of money a few years ago, there was no plan on how to actually spend it. Many of the staff with the experience of HOT were pushed out over the last few years, and on top of biased hiring/layoffs, now most staff don't have the background needed. Leadership recently massively cut budgets and staff, but protected their own. Now more than half the org is new and either in support or management roles. But they don't know what to do so talk in circles and use localisation as an excuse not to give anybody clear roles or direction. HOT is the hardest place I have ever worked to get work done. Upper management doesn't manage the work, leaving everybody else to manage themselves, manage up, AND do their work. There is no direction or long term planning. If you have traditional privilege, this might not be a problem as your work will get visibility naturally and you can do whatever you want. But for most, you have to keep fighting for your work.