Approach with caution: Frigid design culture - Senior Product Designer Instacart Employee Review

Management, process, culture, accountability I was recruited and convinced to leave my former job. The interview process was fairly straightforward, the product space was interesting, and much of the team felt inviting/enjoyable to work with — so I decided to take the leap. The moment I joined, that all changed. Like, a 180 degree turn. Management and design processes played out as hyper cold, top-down, and nearly impossible to satisfy. Navigating the day-to-day felt more unrealistic as time went on. Unapproachable leadership created an uncomfortable atmosphere and made me feel even more isolated given the nature of purely remote work. In my many years in the industry, I had never felt so alone, poorly treated in reviews, and with nowhere to turn for guidance. The culture and process were simply not what I was primed for, and ultimately led to us parting ways.