Automattic

The company behind WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce, Jetpack, and more — powering 43% of the web

The consensus on Automattic: The original remote company with genuine flexibility, but facing significant culture challenges. Choose Automattic if you value true location-independence and open-source mission — but go in with eyes open about the current internal climate.

2005

Founded

Fully Distributed

No Offices

~1,900

Employees

90+

Countries

Culture Overview

What it's really like to work at Automattic

Automattic is the company behind WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce, Jetpack, and several other products that collectively power 43% of the web. Founded in 2005 by Matt Mullenweg, the company has been fully distributed since day one — no offices, ~1,900 employees across 90+ countries.

The culture has historically been praised for its remote-first approach, open-source values, and flexibility. However, recent Glassdoor data paints a challenging picture. The overall rating has dropped to 2.9/5 with only 40% of employees recommending the company. Reviews cite leadership concerns, organizational instability, and declining psychological safety. That said, work-life balance remains relatively strong at 3.8/5, and the remote-first model is genuine.

Glassdoor Ratings

Automattic Glassdoor Ratings & Employee Reviews

2.9

Overall Glassdoor Score

Based on 503 Glassdoor reviews

Culture & Values 3.0

Compensation & Benefits 3.7

Work-Life Balance 3.8

Career Opportunities 2.6

Overall Rating 2.9

40% Recommend to a Friend

~40% CEO Approval (Matt Mullenweg)

Employee Review Themes

Working at Automattic: Pros & Cons

✓ What employees love

✓ Fully distributed since 2005 — one of the most experienced remote companies in existence
✓ Open-source at the core — WordPress powers 43% of the web
✓ Location-independent salaries — pay is not reduced based on where you live
✓ Genuine flexibility — make your own hours, work from anywhere

✗ What could be better

✗ Overall Glassdoor dropped to 2.9/5 — significant decline in the past year
✗ Only 40% of employees recommend — well below industry average
✗ Career opportunities rated 2.6/5 — growth paths are unclear
✗ Recent organizational instability and leadership concerns cited frequently

Engineering Culture

How the engineering team works

Tech Stack

PHP JavaScript React Node.js MySQL WordPress

Open Source

WordPress is one of the largest open-source projects in the world. Automattic actively maintains and contributes to WordPress core, WooCommerce, Gutenberg, and dozens of other open-source projects.

Communication

Heavily async, text-based culture built around P2 (internal blogging platform). Meetings are rare. Most decisions are made through written discussion, fitting a global distributed team across all time zones.

Team Structure

Organized into small, autonomous teams called "divisions." Engineers have significant ownership over their projects. Annual company-wide meetups (Grand Meetup) bring the distributed team together in person.

Open Positions

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