Adyen
Large (~4,770)
Scale AI
Large (~1,200)
Best For
Adyen
Best for: Payments and backend engineers who value a no-nonsense engineering-first culture with above-average WLB and the challenge of processing global financial transactions at massive scale
Scale AI
Best for: Ambitious builders who want critical AI infrastructure work serving top-tier clients
Ratings
AdyenScale AI
3.8
3.5
Overall
4.1
2.7
Work-Life Balance
3.9
2.9
Culture & Values
3.8
3.5
Comp & Benefits
3.6
2.8
Senior Mgmt
3.6
3.6
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Ingo Uytdehaage)
👍 56% Recommend
👤 60% CEO Approval (Alexandr Wang)
Culture Values
Adyen only
⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Scale AI only
No unique values
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact🌱 Learning & Growth
Pros & Cons
Adyen
- Smart, humble colleagues with high standards and a market-leading payments product
- Good work-life balance with trust-based culture, free lunch, and international team trips
- Below-market compensation (~20% less than peers) with poor stock options
- Middle management quality issues as company scaled — inexperienced managers and internal politics
Scale AI
- Building critical AI data infrastructure used by OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and the US government
- Strong compensation for engineers — competitive base + equity
- Work-life balance rated 2.7/5 — long hours common during client deadlines
- Culture and values scored 2.9/5 — inconsistent management quality
Bottom Line
Adyen
Adyen's engineering culture is well-regarded in fintech — principled, WLB-conscious (4.1/5), and technically rigorous — but expect a methodical Amsterdam-centric culture rather than a high-growth startup vibe.
Scale AI
Choose Scale AI if you want to build data infrastructure for OpenAI and the US government — but expect long hours and inconsistent management.
Open Roles
Adyen — 302 jobs
💻 Engineering
82
💼 Sales / GTM
67
👤 HR / People
16
⚖️ Legal
15
📋 Product
14
💰 Finance
12
📊 Data
11
⚙️ Operations
11
📣 Marketing
5
🎨 Design
4
🧠 ML / AI
2
🎧 Support
1
Scale AI — 167 jobs
💻 Engineering
60
🧠 ML / AI
26
📋 Product
15
💼 Sales / GTM
13
⚙️ Operations
6
⚖️ Legal
5
📣 Marketing
5
👤 HR / People
3
📊 Data
2
💰 Finance
2
🎨 Design
1
🎧 Support
1
Summary
Adyen scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.1 work-life balance rating. Scale AI scores 3.5/5.0 overall with a 2.7 WLB. That’s a 0.3-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact, Learning & Growth. Adyen also emphasizes Work-Life Balance.
On the hiring front, Adyen has 302 open roles and Scale AI has 167 open roles.