Adyen
Large (~4,770)
Tailscale
Small (~290)
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
Tailscale
Best for: Systems engineers who value location-equal pay, generous parental leave, and working on deeply technical networking problems
Ratings
AdyenTailscale
3.8
4.4
Overall
4.1
4.5
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.5
Culture & Values
3.8
4.4
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.6
4.2
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Ingo Uytdehaage)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Avery Pennarun)
Culture Values
Adyen only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact🌱 Learning & Growth
Tailscale only
🌐 Remote-Friendly💎 Strong Comp & Equity🌈 Diverse & Inclusive🪟 Transparent
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven⚖️ Work-Life Balance
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
Tailscale
- Same pay worldwide with 26 weeks parental leave and genuine work-life balance
- Brilliant, nerdy CEO who deeply understands the tech — culture is intellectual and respectful
- Career progression limited — only 3.0/5 on career opportunities
- Middle management still developing — some growing pains as the org scales
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.
Tailscale
Intellectual, engineer-led culture with same pay worldwide and 26 weeks parental leave — but career progression is limited and middle management is still maturing.
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
Tailscale — 53 jobs
💻 Engineering
25
💼 Sales / GTM
12
📋 Product
6
⚙️ Operations
4
📊 Data
2
📣 Marketing
2
Summary
Adyen scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.1 work-life balance rating. Tailscale scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 4.5 WLB. That’s a 0.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Work-Life Balance. Adyen also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact, Learning & Growth. Tailscale also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Strong Comp & Equity, Diverse & Inclusive, Transparent.
On the hiring front, Adyen has 302 open roles and Tailscale has 53 open roles.