Airbnb
Large (~7,300)
Poolside
Small (~150)
Best For
Airbnb
Best for: Engineers who want Live Anywhere flexibility with strong comp and no pay cuts
Poolside
Best for: AI researchers who want frontier code generation work with genuine remote flexibility and Paris offsites
Ratings
AirbnbPoolside
4.1
3.8
Overall
4.0
3.5
Work-Life Balance
4.2
3.9
Culture & Values
4.2
3.8
Comp & Benefits
3.5
3.6
Senior Mgmt
3.5
3.6
Career Opps
👍 80% Recommend
👤 87% CEO Approval (Brian Chesky)
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Jason Warner)
Culture Values
Airbnb only
⚖️ Work-Life Balance🌈 Diverse & Inclusive🔓 Open Source💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Poolside only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats🌱 Learning & Growth
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly
Pros & Cons
Airbnb
- Live and Work Anywhere policy — genuine remote flexibility with no pay cuts
- Strong compensation and benefits with quarterly travel credits and educational stipends
- Limited career growth — senior roles often filled externally, promotions are slow
- Post-IPO cultural shift — increasing bureaucracy and internal politics at mid-to-senior levels
Poolside
- Remote-first with monthly Paris gatherings
- Cutting-edge code generation research
- Early-stage with limited structure
- Comp may trail larger AI labs
Bottom Line
Airbnb
Choose Airbnb if you want genuine remote flexibility and travel perks — but promotions are slow and bureaucracy is growing.
Poolside
Choose Poolside if you want cutting-edge code AI research on a remote-first flat team (ex-GitHub CTO leadership) — but expect early-stage ambiguity and comp that trails the larger AI labs.
Open Roles
Airbnb — 244 jobs
💻 Engineering
76
📊 Data
23
📋 Product
14
🎧 Support
14
🧠 ML / AI
12
⚖️ Legal
11
⚙️ Operations
11
📣 Marketing
10
💼 Sales / GTM
9
💰 Finance
3
👤 HR / People
3
🎨 Design
2
Poolside — 12 jobs
💻 Engineering
9
📊 Data
2
🧠 ML / AI
1
Summary
Airbnb scores 4.1/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.0 work-life balance rating. Poolside scores 3.8/5.0 overall with a 3.5 WLB. That’s a 0.3-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Remote-Friendly. Airbnb also emphasizes Work-Life Balance, Diverse & Inclusive, Open Source, Strong Comp & Equity. Poolside also emphasizes Engineering-Driven, Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats, Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, Airbnb has 244 open roles and Poolside has 12 open roles.