Chainguard
Mid (~350)
Granola
Small (~50)
Best For
Chainguard
Best for: Security-minded engineers who want remote-first open-source work with strong comp
Granola
Best for: Craft-focused generalists who love native macOS development and want to build a consumer-quality AI product people genuinely love
Ratings
ChainguardGranola
4.5
4.8
Overall
4.2
4.5
Work-Life Balance
4.3
5.0
Culture & Values
4.2
4.5
Comp & Benefits
4.1
5.0
Senior Mgmt
4.0
4.7
Career Opps
👍 88% Recommend
👤 90% CEO Approval (Dan Lorenc)
👍 100% Recommend
👤 100% CEO Approval (Sam Stephenson)
Culture Values
Chainguard only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🔓 Open Source⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Granola only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact🧩 Wears Many Hats
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Pros & Cons
Chainguard
- Fully remote with outstanding benefits — 100% employer-paid insurance for employees and families
- Founders are practitioners who understand what engineers and security teams need
- Growing so fast that some inefficiencies exist, though improving
- Fully remote means you miss in-person interactions with teammates
Granola
- Users absolutely love the product — everyone at Granola genuinely cares about quality
- Plenty of opportunities to work on things that make a real difference on a small team
- 5 days in office by default (with flexibility for life circumstances)
- Small team, so things can be busy — you'll wear many hats
Bottom Line
Chainguard
Choose Chainguard if you want to build supply chain security tools in a remote, open-source-first culture with strong equity — but expect a fast-moving startup pace.
Granola
Choose Granola if you want to work on one of the most loved AI products with a small, London-based, in-office team obsessed with craft — but note the 5-days-in-office policy is explicit and non-negotiable.
Open Roles
Chainguard — 63 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
27
💻 Engineering
24
📣 Marketing
3
📋 Product
2
🎨 Design
1
Granola — 16 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
6
💻 Engineering
4
📣 Marketing
2
🎨 Design
1
👤 HR / People
1
⚖️ Legal
1
⚙️ Operations
1
Summary
Chainguard scores 4.5/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.2 work-life balance rating. Granola scores 4.8/5.0 overall with a 4.5 WLB. That’s a 0.3-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Strong Comp & Equity. Chainguard also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Open Source, Work-Life Balance. Granola also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact, Wears Many Hats.
On the hiring front, Chainguard has 63 open roles and Granola has 16 open roles.