Databricks
Large (~7,000)
Poolside
Small (~150)
Best For
Databricks
Best for: Data engineers who want strong comp and deep technical pedigree at scale
Poolside
Best for: AI researchers who want frontier code generation work with genuine remote flexibility and Paris offsites
Ratings
DatabricksPoolside
4.1
3.8
Overall
3.9
3.5
Work-Life Balance
4.0
3.9
Culture & Values
4.3
3.8
Comp & Benefits
3.8
3.6
Senior Mgmt
3.9
3.6
Career Opps
👍 82% Recommend
👤 88% CEO Approval (Ali Ghodsi)
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Jason Warner)
Culture Values
Databricks only
💎 Strong Comp & Equity🌈 Diverse & Inclusive🎯 Direct Product Impact
Poolside only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🌱 Learning & Growth
Pros & Cons
Databricks
- Engineers who built Spark, Delta Lake, MLflow — deep technical pedigree
- Strong compensation and equity packages consistently above market
- Hypergrowth means org changes are constant — teams restructure frequently
- Some legacy Spark-era tech debt that can slow down new features
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
Databricks
Choose Databricks if you want elite data infrastructure work with strong equity — but brace for constant org changes.
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
Databricks — 842 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
353
💻 Engineering
284
📋 Product
39
📣 Marketing
34
📊 Data
22
👤 HR / People
12
🧠 ML / AI
12
⚙️ Operations
11
🎨 Design
6
💰 Finance
5
⚖️ Legal
5
Poolside — 12 jobs
💻 Engineering
9
📊 Data
2
🧠 ML / AI
1
Summary
Databricks scores 4.1/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.9 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: Engineering-Driven, Learning & Growth. Databricks also emphasizes Strong Comp & Equity, Diverse & Inclusive, Direct Product Impact. Poolside also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats.
On the hiring front, Databricks has 842 open roles and Poolside has 12 open roles.