Databricks
Large (~7,000)
Samsara
Large (~5,200)
Best For
Databricks
Best for: Data engineers who want strong comp and deep technical pedigree at scale
Samsara
Best for: Sales and ops professionals who thrive in a high-growth public company selling real IoT hardware+software to physical industries
Ratings
DatabricksSamsara
4.1
4.0
Overall
3.9
3.9
Work-Life Balance
4.0
4.1
Culture & Values
4.3
4.0
Comp & Benefits
3.8
3.8
Senior Mgmt
3.9
3.8
Career Opps
👍 82% Recommend
👤 88% CEO Approval (Ali Ghodsi)
👍 80% Recommend
👤 84% CEO Approval (Sanjit Biswas)
Culture Values
Databricks only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
Samsara only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate
Shared
🌱 Learning & Growth💎 Strong Comp & Equity🎯 Direct Product Impact
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
Samsara
- Clear career trajectory with frequent promotions in sales
- Real-world product impact building IoT for physical operations
- Engineers rate WLB at only 2.9/5 despite company average of 3.9
- Remote work used to justify overwork including weekends
Bottom Line
Databricks
Choose Databricks if you want elite data infrastructure work with strong equity — but brace for constant org changes.
Samsara
Strong sales culture and real-world product impact at massive scale, but engineers report significantly worse WLB than the company average suggests.
Open Roles
Databricks — 837 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
367
💻 Engineering
269
📋 Product
49
📊 Data
21
⚙️ Operations
18
🧠 ML / AI
13
📣 Marketing
12
👤 HR / People
8
💰 Finance
7
🎨 Design
6
⚖️ Legal
5
🎧 Support
1
Samsara — 403 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
190
💻 Engineering
54
📋 Product
38
🧠 ML / AI
12
📣 Marketing
10
📊 Data
8
🎧 Support
7
⚙️ Operations
5
👤 HR / People
3
🎨 Design
2
⚖️ Legal
2
Summary
Databricks scores 4.1/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.9 work-life balance rating. Samsara scores 4.0/5.0 overall with a 3.9 WLB. That’s a 0.1-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Learning & Growth, Strong Comp & Equity, Direct Product Impact. Databricks also emphasizes Engineering-Driven, Diverse & Inclusive. Samsara also emphasizes Ship Fast & Iterate.
On the hiring front, Databricks has 837 open roles and Samsara has 403 open roles.