Databricks
Large (~7,000)
Tailscale
Small (~290)
Best For
Databricks
Best for: Data engineers who want strong comp and deep technical pedigree at scale
Tailscale
Best for: Systems engineers who value location-equal pay, generous parental leave, and working on deeply technical networking problems
Ratings
DatabricksTailscale
4.1
4.4
Overall
3.9
4.5
Work-Life Balance
4.0
4.5
Culture & Values
4.3
4.4
Comp & Benefits
3.8
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.9
4.2
Career Opps
👍 82% Recommend
👤 88% CEO Approval (Ali Ghodsi)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Avery Pennarun)
Culture Values
Databricks only
🌱 Learning & Growth🎯 Direct Product Impact
Tailscale only
🌐 Remote-Friendly⚖️ Work-Life Balance🪟 Transparent
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven💎 Strong Comp & Equity🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
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
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
Databricks
Choose Databricks if you want elite data infrastructure work with strong equity — but brace for constant org changes.
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
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
Tailscale — 52 jobs
💻 Engineering
25
💼 Sales / GTM
11
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
📊 Data
2
🎨 Design
2
📣 Marketing
2
Summary
Databricks scores 4.1/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.9 work-life balance rating. Tailscale scores 4.4/5.0 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, Diverse & Inclusive. Databricks also emphasizes Learning & Growth, Direct Product Impact. Tailscale also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Work-Life Balance, Transparent.
On the hiring front, Databricks has 842 open roles and Tailscale has 52 open roles.