GitLab
Large (~2,500)
Poolside
Small (~150)
Best For
GitLab
Best for: Engineers who want a fully remote, async-first culture with radical transparency
Poolside
Best for: AI researchers who want frontier code generation work with genuine remote flexibility and Paris offsites
Ratings
GitLabPoolside
3.9
3.8
Overall
3.9
3.5
Work-Life Balance
4.0
3.9
Culture & Values
3.8
3.8
Comp & Benefits
3.5
3.6
Senior Mgmt
3.7
3.6
Career Opps
👍 75% Recommend
👤 70% CEO Approval (Sid Sijbrandij)
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Jason Warner)
Culture Values
GitLab only
📡 Async-First🪟 Transparent🔓 Open Source⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Poolside only
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats🌱 Learning & Growth
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly
Pros & Cons
GitLab
- Best-in-class all-remote culture — truly async-first with genuine flexibility
- Radically transparent company with a public handbook and open processes
- Revenue organization has seen quota chaos and low morale
- Some leadership instability at the C-suite level
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
GitLab
Choose GitLab if you want the gold standard of all-remote work with public handbook and async processes — but expect bureaucracy at scale and comp below top-tier.
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
GitLab — 195 jobs
💻 Engineering
79
💼 Sales / GTM
67
📋 Product
10
⚖️ Legal
5
📊 Data
4
🎨 Design
4
📣 Marketing
4
👤 HR / People
2
⚙️ Operations
2
Poolside — 12 jobs
💻 Engineering
9
📊 Data
2
🧠 ML / AI
1
Summary
GitLab scores 3.9/5.0 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 0.1-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Remote-Friendly. GitLab also emphasizes Async-First, Transparent, Open Source, Work-Life Balance. Poolside also emphasizes Engineering-Driven, Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats, Learning & Growth.
On the hiring front, GitLab has 195 open roles and Poolside has 12 open roles.