Grafana Labs
Large (~1,700)
Poolside
Small (~150)
Best For
Grafana Labs
Best for: Engineers who want open-source impact with fully remote flexibility and strong WLB
Poolside
Best for: AI researchers who want frontier code generation work with genuine remote flexibility and Paris offsites
Ratings
Grafana LabsPoolside
4.1
3.8
Overall
4.3
3.5
Work-Life Balance
4.1
3.9
Culture & Values
4.0
3.8
Comp & Benefits
3.6
3.6
Senior Mgmt
3.8
3.6
Career Opps
👍 78% Recommend
👤 71% CEO Approval (Raj Dutt)
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Jason Warner)
Culture Values
Grafana Labs only
🔓 Open Source🪟 Transparent⚖️ Work-Life Balance
Poolside only
🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly⚙️ Engineering-Driven🌱 Learning & Growth
Pros & Cons
Grafana Labs
- 100% remote-first across 40+ countries with generous PTO (~30 days) and mandatory shutdown days
- Engineers rate it 4.9/5 — absurdly talented colleagues with strong open-source culture
- Career progression above staff level can be challenging with limited upward mobility
- Product management is sometimes marginalized with engineers holding disproportionate power
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
Grafana Labs
Choose Grafana Labs if you want deep open-source impact, fully remote flexibility, and excellent WLB — but expect limited career progression above staff level.
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
Grafana Labs — 149 jobs
💻 Engineering
92
💼 Sales / GTM
32
📣 Marketing
6
👤 HR / People
1
⚖️ Legal
1
⚙️ Operations
1
Poolside — 12 jobs
💻 Engineering
9
📊 Data
2
🧠 ML / AI
1
Summary
Grafana Labs scores 4.1/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.3 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: Remote-Friendly, Engineering-Driven, Learning & Growth. Grafana Labs also emphasizes Open Source, Transparent, Work-Life Balance. Poolside also emphasizes Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats.
On the hiring front, Grafana Labs has 149 open roles and Poolside has 12 open roles.