Hugging Face
Small (~400)
Tailscale
Small (~290)
Best For
Hugging Face
Best for: Open-source enthusiasts who value remote flexibility over top comp
Tailscale
Best for: Systems engineers who value location-equal pay, generous parental leave, and working on deeply technical networking problems
Ratings
Hugging FaceTailscale
3.8
4.4
Overall
4.1
4.5
Work-Life Balance
4.2
4.5
Culture & Values
3.4
4.4
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.5
4.2
Career Opps
👍 78% Recommend
👤 85% CEO Approval (Clement Delangue)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Avery Pennarun)
Culture Values
Hugging Face only
🔓 Open Source🤝 Flat Hierarchy🕐 Flexible Hours🧩 Wears Many Hats📡 Async-First
Tailscale only
⚖️ Work-Life Balance💎 Strong Comp & Equity⚙️ Engineering-Driven🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
Shared
🌐 Remote-Friendly🪟 Transparent
Pros & Cons
Hugging Face
- True open-source DNA — you work on things millions of developers actually use
- Remote-first and async culture that actually works across time zones
- Below-market comp compared to FAANG
- Career progression is unclear — no well-defined ladder
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
Hugging Face
Choose Hugging Face if you want to build tools millions of ML devs use with true remote freedom — but comp lags FAANG.
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
Hugging Face — 9 jobs
🧠 ML / AI
6
💻 Engineering
2
Tailscale — 52 jobs
💻 Engineering
25
💼 Sales / GTM
11
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
📊 Data
2
🎨 Design
2
📣 Marketing
2
Summary
Hugging Face scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.1 work-life balance rating. Tailscale scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 4.5 WLB. That’s a 0.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Remote-Friendly, Transparent. Hugging Face also emphasizes Open Source, Flat Hierarchy, Flexible Hours, Wears Many Hats, Async-First. Tailscale also emphasizes Work-Life Balance, Strong Comp & Equity, Engineering-Driven, Diverse & Inclusive.
On the hiring front, Hugging Face has 9 open roles and Tailscale has 52 open roles.