Mercury
Large (~1,300)
Scale AI
Large (~1,200)
Best For
Mercury
Best for: Engineers who want product ownership and fast growth building startup banking infrastructure
Scale AI
Best for: Ambitious builders who want critical AI infrastructure work serving top-tier clients
Ratings
MercuryScale AI
4.3
3.5
Overall
3.8
2.7
Work-Life Balance
3.9
2.9
Culture & Values
4.0
3.5
Comp & Benefits
3.8
2.8
Senior Mgmt
3.9
3.6
Career Opps
👍 79% Recommend
👤 85% CEO Approval (Immad Akhund)
👍 56% Recommend
👤 60% CEO Approval (Alexandr Wang)
Culture Values
Mercury only
💎 Strong Comp & Equity🧩 Wears Many Hats
Scale AI only
No unique values
Shared
🎯 Direct Product Impact⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🌱 Learning & Growth
Pros & Cons
Mercury
- Strong talent density with smart, motivated teammates and genuine autonomy and ownership
- Great Place to Work certified — product-first mindset with meaningful scope for every engineer
- Still figuring out how to scale processes — expect some ambiguity and shifting priorities
- Work-life balance rated 3.8/5 — periods of higher intensity during rapid growth phases
Scale AI
- Building critical AI data infrastructure used by OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and the US government
- Strong compensation for engineers — competitive base + equity
- Work-life balance rated 2.7/5 — long hours common during client deadlines
- Culture and values scored 2.9/5 — inconsistent management quality
Bottom Line
Mercury
Choose Mercury if you want product ownership, fast growth, and to build banking infrastructure for startups — but expect growing pains and occasionally intense workloads.
Scale AI
Choose Scale AI if you want to build data infrastructure for OpenAI and the US government — but expect long hours and inconsistent management.
Open Roles
Mercury — 48 jobs
💻 Engineering
9
💼 Sales / GTM
9
🎨 Design
4
⚖️ Legal
3
📊 Data
2
💰 Finance
2
👤 HR / People
2
📣 Marketing
2
🧠 ML / AI
2
⚙️ Operations
2
📋 Product
2
🎧 Support
1
Scale AI — 166 jobs
💻 Engineering
53
🧠 ML / AI
26
📋 Product
16
⚙️ Operations
9
💼 Sales / GTM
9
💰 Finance
8
⚖️ Legal
7
📊 Data
4
📣 Marketing
4
🎨 Design
2
👤 HR / People
2
🎧 Support
1