Notion
Mid (~800)
Poolside
Small (~150)
Best For
Notion
Best for: Product-obsessed engineers who care deeply about craft and want to build tools that millions use daily
Poolside
Best for: AI researchers who want frontier code generation work with genuine remote flexibility and Paris offsites
Ratings
NotionPoolside
4.4
3.8
Overall
4.2
3.5
Work-Life Balance
4.5
3.9
Culture & Values
4.4
3.8
Comp & Benefits
4.2
3.6
Senior Mgmt
4.2
3.6
Career Opps
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Ivan Zhao)
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Jason Warner)
Culture Values
Notion only
🎯 Direct Product Impact🪟 Transparent🌈 Diverse & Inclusive💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Poolside only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🌱 Learning & Growth
Pros & Cons
Notion
- Incredible product culture — everyone uses Notion daily and cares deeply
- Transparent leadership with accessible founders and high trust
- Fast pace can lead to burnout, especially during product pushes
- Hybrid required (3 days in-office) — not truly remote-friendly
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
Notion
Strong product culture with a beloved CEO (96% approval) and genuine design sensibility — but hybrid-required and the pace can burn people out during product pushes.
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
Notion — 142 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
70
💻 Engineering
18
📣 Marketing
9
📊 Data
5
👤 HR / People
4
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
🎧 Support
4
💰 Finance
3
🎨 Design
2
⚖️ Legal
1
Poolside — 12 jobs
💻 Engineering
9
📊 Data
2
🧠 ML / AI
1
Summary
Notion scores 4.4/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 4.2 work-life balance rating. Poolside scores 3.8/5.0 overall with a 3.5 WLB. That’s a 0.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Learning & Growth. Notion also emphasizes Direct Product Impact, Transparent, Diverse & Inclusive, Strong Comp & Equity. Poolside also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats.
On the hiring front, Notion has 142 open roles and Poolside has 12 open roles.