Plaid
Mid (~800)
Vast AI
Small (~30)
Best For
Plaid
Best for: Engineers who want transparent leadership and real fintech impact at a top-rated company
Vast AI
Best for: Scrappy generalists who want a front-row seat to the AI compute revolution
Ratings
PlaidVast AI
4.6
5.0
Overall
4.2
4.5
Work-Life Balance
4.2
5.0
Culture & Values
4.1
5.0
Comp & Benefits
4.0
5.0
Senior Mgmt
3.9
5.0
Career Opps
👍 91% Recommend
👤 83% CEO Approval (Zach Perret)
👍 100% Recommend
👤 100% CEO Approval (Jake Cannell)
Culture Values
Plaid only
🪟 Transparent🌱 Learning & Growth🎯 Direct Product Impact🛡️ Safe to Fail🌈 Diverse & Inclusive
Vast AI only
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven
Pros & Cons
Plaid
- 91% of employees recommend — highly accessible and transparent senior leadership
- Strong engineering culture with competitive compensation (4.1/5 comp rating) and real product impact
- Organizational changes can create uncertainty as the company scales
- Career opportunities rated 3.9/5 — growth paths may vary by department
Vast AI
- Front-row seat to the AI compute revolution — demand for GPU cloud is surging
- Strong compensation and generous equity stakes for a bootstrapped startup
- Processes are still being defined — expect ad hoc workflows
- Intense workload — the team explicitly values high output
Bottom Line
Plaid
Choose Plaid if you want top-tier engineering culture, transparent leadership, and real fintech impact — but expect some growing pains as the company navigates organizational change.
Vast AI
Choose Vast AI if you want perfect Glassdoor scores and generous equity at a tiny GPU marketplace — but expect startup chaos.
Open Roles
Plaid — 94 jobs
💻 Engineering
25
💼 Sales / GTM
22
📋 Product
9
📊 Data
8
📣 Marketing
7
🧠 ML / AI
4
⚙️ Operations
3
🎨 Design
2
⚖️ Legal
2
💰 Finance
1
👤 HR / People
1
Vast AI — 10 jobs
💻 Engineering
5
🧠 ML / AI
2
📊 Data
1