Poolside
Small (~150)
Wayve
Mid (~850)
Best For
Poolside
Best for: AI researchers who want frontier code generation work with genuine remote flexibility and Paris offsites
Wayve
Best for: ML and robotics engineers excited by embodied AI who want to work at the frontier of autonomous driving with a high-caliber research team in London
Ratings
PoolsideWayve
3.8
4.4
Overall
3.5
3.9
Work-Life Balance
3.9
4.5
Culture & Values
3.8
4.4
Comp & Benefits
3.6
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.6
4.2
Career Opps
👍 76% Recommend
👤 80% CEO Approval (Jason Warner)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Amar Shah)
Culture Values
Poolside only
🌐 Remote-Friendly🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats
Wayve only
🎯 Direct Product Impact🌈 Diverse & Inclusive🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🌱 Learning & Growth
Pros & Cons
Poolside
- Remote-first with monthly Paris gatherings
- Cutting-edge code generation research
- Early-stage with limited structure
- Comp may trail larger AI labs
Wayve
- Great culture — smart, friendly people with a supportive and inclusive familial bond
- Immense creative freedom and autonomy; founders are humble and open to being challenged
- Career progression framework is unclear — salaries and promotions feel arbitrary
- Very ambitious demands create vulnerability to burnout; processes built on the fly
Bottom Line
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.
Wayve
One of Europe's top deep-tech companies with excellent Glassdoor ratings (4.4) and a cutting-edge AV research environment — but expect an intense pace and most roles are London-based.
Open Roles
Poolside — 12 jobs
💻 Engineering
9
📊 Data
2
🧠 ML / AI
1
Wayve — 80 jobs
💻 Engineering
48
⚙️ Operations
6
🧠 ML / AI
4
📋 Product
3
📊 Data
2
⚖️ Legal
2
👤 HR / People
1
📣 Marketing
1
Summary
Poolside scores 3.8/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.5 work-life balance rating. Wayve scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 3.9 WLB. That’s a 0.6-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Learning & Growth. Poolside also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats. Wayve also emphasizes Direct Product Impact, Diverse & Inclusive, Ship Fast & Iterate.
On the hiring front, Poolside has 12 open roles and Wayve has 80 open roles.