Scale AI
Large (~1,200)
Tailscale
Small (~290)
Best For
Scale AI
Best for: Ambitious builders who want critical AI infrastructure work serving top-tier clients
Tailscale
Best for: Systems engineers who value location-equal pay, generous parental leave, and working on deeply technical networking problems
Ratings
Scale AITailscale
3.5
4.4
Overall
2.7
4.5
Work-Life Balance
2.9
4.5
Culture & Values
3.5
4.4
Comp & Benefits
2.8
4.2
Senior Mgmt
3.6
4.2
Career Opps
👍 56% Recommend
👤 60% CEO Approval (Alexandr Wang)
👍 88% Recommend
👤 92% CEO Approval (Avery Pennarun)
Culture Values
Scale AI only
🎯 Direct Product Impact🌱 Learning & Growth🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate
Tailscale only
🌐 Remote-Friendly⚖️ Work-Life Balance💎 Strong Comp & Equity🌈 Diverse & Inclusive🪟 Transparent
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven
Pros & Cons
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
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
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.
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
Scale AI — 175 jobs
💻 Engineering
64
🧠 ML / AI
25
📋 Product
16
💼 Sales / GTM
14
⚙️ Operations
7
⚖️ Legal
5
📣 Marketing
4
📊 Data
2
💰 Finance
2
👤 HR / People
2
🎨 Design
1
🎧 Support
1
Tailscale — 52 jobs
💻 Engineering
25
💼 Sales / GTM
11
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
📊 Data
2
🎨 Design
2
📣 Marketing
2
Summary
Scale AI scores 3.5/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 2.7 work-life balance rating. Tailscale scores 4.4/5.0 overall with a 4.5 WLB. That’s a 0.9-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven. Scale AI also emphasizes Direct Product Impact, Learning & Growth, Ship Fast & Iterate. Tailscale also emphasizes Remote-Friendly, Work-Life Balance, Strong Comp & Equity, Diverse & Inclusive, Transparent.
On the hiring front, Scale AI has 175 open roles and Tailscale has 52 open roles.