Austin, TX-based Optimizely is the world leader in customer experience optimization. Since 2010, they have been empowering businesses to drive up their value through experimentation and personalization across all available digital mediums. But Optimizely doesn't just empower the businesses that use their first in class platform, they also empower their employees to make a big impact.
Diving Into the Values at Optimizely
OPTIFY NOW
Optimizely has developed a core set of values that help them and their employees reach their goals while continuing to innovate and drive the industry forward. They live by the idea of OPTIFY NOW
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Julia Lopes, a Senior Manager in Global Recruiting, said that something she loves about working at Optimizely is the unparalleled level of transparency from top to bottom. "The level of transparency is unlike anywhere else and we are all empowered to take ownership of our role or task at hand regardless of scope."
Optimizely also believes heavily in giving back to communities. They partner with several non-profit organizations and participate in volunteer work on a regular basis. In 2018, more than 80% of OPtimizely team members volunteered while on the job, doing things such as cleaning up parks, serving meals to the homeless, teaching technology to refugees and mentoring high-risk youth.
Nayla Raad, a Manager of Customer Success, said: "As a hiring manager, when I'm asked 'Why Optimizely?' I tell candidates that beyond the brilliant people and spirit of experimentation that informs our work, it's because Optimizely believes in community. Everyone, from our CEO to our global team members, is invested in partnering with local communities to have a meaningful impact."
The Optinauts
The People Optimizing Optimizely
Optimizely calls its employees Optinauts. This is a fitting name as it is often uncharted territory that this group of highly skilled problem solvers ventures into. Because of the technology-based platform of the business, the Optimimizely workforce is a highly educated and specialized one. This leads to a tight-knit company culture full of smart people with a lot of the same goals and interests.
The Culture at Optimizely
Empowering, Passionate, Collaborative
Optimizely Chief People Officer, Erin Flynn, said, "As a leadership team, we are deeply committed to creating a culture based on inclusion, experimentation, innovation, and feeling empowered to take risks. To be successful, we have to be exceptional performers. And to be exceptional performers, we have to have passionate people driving the way."
The fact that there is a Chief People Officer at all shows how committed Optimizely is to creating a diverse and fair workplace. They have a documented equal pay policy and they offer unconscious bias training.
Optinauts are hard-working people, but they also know how to have fun. The company sponsors several outings a year, but team members are known to go to happy hours and other events together outside of work. This is a culture that helps build strong and lasting friendships.
Just take this quote from Lauren, a Client Engineer. "Optimizely is also a place where work-life balance is a real thing. Unlimited vacation means that I'm trusted to take time off when I need it."
Lastly, it's a very collaborative culture. Optinauts are encouraged to work together toward solutions instead of as individuals. The company's executive staff is made up of people who have utilized collaborative methods to take various industries by storm, which is exactly what they want with Optimizely.
On the collaborative atmosphere at Optimizely, Backend Engineer, Nick, said: "Software engineering here isn't about someone going off on their own with a problem and coming back with a solution. We design solutions as a team of individuals, each bringing their perspective to the table. I've found this way of designing has helped me grow as an engineer over the years and to deliver the best results possible to our customers."
Optimal Benefits
Offering the Best for the Best
The benefits offered by Optimizely have been described by past and current employees as second to none. Apart from the outstanding health care benefits (Dental plan covering $2,000 of expenses, Vision benefits plan covers 100% for annual eye exams with $150 for glasses and contact lenses, and more), 401k and company equity, there are some awesome, unique benefits that you might not see every day. Some of those are:
Those are just a few of Optimizely's comprehensive benefits package. They also have a game room and an onsite gym, host lunch and learns, and offer employees numerous opportunities for professional development.
Plus, you get to do work that helps people reach their goals, and that feels good. Ben, a Senior Software Engineer, said: "I joined Optimizely to work on a product I loved using. It was fitting that my first project was fixing a pain point I had experienced as a customer. Not only was it satisfying to deliver a feature that I knew was going to help my colleagues at a previous company, but I was also able to use an awesome cloud-native AWS tech stack to deliver it."
Lastly, the Optimizely office is located in the hip Central Austin area and is surrounded by great cafes, restaurants, nightlife spots, historical landmarks, and beautiful nature.
The Interview at Optimizely
Straightforward for Optimal Results
The interview process with Optimizely has been described as straight-forward. The first step is a phone screen, which is casual and a good chance for you to explain your interest in the company and your experience. This would likely be followed by one or two in-person or video interviews. The whole process can take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks.
