Growing Pains but Worth It - Anonymous employee Camunda Employee Review

I’ve been at Camunda for over five years, working across GTM in both internal and external-facing roles, and I can confidently say this is the best job I’ve ever had. The people are truly special. At every level of the company, you’re treated as a person first and an employee second. You’re not just another cog in the wheel here. Camunda gives space to grow, try new things, and learn in ways that most companies just don’t. Our benefits are stellar: unlimited FTO (with a recommended minimum of 30 days off!), flexible hours, and a remote-first culture that lets you balance work with real life, appointments, kids, travel, and rest. And not in a “we say this but don’t mean it” way, we live it. I’ve taken time to reset without guilt, and that makes a difference. Senior Leadership has been upfront and transparent that Camunda is on a steep growth curve. Starting at an in-person company event in summer 2024, we were told we were setting ourselves up to catch a “wave”, a massive opportunity in our space. Since then, they’ve stayed consistent in updating us across Company All Hands, Kickoff events, department meetings, and async updates. They’ve been clear: this ride won’t be slow or easy, but it’s a chance to build something remarkable. And they gave people the chance early on to opt out if that journey wasn’t the right one for them. That honesty is backed up by action. A recent example: a message around work-life balance sparked concern, and instead of brushing it off, leadership addressed it head-on in our next All Hands, clarifying the intent, owning the miscommunication, and reinforcing our FTO and flexibility. That kind of transparency isn’t just talked about, it’s practiced.

Camunda has gone through a lot of change this past year: team changes, new priorities, people leaving, and yes, some layoffs. I won’t pretend it’s been easy. But I will say this, none of it has been a surprise. Leaders gave us fair warning that this phase of growth would be demanding and not the right fit for everyone. They’ve followed through with generous exit packages, respectful internal updates, and compassion for the people impacted. While it’s always tough to see great people go, I’ve consistently seen leadership act with empathy and integrity. Many of us have kept in touch with former colleagues, some of whom became close friends, and from what I’ve heard, that same respect extended into offboarding, too. Camunda isn’t perfect. But it is human, forward-looking, and full of people trying their best. In tech, that’s rare. I’ve seen friends at other companies burned out, undervalued, or blindsided. Here, even when things are hard, I still want to be part of it. And that says everything.

The people who work at Camunda are, of course, the biggest pro. Benefits are good, as well.

The culture is downright awful. Employee programs have been slashed almost completely - no more retreat, no more regional social gatherings, no time together in person with your teams. Not only that, but the CEO blatantly said Camunda is not the place for job security or work-life balance and if you're looking for that, you can find it elsewhere. People are being laid off left and right. People are fearful for their jobs and I've heard of a lot of team members who are looking elsewhere. The standards that are given when you're hired are sometimes not attainable, especially when there is little to no direction from management. When I started, I had zero training time at all outside of the company onboarding. My team didn't assist at all in helping me learn the ropes- I was just thrown out to the wolves and expected to start projects with no guidance. This tends to be common across multiple teams, as well. A lot of middle management do not know how to run teams and although they go through "people manager training" that doesn't seem to do any good as they're still mostly incompetent.