Wikimedia Foundation Reviews

No direct promotion path per se

Very low pay compared to industry rates, and even worse is the location-based pay scheme that ensures non-US employees are second class. Extremely bloated workforce and tons of off-mission "special" projects that do nothing for Wikipedia other than grift funds from donors. Lots of long-term employees have created sandcastles and protect them at all costs. No support from leadership to help you do your job, at worst they actively try to make you fail - I've never felt less supported throughout my entire career. The foundation is swimming in cash, but you aren't allowed to use it to hire or do anything to make your team more effective. Lots of blatant censorship from staff & community due to captured audiences. Meetings can get very tense due to hostile behavior, some technical teams have a long & well-documented history of bullying too. There is a weird racial tension in some groups that add to the overall hostility. The community can also be very hostile to new ideas which mean little innovation happens overall. In many ways, it feels like you are still living in the early 2000s working here as an engineer. If you have solid skills, don't waste your time!