October is a magical time of year for San Francisco. The typically foggy, chilly Bay Area weather lifts briefly for a few leftover days of summer, revealing clear-eyed views of Golden Gate Bridge and the hills beyond. Fleet Week kicks off the month with a flurry of events that bring San Franciscans out to enjoy the waterfront at its best, and Bay Area foodies can enjoy fresh produce during California’s peak harvest season.
San Francisco is also reaching a new peak in its storied history as the technology hub of the United States. Data released from the end of August 2024 by SignalFire reported that a whopping 49 percent of engineers from the largest tech companies and 27 percent of venture capital-backed startup engineers currently live and work in San Francisco. In other words, it’s a great time to be working in tech in the Bay Area.
Riding the wave of October excitement are Built In San Francisco’s three featured companies, all with updates that reflect the excitement of this time of year. Growing teams and thriving company cultures are some of the highlights on this month’s list of updates.
What Atlassian does: Atlassian offers a suite of products and services — like Jira, Confluence and Bitbucket — that help teams stay organized, share data and collaborate.
Inclusive Benefits at Atlassian
- Dedicated diversity and inclusion staff and diversity manifesto
- Company-funded employee resource groups
- Five days per year for community volunteering or advocacy
Remote roles at Atlassian: Atlassian is currently hiring for a large number of remote positions. Open roles range from entry to senior level and cover a diversity of specializations. Current listings include roles in engineering, product management, marketing, sales and design.
What Upgrade, Inc. does: Upgrade is a finance and technology company that offers financial services to customers to help them reach their goals.
Life Investment Perks at Upgrade
- 401(k) matching and company equity
- Job training, mentorship program and continuing education stipend
- Generous parental leave
Celebrating with pride: In the spirit of celebrating community and authenticity, Upgrade has a thriving employee resource group program for employees to gather and connect underneath shared identities. In a Pride Month interview with Built In San Francisco, Benefits and Compensation Specialist Vedran Tetaric spoke about the various community activities that Upgrade, Inc.’s LBGTQ+ ERG is involved in year-round.
What Philo does: Philo offers a streaming service featuring live and on-demand television and film programming.
Cash Benefits at Philo
- $2,000 annual vacation bonus
- $5,000 stipend for professional development
- $500 monthly stipend for hybrid employees
Products steeped in positivity: As a streaming service provider, the Philo team takes a personal interest in building a product that everyone can love. In an in-depth interview with Built In San Francisco, Director of Programming and Brand Strategy Emily Mosbacher shared the story behind Philo’s initial launch as a streaming service — and how the philosophy that guided their initial launch still resonates today. “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve,” said Mosbacher. “At the end of the day, we’re also building Philo for ourselves.”
