Just a few weeks in, 2024 has San Francisco residents debating whether the city will become a “doom loop” or can look to a brighter future. On the negative side, San Francisco has been at the forefront of tech layoffs in 2023 and lost part of the city budget due to declining tax revenue. On the other hand, tourists are returning, according to The San Francisco Chronicle, and there is a rise in AI companies coming to the city.
In a Built In article from August, 2023, the first three months of last year saw $10.7 billion given to generative AI startups. San Francisco companies had a piece of the pie, accounting for 34 percent of all AI-targeted funding.
AI isn’t the only area of tech that is growing in San Francisco. Built In found six companies that have strong workplace cultures and brag-worthy benefit packages to sweeten the deal.
Snap is the company behind social media platform Snapchat.
THE PERKS
- Four-day work week
- Home-office stipend for remote employees
- Fertility benefits and adoption assistance
- Transgender healthcare benefits
- For team members who need to travel for medical treatments that are banned in their state of residence, Snap will provide a travel benefit allowance that includes transportation and lodging of up to $10,000 to help cover the cost.
Sticking to Startup Values: Part of what makes Snap a great place to work is strong commitment to the values that encourage team members to be kind, smart and creative.
“All in all, this company fosters an atmosphere that allows you to be free and authentically yourself while putting your skill sets, knowledge and endurance to the test on a daily basis,” Creative Specialist Michael Clemons told Built In.
Roblox is a gaming platform and development system that connects over 65 million users around the world to immersive 3D experiences.
TECH STACK
- AWS
- C#
- Airtable
- Confluence
- Figma
- Jira
- Photoshop
Scalable at the core: As a gaming company, making large-scale and consistent changes is part of the deal. However, the company ultimately approaches scalability through the lens of the end user.
“Scale at Roblox also means addressing the little things that improve the user experience for everyone on the platform as we grow together,” Ella Li, director of technical program management, told Built In. “Some examples of the work we are doing to achieve this include making our experiences much faster to load to reduce wait time and making our experiences available across platforms to help people enjoy them at any time on the devices they choose. Ultimately, our focus is on building the platform to enable the creation of any experience we can imagine.”
Cisco Meraki creates hardware, software and provides services. The company is known for being a leader in cloud-controlled Wi-Fi, routing and security.
THE PERKS
- Documented equal pay policy
- Pay transparency
- Mental health benefits
- Tuition reimbursement
- Sabbatical support
Values Driven: “The ‘be brave’ value [is my favorite]. Meraki allows you to come to work feeling supported and knowing that you have a safe space to put forth ideas, not being afraid to fail. Having that value allows us to bring our authentic selves to work every day,” Nicole Prine, engineering manager for the vulnerability management, told Built In during a video interview.
Gopuff is a delivery app that allows customers to order everyday essentials — from cleaning supplies, home needs and OTC medications to food and drinks — in minutes.
THE PERKS
- Performance bonuses
- Relocation assistance
- Highly diverse management team
- Dedicated diversity and inclusion staff
- Partnerships with nonprofits like Reform Alliance, The Bail Project, The Color of Change and Valley Youth House
Serving the Community: Gopuff is known for stepping into action when a community is in trouble. Just a few examples include when Gopuff sent supplies and donations to Kentucky when a tornado destroyed part of a town. Gopuff often makes donations to relief efforts after a natural disaster, like when the company donated to help fight wildfires in Colorado and to the Buffalo community after a supermarket shooting.
NextRoll is a marketing technology company delivering products that companies can use to grow their businesses.
THE PERKS
- 100% employee coverage for medical, dental and vision premiums
- Mean gender pay gap below 10%
- Employee stock purchase plan
- Four weeks of PTO
Career Conversations: Part of the culture at NextRoll is managers and team members having regular career conversations. For Chief of Staff Sophia Chen, receiving training on how to specifically do this set her up for success.
“What’s more, managers receive specific training in how to conduct effective career conversations so that they feel equipped with the skills to support their team members in career development,” Chen told Built In. “The support and training I received as a first-time manager at NextRoll helped me understand what an effective leader looks like and prepared me to be one for my own teams.”
Sparrow is an HR tech company that provides an end-to-end employee leave management solution.
BUILT IN AWARDS
Sparrow earned two spots on Built In’s 2024 Best Places To Work Awards: one on the San Francisco Best Midsize Places to Work list and the other on the Remote Best Midsize Places to Work list. “We’re honored to be recognized for our positive work culture and competitive benefits,” said Deborah Hanus, co-founder and CEO. “At Sparrow, we want to make sure that our team has the support they need to do their best work.”
Model of Mentorship: “Mentorship is very important to us,” Chief Technology Officer Samarth Keshava told Built In. “Mentors have regular check-ins for the duration of the onboarding process. Beyond that, mentors serve as sounding boards once the onboarding process is complete. We take this a step further and match team members with peer mentors or partners on the Sparrow engineering team. We recognize the importance of having a tenured colleague to turn to and that it’s beneficial to have a peer who’s in a similar position to lean on.”
