Exploring a Company Where ‘Creativity, Curiosity, & Continuous Improvement Are Encouraged Every Day’

Looking for a remote-first company that offers flexible working hours? What about a company with a remote office stipend, a $150 monthly fitness stipend, and professional and tuition reimbursement? A company that will support you and what matters to you, including four designated days off to volunteer at a local non-profit organization and a new policy that allows employees to get reimbursed (up to $5,000 annually) if they’re undergoing treatment for a procedure considered unlawful within their home state? 

If this sounds good to you, then Stack Overflow is the company for you! Stack Overflow's mission is to empower the world to develop technology through collective knowledge. Millions of developers worldwide use Stack Overflow’s public platform and over 15,000 customers leverage its fast-growing, private SaaS counterpart Stack Overflow for Teams to solve their toughest challenges while capturing critical institutional knowledge and accelerating time-to-market.

Want an inside look at what working at this company is like? Here, Valerie Thomas, Stack Overflow’s Manager of Global People Operations, shares more about Stack Overflow’s company culture, benefits, and why women like her love working at Stack Overflow…

Learning more about Stack Overflow.

Stack Overflow’s culture is unique, with roots “in the developer ethos from which our founders hailed,” shares Thomas. This culture is driven by six core values:

1. Adopt a customer-first mindset: Employees authentically serve customers by empowering, listening, and collaborating with their fellow Stackers.

2. Be flexible and inclusive: The Stack Overflow team does their best work when a diverse group of people collaborate in an environment of respect and trust. Such an environment creates space for different voices to be heard and allows flexibility in how people work.

3. Be transparent: Stackers communicate openly and honestly, both inside and outside the company. Transparency is encouraged from others by being empathetic, reliable, and acting with integrity.

4. Empower people to deliver outstanding results: Stack Overflow is focused on giving people space to get their job done, supporting them when they need it, and practicing blameless accountability.

5. Keep community at our center: Community is at the heart of everything Stack Overflow does. Stackers nurture healthy communities where everyone is encouraged to learn and give back.

6. Learn, share, grow: Stackers adopt a growth mindset, which encourages everyone to be curious, eager to learn, and to aim for ethical, sustainable, long-term growth, both personally and professionally.

“Ultimately, we believe in creating an environment where people feel empowered, supported, and included,” summarizes Thomas. “Where trust and transparency are built into the way we work and where creativity, curiosity, and continuous improvement are encouraged every day.”

A focus on career development and community.

In regards to continuous improvement, Thomas shares that the company offers reimbursement for professional development resources and tuition for continuing education. Stackers also receive access to professional coaching service Bravely, LinkedIn Learning, MyAcademy, internal e-library Overdrive, and other external training programs. “We have great internal mobility,” emphasizes Thomas. “Career pathing is approached by evaluating the employee’s skills and experience, and then creating goals that align with the team.”

Internally, Stackers have access to employee resource groups (ERGs), which act as yet another avenue for learning new skills and making connections. These ERGs include: the Asian Pacific Islanders (API), Black & Brown (BnB), LGBTQ+, Mental Illness & Neurodiversity (MIND), Moxie (underrepresented genders in tech), Caregivers & Parents, Allyship, Native & Indigenous Peoples, Body (people with disabilities), and Solo-Parents.

However, ERGs are just the tip of the iceberg for how Stack Overflow fosters a collaborative and friendly community. As a remote-first company, Stackers the Donut app to help employees connect via video chat. “As we continue to grow as a remote-first company, this is a great way to introduce folks that have yet to speak with or connect with each other on a personal level,” shares Thomas. In addition, Stack Overflow has a range of non-work-related Slack channels that are dedicated to sharing photos of pets or kids, or connecting over shared interests such as cooking, travel, fitness, space, and more.

Additionally, the Stack Overflow Culture Club hosts various virtual events throughout the year, such as a monthly Book Club, Women’s History Jeopardy, meditation sessions, and Gingerbread house making competitions. At Stack Overflow, connecting with your fellow Stackers —even in a remote environment — is fun and easy!

Why women love working at Stack Overflow.

“The women of Stack Overflow are some of the most engaged people at our organization,” Thomas tells us. And, “over the past year, we have focused on increasing the number of women in senior management positions. Now, nearly half of those in management at Stack Overflow are women.” Here are what some of those leaders have to say about working at the company:

“Stack is a company that focuses wholeheartedly on each employee’s growth. Stack provided me with a ton of resources I never thought I needed. These resources prepared me for a lattice career move within the company and continue to pour into my success daily.” — Tia Greene, Learning & Talent Management Specialist

“Despite being a digital advertising professional for over 15+ years, my first week at Stack Overflow was a little nerve-wracking as this is my first fully remote position at a fast-growing tech company. But I quickly felt welcomed and fully connected thanks to the seamless onboarding process and training sessions provided by our amazing People team. Stack Overflow’s competitive benefits, with a strong focus on flexibility, work-life balance, and diverse employee resource groups, are undoubtedly the best workplace and culture I’ve been fortunate to be part of.” — Tram Aponte, Manager, Ad Operations 

“I've worked at Stack Overflow for a little over a year now, and it's been the best career decision I've made to date. I went through a challenging time personally at the end of last year, and ended up taking some extended time off. In my role as an Executive Business Partner, it really does make a difference who the people are that you support. Both of my leaders came through and supported me when I needed it most, and I’m so grateful to work at a company where our leaders recognize you both as a professional and as a human.” — “Keisha Washington, Executive Business Partner

Benefits that we think you’ll love.

Want even more reasons that Stack Overflow is a great place to work? Check out these great benefits:

• Flexible work hours (as long as they are communicated with your manager and team). “We believe people do their best work when they love where they work, as we’re a remote-first company,” says Thomas.

• 16 weeks of parental leave with a $500 stipend for the first four weeks the parents spend at home with their new family member. “We also offer adoption reimbursement up to $5,000; the same leave and stipend apply to those who adopt,” adds Thomas. “The caregiver also has the option to come back to work part-time for up to one year.”

• Premium health benefits for employees and their families. Further, employees have no monthly healthcare premium costs with Stack Overflow’s medical plan, and there is no cost for in-network medical services.

• Stack Overflow’s PTO includes company-wide rest days, so Stackers across the globe can take a day of rest together.

  • Further, Stack Overflow’s unlimited sick days can also be used for mental health days, and they offer mental health support through Ginger and a subscription to the mindfulness app Calm.

• On an employee’s fifth year Stackaversary (anniversary of employment), they can take a month-long sabbatical.

Interested in becoming a Stacker yourself? Check out open opportunities via the following link!

Fairygodboss is proud to partner with Stack Overflow. Find a job there today!