You know that company you once worked for, the one that makes you shake your head every time you think about it? That company that was truly backward in nearly every aspect? You’re probably recalling a job from a few years ago, right? Well, I can assure you it wasn’t as disorganized, nonsensical, or downright chaotic as Altium. Whatever dysfunctional work experience you’ve had in the past likely feels like a utopia compared to this place.
After my first month at Altium, I was surprised to see how many long-tenured employees there were. In the software industry, it's rare to find people who’ve stayed at the same company for 10, 15, 20, or even 25 years. Initially, I chalked it up to Altium being a company that takes care of its people. On some level, I even thought it was commendable. After all, who wouldn’t want to work for a company that avoids layoffs and offers upward mobility? But at Altium, upward mobility has nothing to do with merit. It’s about who yells the loudest and who can point fingers the fastest.
There are a few individuals in leadership positions here who have no business being there, yet they act as if they’re business prodigies. The Dunning-Kruger effect is on full display, and despite their repeated failures, these people remain indispensable. You’d think the C-suite would have noticed by now, but the top ranks at Altium are completely detached from the business. In my two years with the company, I saw the CEO exactly once. And keep in mind, this isn’t a 50,000-employee organization—it’s relatively small. The lack of involvement from the C-suite only adds to the dysfunction, and frankly, it’s just weird.
Had there been any awareness of the lack of accountability, leadership, and the alarming void of business and technology know-how (seriously, these people lack even a college-level understanding of business and best practices), they might have been able to steer the ship in the right direction. Instead, the ability to get promoted while being utterly ineffective has led to an extremely unprofessional environment. These individuals do whatever they please and refuse to listen to the experts hired for their experience. Most meetings feel like listening to your drunk uncle at Thanksgiving, angrily ranting about topics that have nothing to do with the purpose of the call. And despite numerous HR reports, nothing changes. There are even VPs who have managed to get others fired simply because they knew about their sleeping with sales reps.
As a result, Altium is fractured into various factions and philosophies. The majority of employees here end up with no ambition or drive—because why would they? Despite being hired for a specific role, their responsibilities are eventually whittled down to practically janitorial duties. When they speak up about broken tech stacks, bad data, or dysfunctional sales cycles, they get reprimanded. Those in charge, who created these broken systems, can’t be exposed to their own failures. So, if you want to keep your job, you need to stay quiet and work without ambition. Altium (at least in the revenue org) is a culture of losers, where pride in one’s work is a rare commodity.
Oh and these reviews talking positively about the culture and “the best place I have ever worked”? Absolutely no chance that they are real.
