For an engineer looking for product / technical learning and impact, Airbnb is an amazing fit
Pros
Airbnb has a strong positive culture - People are genuinely invested in the company / product and constantly talking about ways to make it better. It's intoxicating and makes it a lot more fun to go to work and think of your own ideas to improve Airbnb. For an engineer, a relatively small team (~140 engineers) working on a complex product makes for lots of opportunities for impact and ownership, even in the first couple months. The fast growth also adds to the ownership and career advancement opportunities, since a relatively short tenure at Airbnb can become seniority with all of the expansion and hiring. Additionally I feel like I've learned a ton both from other engineers and working collaboratively with designers, data scientists, and producers (product managers). Overall I don't think I would have shipped nearly the diverse and impactful set of projects at another company, nor feel the same sense of community among my team and coworkers. I interviewed at many companies before choosing Airbnb and I've never even been tempted to look back!
Cons
The product development process at Airbnb is chaotic. Features usually start as a brainstorm with input from designers, producers, engineers, etc. and coalesce into a (slightly) more concrete roadmap, with the producer taking the lead on shaping the plan. This roadmap can then shift as priorities or situations change, meaning you need to be able to roll with the punches and thrive on a little chaos. But it's not all a con, as having input into the product as an engineer is fun and the system gives engineers a lot of autonomy and discretion on their projects.
