Life At Samsara

How a Growth Mindset is Accelerating Careers at Samsara

May 17, 2022

Christian Schaub
Christian Schaub

Director, Talent Management

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Samsara has grown from zero to $500 million in annual recurring revenue in just seven years. We got this far, this fast, by adopting a growth mindset. That means learning from each other, using continuous feedback to improve our own work, and capitalizing on the learning and development opportunities we offer Samsara employees. 

Changing the world of physical operations—our mission—is a huge undertaking, and we need curious people who enjoy working together and learning every day so we can make a difference.

Opportunity through ownership

Samsara’s culture enables you to take on a variety of challenges, design and own solutions, and collaborate with a talented team. Our culture of accelerated learning has enabled Samsara’s pace of growth and, in turn, continues to fuel individual growth. A growth mindset means it’s okay to fail because you are learning along the way.

"One of the great benefits of working for a fast-growing company like Samsara is that there are a lot of opportunities to personally add value."

Managers support their team to set objectives that deliver on Samsara's strategy while addressing our personal development. An individualized personal development plan helps to facilitate conversations on career trajectory and to make sure you’re taking on the right opportunities that work best for you.  

“One of the great benefits of working for a fast-growing company like Samsara is that there are a lot of opportunities to personally add value. And Samsara doesn’t hold us back from taking on new challenges, moving to different teams, or going for internal promotions. With this support, I recently reached my latest professional goal, becoming a people manager,” said Jessica Whitney, Field and Event Marketing Manager.

Continuous feedback

Our leadership believes that growth requires continuous feedback. We learn from each other, and help each other to grow. We use biannual, 360° performance reviews to gather feedback across teams and set learning and development goals as it aligns with our company values. We also provide tools to share feedback and kudos in the moment, so you can share ideas while they are fresh.

We offer transfer and rotational programs in software engineering that give you an opportunity to learn new skills and experience different perspectives across teams. It’s a chance to see how your work impacts the rest of the company and vice versa.

 "It’s given me opportunities to learn from my colleagues, broaden my skill set, and develop creative approaches to new problems."

Engineering Manager Tonia Hsia used the rotational program to expand her technical skill sets and rapidly advance her career. Tonia started as a junior individual contributor (IC), was promoted to a senior IC, then a team leader. Today she’s an Engineering Manager, after joining Samsara just three years ago.

“There is a broad range of problems and a high level of autonomy at Samsara which gives people the space and time to learn new skills in a variety of different areas. ‘Rotations’ allow engineers to spend three to six months on another team. It’s given me opportunities to learn from my colleagues, broaden my skill set, and develop creative approaches to new problems,” said Tonia Hsia, Engineering Manager.

Empowered to do your best

As a technology company, we aspire to use the best tools and resources to help our team succeed personally and professionally. Our employees take advantage of our online, on-demand modules, and live learning sessions to build professional and personal skills. We also offer professional career coaches to provide confidential, individualized support to help people achieve their goals. 

We believe continuous education is very important to keeping our team engaged over the long term. We provide every person with a Hootfund stipend which can be used for learning opportunities outside of Samsara. For aspiring managers, once you’ve completed Manager 101 training, you have the opportunity to take a 5-month Samsara Leadership Principles Program. This program provides leadership-focused reading, senior exec-led lectures, and exec-led small group discussions. Our CEO, Sanjit Biswas, personally leads parts of these trainings.

Flexible work and time to recharge

We work hard at Samsara, and we want to ensure people can do their best work wherever they are most effective. Our flexible work policy is designed to help employees work where and when they’re most productive. We also provide ergonomic resources to optimize your WFH set up so you can work comfortably and safely. 

Staying productive also means taking time for meaningful rest, reflection, and a chance to recharge. If we want to build for the long-term, we need to start with a sustainable you.

This year we introduced a six-week paid sabbatical after five years of service (and every five years after that.) It’s important to help people cultivate and explore their interests outside of work, and use this extended time to experience the broader world, expand their perspective, and discover new passions. The insights you learn can bring many new ideas and perspectives to inform your daily work.

We also recognize the need to recharge on a regular basis, and offer our team unlimited PTO, mental health days, and holiday shutdowns. Taking a break after completing a big project is essential to celebrate your success and give you a chance to reflect on how the project went.

If you’d like to learn more about how Samsara supports our employees, please see our recent Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report—it also explains how we improve safety for our customers, and create a more sustainable environment for the wider world.  

Come grow with us

Today, Samsara is in our seventh year of what we believe will be a long and successful journey to transform the world of industrial operations. These industries power 40% of the U.S. GDP, and helping these essential organizations integrate digital and AI technology will be transformative. We can make this happen when we work together as a team, and learn from each other, the outside world and our customers. 

We hope you will join us on this journey to help make the world safer, more efficient and sustainable, while also growing your own career. See our available positions here!

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