Pros
I've been at HotPads less than a year so far, but it's one of my favorite places that I've ever worked. Sure, it's part of a much bigger company (Zillow!) but for the most part, we get to operate as a separate entity within ZIllow. You have the support, benefits, and salary that are backed by a huge company, but still work with a smaller, close knit team that you generally associate with startups.
It seems like many of the people who are originally started with the site ages ago are still part of the team and show lots of love and enthusiasm for their baby. It makes the entire team (back end, front end, operations) feel like one big happy, quirky family.
For me, that's one of the biggest things -- the team fosters such a positive and enjoyable culture (and the culture at Zillow in general is great as well). I wake up every day excited to go into work and face new challenges. I get to work with others solving interesting problems (if you like lots of data, A/B testing new features, working with maps, being surrounded by ridiculously intelligent and outgoing people, this is a place you're going to really enjoy).
Other pros:
* The team is open and receptive to new ideas
* Quarterly hack weeks that let you work with other teams on crazy stuff for Zillow in general.
* The company Christmas party in Seattle is ridiculous.
* Dog friendly office!
* A kegerator -- but none of the bro stereotypes that go with having one.
* Benefits thanks to Zillow: 401K matching, gym reimbursement, transit reimbursement (!)
Cons
I don't think I've been here long enough to have many cons.
As someone else said, the pathway toward moving upward doesn't seem very clear. It's not the biggest issue, since I really enjoy what I work on and who I work with.
Other cons:
* Our floor kind of sucks, only because it's split up by all these weirdly shaped conference rooms.
* We use HipChat instead of Slack.
