Oracle Software Development Engineer (SDE) reviews

3.4

52% would recommend to a friend

(122 total reviews)

Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia

Not enough data to show CEO approval

46% positive business outlook

Software Development Engineer SDE employees have rated Oracle with 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 122 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Software Development Engineer SDE professionals have a good working experience there. Oracle is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Software Development Engineer SDE professionals compared to other employers within the Tecnologías de la información industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

122 reviews
1.0
Jun 30, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Brand name recognition in the industry.

Cons

Lack of Diversity in Leadership: The reporting chain is highly homogeneous, with most leads and managers coming from the same country or background. This creates an insular culture where engineers from different backgrounds often find it difficult to have their voices heard or their contributions recognized. Chaotic Codebase and Poor Knowledge Transfer: Many systems appear to be patched together from multiple open-source projects with no unified architecture. There’s a noticeable absence of documentation, design rationale, or operational guidelines. Pull requests often contain little or no context, and it’s not uncommon to see over hundred high-severity issues logged weekly as a result. Toxic Hierarchical Culture: Long-tenured, high-level engineers dominate team dynamics. They can be dismissive or even hostile to improvement ideas, sometimes publicly accusing others of having “ulterior motives.” Management consistently fails to address this behavior, enabling a culture where intimidation is normalized. Authoritarian Management Style: Reasonable questions or requests from team members can trigger disproportionate reactions. The culture discourages open discussion or questioning of decisions. In some cases, when managers are challenged in public settings, they appear unprepared to explain their rationale and instead respond defensively. HR System Lacks Independence: HR can redirect back to the management chain you may be reporting. Should you persist, HR might conduct a vague "investigation," but they refuse to provide timelines, methodologies, or updates. In some cases, escalating further has reportedly led to sudden termination with no stated cause.

5.0
Jun 26, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Collaborative work environment with talented colleagues Good work-life balance and flexible work arrangements Opportunities to work on large-scale, impactful projects Strong emphasis on code quality and engineering best practices Stable company with global presence and strong brand

Cons

Sometimes processes can feel slow due to the size of the organization Internal mobility can take time and requires networking Some legacy systems and tools still in use Compensation may not be as competitive as top-tier tech firms

Viewing 28 - 30 of 122 Reviews

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