The San Francisco Bay Area is known for its tech environment, with Silicon Valley as the main tech hub for innovative technology companies around the globe. Hundreds of companies have chosen San Francisco as its headquarters and many events take place every day in the city. Some of the reasons why companies choose San Francisco are access to capital and an excellent business ecosystem, in addition to its cultural diversity and the many top-tier universities available in the area that provide an endless supply of outstanding talent.
The Bay Area is home to big shots like Google, Apple, HP, Zoom, Microsoft, and Adobe, and of course, many up-and-coming companies, all of which support 200,000 tech jobs and the highest average high-tech salaries in the US.
All of this makes San Francisco one of the most coveted places to work, which is why today we’ll focus on some of the best places to work in the Bay Area in 2021.
Founded in 1982, Adobe currently has over 11,000 employees in the US alone and rakes in over $11B worldwide. The company is behind some amazing software products such as Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop and InDesign.
Some of the advantages of working for Adobe include a full health care plan (including dental and vision benefits) and the chance to take personal time off in addition to your annual leave (not to mention a paid sabbatical every five years!). Moreover, there is meditation and mindfulness coaching, a 401(k) plan, company stock options, higher education and leadership training opportunities, and volunteering and funding opportunities for causes you believe in.
These benefits have gotten the San Francisco company in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for 2021 (a list it has been part of for 21 years), PEOPLE Companies That Care 201, and Forbes’ The Best Employers for Diversity 2021, just to name a few popular employee satisfaction surveys.
You can see Adobe’s careers page here.
Postmates was established in 2011 and has managed to reach $920M in yearly revenue since then. It also has a workforce of over 6,000 people.
If you want to learn a bit more about the company, you can check out our article from the talk Co-founder and CEO Bastian Lehmann gave at Disrupt San Francisco 2019. However, you should know that Postmates was acquired by Uber in early 2020.
According to its employees, the Bay Area business provides room for growth and a challenging work environment. The benefits Postmates offers include family medical leave, a flexible work schedule, generous parental leave, a remote work program, dental and mental health benefits, a pet-friendly office, professional development programs, a 401(k) and company equity, and paid holidays and sick days.
You can take a look at the employment opportunities Postmates offers under Uber’s name here.
This San Francisco business was founded in 2002 and has amassed 1,679 employees in the US and over $1B in worldwide revenue since then. Atlassian is known for having developed team and project management tools such as Jira and Trello.
Some of the great perks the Bay Area giant offers include generous parental leave, a flexible work schedule, paid holidays, an unlimited vacation policy, performance bonuses, 401(k) matching and company equity, continuous education, mentorship and diversity programs, not to mention free daily meals, happy hours and company outings. 93% of Atlassian’s employees say it’s a great place to work because of its values, people and team.
Explore Atlassian’s careers page right here!
SentinelOne is one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity companies according to Growjo. It was founded in 2013 and is located in the Bay Area. It now has a workforce of over 800 and $169.5M in yearly revenue.
The company has been dubbed one of the best places to work by the San Francisco Business Times, the Bay Area News Group and Inc. As for what it has to offer, the list is extensive: medical, dental and vision insurance, mental health and mindfulness benefits, gym reimbursement, paid parental leave, life insurance, paid sick time and holidays, team building activities, happy hours, and much more.
You can browse its job opportunities here.
AI-driven Nvidia has had a long run, starting out in 1993. During this time, the San Francisco Bay Area company has hired over 7,000 employees in the US and accrued over $11B in revenue around the globe.
Its workers praise Nvidia for being a pet-friendly environment and providing great support for remote workers. Some of its other benefits are an employee stock purchase plan, full medical insurance, paid parental leave, senior care planning, disability and personal leave, student loan repayment, and mental health resources.
You can dig into the careers page here.
This San Francisco Bay Area company was created in 2011 and is focused on cybersecurity (particularly, ransomware). It currently has almost 2,000 employees across the country and $481M in revenue worldwide.
CrowdStrike is focused on employee growth, remote work and making an impact. It also offers comprehensive health insurance, an employee stock purchase plan, parental and fertility assistance, coaching and mentorship, a 401(k) plan, and a health and wellness program.
The company is included in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2021 and its employees highlight how approachable the management team is.
You can take a peek at the job opportunities CrowdStrike offers here.
ServiceNow is a software company that creates digital workflows. It was founded in 2004 and now has over 12,000 employees and about $3.5B in revenue.
Among the benefits it offers are generous family leave, flexible PTO, 401(k) matching, matched donations, annual learning stipends, paid volunteer time, adoption assistance, a remote work program, an equal pay policy, an onsite gym, and commuter benefits. 91% of ServiceNow’s workforce says it’s a great place to work because of its people, culture, and leadership, among other factors.
ServiceNow is one of the best places to work according to Fortune and LGBT equality and its employees highlight that no matter how young you are or how entry-level your position is, you are always treated as an equal and given opportunities to grow.
Explore the career page here.
This San Francisco cloud storage giant was established in 2007 and now has a workforce of over 2,342 in the US alone and makes over $1B in revenue across the globe.
Its benefits include full medical coverage, a 401(k) plan, free Dropbox storage, up to four weeks of paid time off, a remote work program, an equal pay policy, life insurance, team workouts, a game room, a diversity program and various professional development opportunities. 91% of Dropbox workers say it’s a great place to work because of its people, culture, food and benefits, among other factors. It is also one of the best places to work according to USA Today and Fortune.
You can take a look at Dropbox’s job openings here.
- Udemy
Established in 2010, Udemy is all about online learning. The company is 4,697 employees strong, offers over 150,000 courses and rakes in around $775M per year in revenue.
Employees praise the company for its learning culture and how easy it makes it for everyone to be themselves in the workplace. Other advantages this Bay Area online academy offers are learning incentives and programs, charitable matching, family medical leave, parental leave, group brainstorming sessions, unconscious bias training, an equal pay policy, full medical insurance, free daily meals, company events, and well-being memberships.
You can take a peek at Udemy’s careers page here.
Final thoughts on best places to work in the Bay Area 2021
As you can see, there are plenty of incredible workplaces in San Francisco, particularly for those in the IT business. The companies in our list of best places to work in the Bay Area in 2021 strive to create a safe environment that offers an excellent work-life balance, in addition to growth and training opportunities. Would you like to give any of these a try?
