Feedback on Fluidstack
I come from a large hyperscaler and was subsequently courted by Fluidstack after seeing several colleagues leave for them. I went through the interview process all the way to an offer just to see what was up. I ultimately ended up turning it down due to a large number of red flags, though the offer itself was substantial.
- They are a small player wanting to grow quickly. I learned early on in the interview process that they aren't very far along with any of their projects. They're mostly riding the AI hype and trying to scale fast. They tout a $50 billion investment from Anthropic, with the caveat that it's not an investment in the company, they are being paid to build for Anthropic which is "committing" to invest that much money in data centers.
- Due to that rapid growth, they had zero structure or organization. The director I talked to had plenty of ideas about what he wanted to do, but it mostly sounded like they were just treading water. At the time I interviewed, they didn’t even have a formal HR department, though there was lots of talk about moving toward standard tech-company benefits.
- Their main hiring strategy seems to be "throw money at tech employees and get them to join." Their offers are large ($200k–$300k), and they're using their cash pile to quickly snag experienced engineers.
- The problem is that their interview process is a mess. They are throwing money at an army of recruiters who spam anyone in a tech data center role. Everything (from the initial screen to the technical interview and the hiring manager call) was a joke. Basically, they were confirming I had a pulse and could answer basic questions. Talking to the CEO during the process was interesting, but it also confirmed they have zero experience building an infrastructure company. It was concerning how easy it was to get an offer, but that ties into my next point.
- Even more concerning, and a major reason I turned them down, is the quality of their hiring. Don't get me wrong, we lost a few good engineers to them. However, I’ve also seen low-level engineers and poor-performing techs get hired directly into senior roles. It aligns with the rest of the interview process: get bodies in the door and figure it out later.
- One thing that felt shady was the RSU numbers they quote in their offer letters. If you aren't familiar with startups and are coming straight from a big tech company, it looks like future riches. However, they are common (non-preferred) shares, and they quote the preferred investor share price from their last raise to inflate the perceived value in the offer letter.
- From friends who were hired, the travel requirements are extremely high. You are expected to be constantly traveling out to data centers to get things built and commissioned, or flying to vendor sites for FATs and inspections. If you don't mind jet-setting to rural areas and working 60–80 hour weeks, it's a well-paying gig.
Don't get me wrong, if I had received this offer 10 years ago, I would've been on the first flight to Buffalo. But as someone further along in my career, the cash isn't high enough and the funny-money RSUs aren't worth the time away from my family. If you're willing to trade free time for a good salary and you thrive in chaos, it's not a bad company to consider. Just go in with your eyes open.
Feel free to ask me questions about the interview process, and I can share more context.