[ryanlchan]

This attitude was precisely what turned me away from Google. I interviewed for what they call the Rotational Assistant Manager Program (RAMP), which in reality is rotational and management related only in that you go through several different marketing positions.

I'm reasonably well versed in technology; I know my way around a rails or python app, have a good understanding of massively parallel computing, and can explain how PageRank works. Yet as a nonengineer at Google, you get zero input on new products. Development is almost entirely handled by engineers, with very little input from the outside.

Coming from a highly integrated startup perspective, I thought it was crazy. After years of indoctrination in A/B testing and user feedback loops and agile development, a tight integration between development and marketing/customer facing teams is almost an expectation.

But when I raised the idea of bringing in marketing to the start of development, the Googlers gave me funny looks. Engineers run the show, then hand it off to the marketers to sell; there's no real mingling between the two. At the onsite weekend, where we interviewed side by side, the engineers and the marketers weren't even allowed to sit at the same table for meals. Clinging to its technical heritage is hamstringing Google today.