Company details

HEADCOUNT

100-499

ORG TYPE

Startup

SECTOR

Technology & Digital

WEBSITE

https://www.encord.com

About the company

Encord builds a data development platform for multimodal and physical AI, covering workflows like data management, curation, and annotation for teams training and evaluating models. Encord publicly positions the product as infrastructure that helps AI teams improve data quality and move models toward production faster. The company announced a $30M Series B in August 2024 led by Next47, with participation from investors including Y Combinator and CRV. Public hiring materials show a growth-stage team expanding across engineering, go-to-market, and operations.

Locations and presence

Encord hires primarily in London and San Francisco, with roles marked on-site or hybrid and an in-office expectation showing up repeatedly in job descriptions. The company also lists roles in India on the main jobs board, suggesting a broader international operating footprint.

Palpable Score

67.0

/ 100

Encord is unusually accessible for early-career candidates because the company hires for multiple “Associate” roles and runs a clearly-labelled Graduate Software Engineer intake. The score stops short of the top tier because salary transparency is inconsistent across locations and functions, and candidate experience signals include at least one serious “final-round no-show/ghosting” complaint.

Pillar 1: Early-career access

Score

15.5

/ 20

The company lists dedicated entry routes such as “Associate Software Engineer (Graduate)” roles in both London and San Francisco with a defined 2026 start window.
Encord also posts multiple “Associate” engineering roles (for example Associate Back-End Engineer and Associate Full-Stack Engineer), which widens the 0–3 year funnel beyond a single graduate slot.
The company’s broader open roles still skew experienced, but the number of associate-labelled openings makes early-career access a repeat pattern rather than a one-off.

Pillar 2: Hiring fairness and transparency

Score

13.0

/ 20

The company’s graduate engineering listing is unusually specific about team shape (small squads), expectations (end-to-end ownership), and what skills count (projects, coursework, bootcamps), which helps candidates self-select.
Encord’s public interview feedback includes positive notes about responsive recruiting and in-person finals for some candidates, which is a fairness plus when it happens consistently.
The company also has at least one detailed interview report describing a multi-stage process ending in a senior no-show and then silence, which is a concrete red flag for candidate respect.

Pillar 3: Learning and support

Score

13.0

/ 20

The company frames the graduate engineer role around fast learning through close collaboration in small squads and “work alongside” experienced teammates, with explicit language about teammates helping new hires upskill.
Encord backs learning with tangible perks like an annual learning and development budget (explicitly listed in the CS Associate posting), which is practical support early-career hires can actually use.
The company does not publicly commit to structured onboarding, formal mentorship, or a review cadence in the job descriptions, so the support picture relies more on culture language than on named mechanisms.

Pillar 4: Pay fairness and stability

Score

14.0

/ 20

The company publishes a base pay range for the San Francisco “Associate Software Engineer (Graduate)” role on a public listing, which is a strong transparency signal for early-career engineers.
Encord repeatedly pairs roles with equity language and a stable benefits baseline (for example 25 days annual leave plus public holidays, and paid L&D budget in some postings).
The company does not consistently publish salary ranges across the London-heavy listings on the main jobs board, which makes it harder for early-career candidates to compare offers fairly.

Pillar 5: Early-career outcomes

Score

11.5

/ 20

The company has strong overall employee sentiment in public reviews, including high scores for career opportunities and compensation, but this data is not segmented to early-career cohorts.
Encord has mixed signals on the “how the process feels” side, with both supportive interview experiences and at least one high-effort process ending without closure, which can correlate with uneven internal operating maturity.
The company’s LinkedIn headcount band and the company’s own hiring copy point to rapid scaling, but there is no public, trackable early-career progression story (promotions, time-to-level-up, cohort retention) to score higher.

Useful links & resources

Encord Careers Encord jobs board (Lever) Associate Software Engineer (Graduate)