Company details

HEADCOUNT

100-499

ORG TYPE

Corporate

SECTOR

Technology & Digital

WEBSITE

http://www.forwardnetworks.com/

About the company

Forward Networks builds “network digital twin” software used by large enterprises to model, verify, and troubleshoot complex networks across cloud and on-prem environments. The company says Forward Networks was founded in 2013 by four Stanford University PhDs and positions the product around mathematically precise network modeling. Forward Networks hires globally across engineering, customer success, sales, and go-to-market roles through an Greenhouse job board. Public employer profiles also point to a mid-sized company footprint.

Locations and presence

Forward Networks lists headquarters in Santa Clara and also shows a presence in Bengaluru. Current openings include US roles in places like Charlotte and the Eastern US region, alongside India-based engineering roles.

Palpable Score

60.0

/ 100

Forward Networks offers some genuine entry points for early-career candidates, but the visible open roles skew senior, which limits access. Hiring details and compensation transparency are stronger than average through structured postings and published ranges, while early-career outcomes are hard to validate because public promotion and retention evidence is thin.

Pillar 1: Early-career access

Score

9.0

/ 20

The company has at least one explicitly entry-level posting (“Junior Network Engineer”) listed with entry-level seniority on LinkedIn.
Forward Networks’ main public job board shows a small set of openings that largely require 5+ years or more, which narrows practical access for 0–3 year applicants.
The company does not publish a graduate scheme, internship pipeline, or conversion outcomes on the careers site, so early-career volume is hard to confirm.

Pillar 2: Hiring fairness and transparency

Score

14.0

/ 20

The company uses a structured ATS application flow and most postings include clear sections for responsibilities, requirements, and location expectations.
Forward Networks has public interview-process metadata on Glassdoor, including typical stages and an average hiring timeline, which helps candidates calibrate effort.
The company has mixed candidate reports in interview writeups, including occasional role-expectation mismatch (for example, DevOps vs SDE emphasis), which pulls down consistency.

Pillar 3: Learning and support

Score

11.0

/ 20

The company has explicit mentorship expectations for senior engineers in at least one posting, calling out “mentor and guide junior engineers” as part of technical leadership.
Forward Networks’ senior engineering postings also state that networking-domain experience is “NOT a requirement” for some roles, implying the company expects to teach domain context on the job.
The company does not publicly describe an onboarding plan, buddy system, or a junior-specific ramp in postings, so early-career support signals remain indirect.

Pillar 4: Pay fairness and stability

Score

14.0

/ 20

The company publishes US compensation ranges on multiple roles and often notes stock may be included, which is a strong transparency signal.
Forward Networks lists benefits on the careers page including medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus a flexible time-off approach (manager-approved, no tracked PTO).
The company does not consistently show salary ranges across all geographies and levels (for example, many non-US roles and the entry-level listing lack pay detail), which limits pay predictability for new grads.

Pillar 5: Early-career outcomes

Score

12.0

/ 20

The company has solid broad sentiment on Glassdoor (high overall ratings and “career opportunities” scoring), which is a positive but non-specific indicator for progression.
Forward Networks is listed as Great Place To Work certified and shows very strong survey results around feeling welcomed and trust in management, which supports retention plausibility.
The company does not publish early-career promotion rates, internal mobility examples, or retention stats; LinkedIn can show hiring snapshots, but it cannot replace hard outcomes data for junior growth.