What's It Like to Work at Instacart?

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed consumer’s grocery shopping habits forever, with more and more American families opting to shop online through contactless delivery applications instead of going in-store. Despite the variety of delivery service options available – from Amazon’s Whole Food Market to goPuff – Instacart has become a clear frontrunner.

With its IPO imminent, you may be more curious than ever what it's like to work as a corporate employee at Instacart.

What Exactly Is Instacart?

Photo credit: Office Snapshots

Founded by thirty-year-old Apoorva Mehta, Instacart is an online grocery delivery service that brings fresh groceries and everyday essentials directly from the store to households across the U.S. and Canada.

The company’s mission is to, “create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together,” through their time-saving, same-day delivery service. That’s why Instacart has hundreds of grocery chains, from national stores to local bodegas, to support all types of businesses and reach everyone no matter where they are located.

Instacart is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce tech companies out there due to its ability to keep up with market trends and consumer demands. Since its start in 2012, Instacart has partnered with over 500 national, regional and local retailers.

During the company’s most recent funding round in October 2020, it was valued at $17.7 billion. Instacart plans on using that funding to expand its advertising and enterprise businesses, and for product development. As the company makes its footprint in the tech industry, they've become a popular site for recent grads looking for employment.

The Perks: Salary, Benefits and More

Photo credit: Office Lovin

Comprehensive financial benefits

Moreover, as a rising tech company, the company offers competitive salaries for its employees. According to Comparably, the average estimated annual salary (including base and bonus) at Instacart is $124,814, or $60 per hour. The estimated median salary is $148,632, or $71 per hour.

Here is a breakdown of average salaries by department:

• Operations: $88,375
• Engineering: $157,000
• Customer Support: $93,500
• Product: $225,000

Instacart also offers 401k plans to employees with a 4% salary match. Though the match is on the lower side for other tech companies, it's a big step up from previously offering no match at all. Instacart is still a growing company, so it's very possible this benefit will be improved over time.

Here are a few additional financial benefits:

• Student loan assistance through Peanut Butter
• Free Rocket Lawyer membership
• SoFi & First Republic financial planning

Comprehensive health benefits

Instart offers a comprehensive healthcare plan, covering medical, dental and vision. Additionally, you can get life & disability coverage, and benefit from physical & mental wellness programs, memberships and stipends.

Flexible time off

Instacart gives its employees unlimited PTO to recharge as needed, and the company seems to really stand behind this policy. An Instacart Area Manager reported on Glassdoor:

"Unlike most companies, when they say unlimited time off, they mean it. When they say they support working parents, they mean it (and make sure that their managers are following that guidance)."

New parents are given paid 16-week parental leave (for both primary and secondary caregivers). Other perks for new parents are a $500 grocery credit, Instacart merch for their new baby and an active Parents@ community.

Notable onsite perks

Photo credit: Office Snapshots

Instacart has three main offices in North America – Atlanta, GA, San Francisco, CA and Toronto, Ontario – where employees work in open, modern office spaces. The San Francisco office serves as the Instacart HQ, offering the most benefits:

• Lunch every day (in addition to snacks, beverages and pizza Fridays)
• Yoga room
• Library and a study
• Food-themed conference rooms
• Game room
• Community-building events, including cooking and baking classes

Photo credit: Office Snapshots

Other unique perks

The extras are oftentimes peoples' favorites, so here are some of Instacart's unique benefits:

• Free Instacart Express membership, which is a $99 per year value
• Monthly $60 phone + internet reimbursement
• Home office stipend of $600
• $1500 a year for conferences and self-improvement (books, online courses, etc.)
• Udemy access

Inclusive and Close-Knit Company Culture

Photo credit: Office Snapshots

In 2020, Instacart won 6 awards for its positive company culture:

• Best Company for Diversity 2020
• Best Company Work-Life Balance
• Best Company Happiness
• Best Professional Development 2020
• Best Leadership Teams 2020
• Best CEOs for Diversity 2020

Employees at Instacart are very satisfied with their work experience. The overall culture score, 83/100 or A, incorporates employee ratings regarding Professional Development, Outlook, Diversity and more.

In fact, many reviews emphasize how the company feels like a family. They frequently recognize outstanding employees, and teams are friendly and foster inclusion. According to one employee,

“Instacart has helped me find my passion and my team is supportive of my newfound passion and is willing to help me achieve my personal growth and goals. There are many people in my team that I could look up to and learn from as mentors with excellent work ethics.”

Even through the pandemic, the company has been able to make sure their employees feel connected through a variety of events, discussions and more. One employee from the Operations Department wrote,

“Since I started during COVID, I don't have a full grasp of the company culture and environment but even with that impediment, I feel like the company has made me feel "heard" and like my position matters to the overall company success. I feel like what I do at Instacart makes a lasting impact.”

The company culture is largely focused on hiring a diverse workforce, and fostering a culture of inclusivity that can be seen through their different D&I measures.

Diversity & Inclusion

Instacart has multiple employee resource groups (ERGs) in order to boost diversity and inclusion in the office. The ERGs ensure that everyone gains exposure to different perspectives, and all employees feel valued in the workplace.

Nightshades

Nightshades is Instacart’s Black ERG, which focuses on building a more inclusive culture in the workplace by attracting, retaining and growing Black Instacart employees. The ERG works with recruiting and HR to create initiatives for increased mentorship opportunities, networking events and community volunteering. Nightshades leaders have also held conversations about race in the workplace, designed activities for allies to participate in, and highlighted Black innovators in food. For example, in honor of Black History Month, Nightshades hosted a series of programs and events for the Instacart community.

Women @ Instacart

This ERG offers career development, community engagement and internal culture building for women in the Instacart workplace. With only 25% of all jobs in the tech industry held by women as of 2018, this ERG helps women secure opportunities to move up the career ladder and promotes retention.

Rainbow Carrots

The Rainbow Carrots is the company’s LGBTQ+ ERG. It is dedicated to celebrating the history and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community through event programming, and providing support and opportunities to LGBTQ+ employees. During Transgender Awareness Week, the Rainbow Carrots hosted a series of talks and discussions to raise awareness about issues in the transgender community, and honor the memory of transgender people who lost their lives to hate crimes and targeted violence.

Sazón

Sazón is focused on recruiting, hiring and retaining Latinx employees at Instacart and supporting their professional development. For Latinx Heritage Month, Sazón offered virtual cooking classes to celebrate Latin cuisine, and hosted a fireside discussion with Latina author, businesswoman, and immigrant rights advocate, Julissa Arce.

Parents @ Instacart

The Parents @ Instacart serves to support every parent in the company through social events, community building, employee development and more. For example, the company instituted ‘Bring Your Kid to Work Day’ to celebrate parents and their families.

👉 Read Next: A recruiter's view on promoting diversity

A Future at Instacart

Instacart offers a high-impact work environment that allows employees to work on innovative technology with team members who have similar core values. The company has demonstrated its ability to keep up with evolving trends in the world and the tech industry, providing a great opportunity for those looking to find employment.

The Instacart career page has recently been updated with new roles for those on the job hunt. From engineering to product, check out the job board to find out more about roles that suit your interests!