It's a great startup environment, but Maxlinear is really not a startup. It's a 70M+ company. It's great in what it does - i.e. Analog RF, but the company surely needs to improve its strength in software in order to increase its revenue and become a mid-size company. However, there is a tradeoff and I am not sure if the top management is sure about the direction of the company. Do what you do best and take risk in that field? Or spend resource in tech domain that is more lucrative, however without ample experience? Top management seems to be more comfortable in the first option. It's really not a bad thing. But, then the company has public offering.
In this company lot of people are not comfortable with the culture. Work life balance would score in negative. Thats a cliche if you are a Maxlinear employee. But I hear these days management is really serious about it and encouraging people to leave at 6:30.
Lot of people also complain that the culture in the company is too loud. Working in this company very soon one would realize that thats also the strength of this company. Nothing is sugarcoated. People here don't really like colleagues who sugarcoat things. As a result, the company is so direct that it's often uncomfortable when manager does 'informal' 1x1 in your cube with other people around. I have seen and heard this many time in this company. That must change.
Although more words spent on Cons than on Pros, in my mind, in this company the pro vs con is 75% vs. 25%. Just because of the reason you will enjoy your work. If you somehow don't, nobody will be likely to stop you from taking a job profile in the company which you like within roundabout skillset... most of the time something will be available, or made available.. Also I hope the company continues to encourage its employees taking risks.
