Smashtech has always been a company of producers. A place where people with creative ideas and personalities can express themselves through work that not only gets results, but gets rewarded. 

As a culture, we’re about as ego-free as it gets, but that doesn’t mean we’re unconcerned about what others think of us. Quite the opposite, in fact. We care a lot—particularly when it comes to our employees. A pillar of our cultural philosophy is that everyone be given voice and agency. More than the luxury office space, snack-packed cabinets, benefits, and free parking, this is what makes Smashtech one of the best places to work.

Today, the credibility of that philosophy is upheld again and again by our employees, with our 2nd consecutive year being recognized as one of San Diego’s Top Workplaces by The San Diego Union Tribune.

For seven years running, the Union Tribune has been surveying large, medium, and small companies—and the employees who work for them—to discover and promote the most appealing and people-first environments throughout San Diego. Companies are recognized exclusively on the surveys completed by their own employees.

When Smashtech took home top honors for Small Companies last year, the Union Tribune remarked on our “decidedly unconventional workplace environment.”

On point, UT… Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. 

“We never set out to create an organization that was like a traditional corporate workplace,” explained our co-founder, Anwar. A lot of things go into building the Smashtech environment. But convention isn’t one of them. 

So what goes into such an award?

• Eligible organizations must employ 50 rockstars or more. (Technically, they don’t all have to be rockstars, but in our case they are.)
• Participants can include private and public organizations, nonprofits, as well as government sectors.
• Employees provide detailed input, but you don’t have to be an employee to nominate an organization.
• You can’t buy your way to the top—there’s no cost for participation.

How difficult is it to be recoginized? Well, let’s break it down by the numbers.*

13,000 — employee submission

1,530 — employers invited to participate

85 — organizations highlighted by the UT

2 — consecutive years for Smashtech

1 — percent done