Starbucks
S

Starbucks

Retail

Apt Insight

They are an iconic global brand undergoing a major operational turnaround, offering standout benefits alongside a fast-paced retail and corporate environment. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company operates across the global food, beverage, and retail sectors. With tens of thousands of locations worldwide, their scale spans over ten thousand employees. They maintain a massive hiring pace with tens of thousands of open roles across retail, corporate, and digital teams.
Is this a good match for you?
Unlock your full match with Apt ProStart with the AI-powered career test to unlock your personal career mentor, full company insights, and a personalized job board designed around your goals.

About

At Starbucks, we like to say that we are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee. Here, our employees - who we call partners – are the heart of the Starbucks experience, and being a partner means aspiring to become part of something bigger: inspiring positive change in the world and growing in your career and in your community. ​ It’s an opportunity to be your personal best. ​ In everything we do, we are dedicated to our mission: To be the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world, inspiring and nurturing the human spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Starbucks is an equal opportunity employer. Explore opportunities, benefits and more at careers.starbucks.com
Founded1971
HeadquartersSeattle, WA
IndustryRetail
Websitewww.starbucks.com
Employees196.0K
Total Funding$900M

Why people join & leave

Why join
Comprehensive health and education benefitsSupportive team culture and partner communityBroad opportunities across a massive global footprintMeaningful brand scale and product reach
Why leave
High physical demands and peak rush stressInconsistent retail hours and schedulingCentralized top-down corporate decision-makingUnderperforming store closures and restructuring

Company Pulse

Raised
$900Mtotal

In the News

Starbucks to close 250 storescnbc.com · Sep 24, 2026
Starbucks settles Florida lawsuit claiming diversity policies were illegal | Reutersreuters.com · Sep 17, 2026
Starbucks considers selling majority stake in its Japan business, sources say | Reutersreuters.com · Sep 16, 2026
Starbucks is back, CEO Brian Niccol says. Here is what he's focused on nextcnbc.com · Sep 10, 2026
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol talks cafe renovations, customer servicecnbc.com · Sep 10, 2026

Employee Experience

3.5/5
Career Opportunities
3.3
Compensation & Benefits
3.7
Culture & Values
3.4
Diversity & Inclusion
3.9
Senior Management
2.9
Work-Life Balance
3.3

Quick Take

Strengths
Strong benefits packageCompensation and benefits earn a solid 74 rating with strong partner coverage and education perks.
Turnaround stock momentumShares rose about 19 percent year-to-date under the Back to Starbucks initiative.
Watch out
Low leadership approvalCEO rating stands at 36 amid ongoing corporate turnaround and operational changes.
Subdued business outlookBusiness outlook rating sits low at 41 among employee sentiment scores.
Note
Japan stake reviewWeighing a potential sale of a majority stake in their Japan unit valued at about $3 billion.

Things to consider

Store restructuring plans — The company is closing approximately 250 North American cafes as part of turnaround efforts.
Fast-paced retail burnout — High-volume customer rush periods and lean store staffing can lead to physical fatigue and stress.

Leadership

BN
Brian NiccolChairman and Chief Executive Officer
BB
Brady BrewerCEO, Starbucks International
ML
Molly LiuCEO, Starbucks China
CS
Cathy SmithEVP, Chief Financial Officer
AV
Anand VaradarajanEVP, Chief Technology Officer
MG
Mike GramsEVP, Chief Operating Officer

What They Build

Starbucks engineers platforms that power global retail point-of-sale systems, supply chain logistics, and customer digital touchpoints. Their technical teams focus on scaling the Starbucks mobile ordering and loyalty ecosystem to support millions of daily transactions. Engineering challenges include real-time distributed data processing, enterprise cloud infrastructure, and in-store IoT systems.
Digital Commerce
Mobile Applications
Loyalty Platforms
Supply Chain Technology
Enterprise Cloud
Domains
Backend Engineering
Data Engineering
Cloud Infrastructure
DevOps
Machine Learning
Tech Stack
Java
Kotlin
React
Node.js
Spring Framework
Kubernetes
Terraform
Microsoft Azure
+10