Introduction
Welcome to the Ultralytics Employee Handbook! This handbook is your guide to working at Ultralytics. It contains information about our company culture, policies, and procedures.
We are an AI-first company, which means that we believe in the power of AI to change the world. We are committed to building the best AI products and services, and to creating a work environment that is both challenging and rewarding.
We believe in transparency and open communication, and we encourage all employees to be active participants in the life of the company.
Purpose and Scope ๐ฏ
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Align
Ensure everyone understands our mission, values, and strategic priorities
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Guide
Provide clear procedures for common tasks and processes
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Empower
Give you the resources to work effectively and make informed decisions
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Evolve
Serve as a living document that grows with our organization
Who This Handbook Is For ๐ฅ
Ultralytics Team Members
Internal employees and contractors will find comprehensive guidance on:
- Your First 90 Days - Complete onboarding roadmap for new team members
- Ultralytics Portal - SSO-only internal hub for dashboards, onboarding checks, AI agent settings, and company tools
- Company policies and procedures
- Financial processes and reimbursements
- Hardware and software provisioning
- Security and compliance requirements
Open Source Contributors
Community members contributing to our repositories should reference:
- Development workflows and coding standards
- Testing and CI requirements
- Documentation guidelines
- Contribution best practices
Partners and Collaborators
External partners can learn about:
- Our mission, vision, and values
- How we work and communicate
- Quality standards and expectations
- Legal and compliance requirements
How to Use This Handbook ๐
Use the sidebar or top navigation to browse by topic:
- Mission & Values: Our foundational principles
- Finance: Travel, relocation, and reimbursement policies
- Tools: Hardware, software, and email setup
- Workflows: Development, CI/testing, and documentation
- Community: How to contribute and engage
- Legal & Security: Compliance, ethics, and information security
Use the search function (top of page) to quickly find specific topics, policies, or procedures.
Pro Tip
Use keywords like "PTO", "travel", "onboarding" for quick results
This handbook is maintained in our GitHub repository.
- Watch for updates
- Submit pull requests to improve content
- Subscribe to release notifications
About Ultralytics ๐
Ultralytics is a world leader in artificial intelligence, creating state-of-the-art computer vision tools that democratize advanced technology. Our flagship YOLO (You Only Look Once) models set the standard for real-time object detection, balancing speed and accuracy at every scale. Learn more on our About page.
AI-First Mindset
Ultralytics is an AI-first company. We expect everyone to default to AI assistants and automation to move faster and raise qualityโdrafts, analyses, reviews, and routine ops should start with AI, while human judgment keeps us compliant, secure, and customer-obsessed.
What We Do
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Open Source
Develop YOLO and computer vision frameworks
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Research
Push boundaries of AI model performance and efficiency
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Platform
Build tools for training, deployment, and production AI
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Community
Support 1M+ developers using our technology worldwide
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Solutions
How We Work
Our Work Culture
We work where the speed is. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are Anchor Daysโall team members within commutable distance are expected to be onsite to reduce latency, whiteboard in real time, and debug together.
Badge data is reviewed to keep teams in sync and credit consistent attendance; Anchor Day presence is a core performance and promotion input for Ultralytics. Opting into 5 days onsite unlocks richer in-office perks and faster feedback loops.
Mondays and Fridays are flex for deep work, but critical launches may call for full-week co-location. All our offices are dog-friendly!
MVP-first development with 2-week iteration cycles.
Bias toward action and rapid feedback loops.
- Transparent decision-making
- Public development
- Open-source first approach
- Metrics guide decisions
- User feedback drives roadmap
- Evidence-based improvements
Freedom to own your work with clear expectations and accountability.
1M+ developers and contributors actively shape our direction.
Why In-Person Wins
- Lower latency decisions: Whiteboard in real time and ship faster.
- Richer mentorship: Learn from peers and leaders live, not lagged.
- Career velocity: Presence boosts visibility, impact, and promotion pace.
Daily Operations โ๏ธ
- Anchor Days (Tue/Wed/Thu): Mandatory in-office presence for anyone within commutable distance of our London, Madrid, or Shenzhen hubs. We expect synchronous, in-person collaboration during local business hours on these days.
- Commutable Distance: If you can reliably travel to and from a hub on Anchor Days, you are considered commutable and must be onsite; managers escalate edge cases but default to in-office attendance.
- Working Rhythm: Anchor Days prioritize high-bandwidth sessionsโdesign reviews, pair debugging, roadmap alignmentโwhile Mondays/Fridays optimize for heads-down execution and async coordination.
- Verification & Performance: Badge swipes are monitored for consistency; sustained Anchor Day participation is a prerequisite for meeting expectations and promotion eligibility.
Our Commitment to You ๐ค
You'll work on technology used by millions of developers worldwide:
- Fortune 500 companies
- Individual researchers
- Production systems in:
- Autonomous vehicles
- Medical devices
- Manufacturing robots
- Agricultural drones
This is AI that matters.
Grow faster at Ultralytics than anywhere else:
| Opportunity | Details |
|---|---|
| Direct Access | Work with founders and technical leaders |
| Ownership | Significant projects with high visibility |
| Learning Budget | Courses, books, conference attendance |
| Mentorship | World-class AI researchers and engineers |
| Career Path | Clear paths to senior and leadership roles |
Competitive Series A-level compensation:
- Market-rate salaries benchmarked against top tech companies
- Meaningful equity grants with long exercise windows
- Performance bonuses and recognition
- Comprehensive benefits package
Details
Discuss compensation with your manager or HR.
We operate with radical transparency:
- Open financial metrics and company performance
- Public product roadmap and development process
- Clear decision-making with documented reasoning
- Direct access to leadership and honest 1:1s
Collaborate with exceptional talent:
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Top Researchers
AI researchers from leading universities and companies
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Proven Engineers
Engineers who have shipped products to millions
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OSS Leaders
Open-source contributors recognized globally
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Global Diversity
Diverse team across 10+ countries and time zones
Living Document Philosophy ๐
This handbook is never finished. As Ultralytics evolves, our processes and policies adapt. We encourage everyone to:
- Suggest improvements: Submit PRs or contact your manager
- Ask questions: If something's unclear, others probably wonder too
- Share feedback: Help us make this handbook more useful
Getting Help ๐ฌ
Questions about handbook content?
- Policy questions: Contact your manager
- Finance/reimbursements: Reach out to the Finance team in
#finance - IT/security: Use the
#it-supportor#securitySlack channels - Legal matters: Email legal@ultralytics.com
- HR questions: Contact the HR team in
#hr
Welcome! ๐
Whether you're a new employee, long-time contributor, or exploring Ultralytics for the first time, we're glad you're here. This handbook reflects our commitment to transparency, professionalism, and continuous improvement. Check out our blog for the latest news and insights.
Let's build the future of AI together! ๐
