My feedback for the author, you assumed the culture of the company was a meritocracy. I certainly don't fault you for your assumption, it is a common structure

My feedback for the author, you assumed the culture of the company was a meritocracy. I certainly don't fault you for your assumption, it is a common structure in an engineering organization. Your first clue was with that first security bug and people losing their shit over solving a simple problem. That was your chance to challenge your preconceived notions and start to learn about the company's culture. Can't fault you for that either, it's easy for me to critique your choices with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. But going forward, something to think about. I recently walked away from a good engagement at a "Technology" company. I was the only technology person there. As much as I worked to properly set expectations, I had no idea about their bizarre and unspoken expectations. I should have spent more time investigating the culture of the company. My take away is, don't do work for a technology company that doesn't have technology people.