The best places to work aren't necessarily FAANG companies. A good smaller company working at a breakneck pace is often times a lot more engaging. The pay is

The best places to work aren't necessarily FAANG companies. A good smaller company working at a breakneck pace is often times a lot more engaging. The pay is never going to be as good but work satisfaction can be a lot higher. What you're describing can be fairly typical at larger companies FAANG or non FAANG. However, sometimes a big enough project with enough priority comes along where an exec gives you the ability to bypass a lot of red tape. These types of projects are exactly the kind of thing you want to find yourself on and they've given me immense satisfaction. You may also look to expand your role by fixing/improving things without being asked. I find it hard to believe that you can complete everything that needs to be done on your project by only working one day a week. I will tell you as someone who oversees a team of engineers, the ones who see the vision and understand why we do things and can get ahead of future issues are way more valuable than people who pick off stories off a board.