Great companies push employees to put the company first, above the interests of team or self. However, long-term this only works if the three interests are aligned (mostly). To find a company that aligns with your interest look at what managers say and what they do. If the talk doesn’t match the walk there may be misalignment. Pay close attention to where resources are spent and what incentives exist.
- What type of engineer gets promoted (tactical vs strategic)?
- If innovation is important, how easy is it to spin up a skunkworks project on the clock?
- What percentage of time is spent writing documentation and tests? (“oh we would, we just don’t have time”)
Keep in mind your interests may evolve over time as do the business needs. Larger companies may have a wide variety of internal business needs where you can find the right gap to fill.