What Doist does

Doist is the company behind Todoist, the world’s most popular task management app with 40+ million users, and Twist, an async-first team communication tool built because Slack wasn’t quiet enough for how they wanted to work.

Founded in 2007 – before the iPhone existed – Doist has been remote from day one. They’re fully bootstrapped, profitable, and fiercely independent. No VC funding means no external pressure to grow at all costs, which is why their ~100-person team has remained deliberately small while serving tens of millions of users.

That independence shapes everything about working there. Doist builds for the long term, invests in quality over speed, and runs one of the most sustainable remote operations in tech.

Remote culture: what it’s actually like

Doist didn’t adopt async work, they pioneered it. They built Twist specifically because existing communication tools like Slack created an always-on expectation that conflicted with their values. At Doist, async isn’t a compromise, it’s the deliberate, preferred way of working.

The implications are significant for daily work life. Meetings are rare. Written communication is thorough and considered, not rapid-fire. There’s no expectation that you’ll respond to a message within minutes – but there is an expectation that when you do respond, it’ll be thoughtful and complete.

Work-life boundaries are enforced, not just encouraged. Eight-hour days and 40-hour weeks are the maximum, and the culture actively discourages overwork. With 40 days of PTO plus five weeks of parental leave, the message is clear: your life outside of work matters as much as your contribution within it.

Leadership is distributed across the team’s 35+ countries. New hires get a dedicated mentor and start with a week of in-person co-working – recognising that even the most async-first company benefits from face-to-face connection during onboarding.

The potential downside: Doist’s culture is quiet by design. If you draw energy from fast-paced collaboration, frequent video calls, and real-time brainstorming, this environment may feel too still. It’s a company for people who do their best work in focused, uninterrupted blocks.

Hiring in Europe: the details

Countries: No location restrictions whatsoever. Doist has team members in 35+ countries and has never imposed geographic limitations. European candidates are well-represented on the team.

Employment model: Varies by country – a mix of direct hire and contractor arrangements depending on where you’re based. Doist handles the specifics and is transparent about the model during the hiring process.

Timezone expectations: Genuinely flexible. Async-first means timezone overlap is secondary to quality of work and communication. Some collaborative moments require overlap, but these are planned and predictable rather than constant.

Salary approach: Formula-based and transparent. Salaries are benchmarked to industry data, and there’s no negotiation. You’re told the salary upfront based on the formula – which removes the anxiety and inequity of negotiation while ensuring fair, consistent pay.

Language requirements: English is the working language.

Who they’re looking for

As a bootstrapped company, Doist hires conservatively – typically only a handful of roles per year. When they do hire, it’s across:

  • Software engineering (all levels)
  • Product and design
  • Customer experience and support
  • Marketing and content

The hiring bar is famously high. Their five-stage process includes salary transparency from the start, written assessments, and deep cultural alignment evaluation. They’re looking for three qualities above all: mastery (you care obsessively about quality), ambition (you push your limits), and communication (you write clearly and think carefully).

What current and former employees say

Employees at Doist tend to describe it as the best remote job they’ve ever had – with the caveat that it’s a specific kind of role that suits a specific kind of person. The benefits are genuinely outstanding (40 days PTO, enforced work-life balance, formula pay), and the async culture is described as liberating by people who’ve worked in meeting-heavy environments.

The hiring process is frequently described as thorough to the point of exhausting, but employees note that this rigour is exactly why the team quality is so high. Retention is strong – people join Doist and stay.

The cons: the pace can feel slow if you’re used to startup urgency, the small team means limited role diversity, and the quiet async culture requires comfort with solitude. Career progression in a ~100-person company is naturally limited compared to larger organisations.

How to apply

Specific tips: Know Todoist and Twist inside-out before applying. Read their blog extensively – they write thoughtfully about remote work, productivity, and company building. When a role opens, competition is fierce because they hire so rarely. Stand out by demonstrating deep alignment with their values in your writing. Don’t be generic. Show them you understand what async-first actually requires, and that you’ve already been working that way.

See our full guide to Remote-First Companies That Actually Hire in Europe.