Started hopeful. Good in parts. Mostly disorganized, unsettled and political
Pros
Being a bulge bracket investment bank in an area evolved for technology and pharm companies means it pays far more than the local area. There has been some progress where certain applications are now led from the center, but the majority is still "augmentation" with NYC and London calling the shots. If you like constant change, then this is the place for you. Frequent reshuffles and changes in leadership happen, so you could see this as an opportunity if you can stick it out. Deutsche Bank is undergoing a large scale refactoring akin to the Final Solution, jobs are being created in low-cost centers like Cary, so this creates opportunity. Promotion is possible - Keep your eyes open and turn up then you will get promoted and receive a fat bonus It is undergoing some changes to the building, the environment is spacious with lots of walls to put post-it notes on. There is now more meeting rooms than people - which is good. Lots of communication from senior managers at the beginning and end of year. A great choice of food trucks for lunch.
Cons
Cary does "BAU" and stuff that is either not difficult or interesting enough for London to want it. It is not a "Technology Center" or a "center of excellence" it's just cheaper than working in London and we get the work when London is downsized. The CTC, as it is now known, underwent significant growth in 2013, then is retracting again in 2014 with a hire-freeze and mass firing. As the other reviewer mention its is a flailing investment bank and it has recently woke up and realized it has too many people and it is not making enough money to keep them. Don't worry though, if you can code it will be a long way to get to you. Little communication from senior managers outside of the beginning and end of year. Forced ranking. The hiring process is bad... and you wondered why you stuck it out. The recruitment team were often to blame but the HR team must accept the majority. Escalate and make enough noise, then HR wakes up - but why then? Most of us need jobs for our families. Make sure you are financially stable and able to take the time out to be on boarded otherwise you will find it V. STRESSFUL. Agile adoption has become comical. Even if we wanted it; the external bank thinks it is developer jumbo that can be overridden if they shout loud enough. They let the agile coaches go, so our walls are full of stagnant yellow notes, toolboxes of avatars and broken dreams. The place is awash with QA engineers, Scrum Masters and Technical Program Managers. Lots of managers. Pretty much everyone apart from coders. Our town halls are always long and contains announcements about tools. We have never seen the tools. Did I mention the politics? It is sickening. No matter how much they pay the sugar I still have a bad taste.