employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

General Atomics

Is this your company?

This Job Made Me Rethink Being an Engineer - Software Engineer General Atomics Employee Review

1.0
Aug 19, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My time at General Atomics helped mold me into a much better engineer than I was when I started. We had to learn on the fly often which it helps sharpen your skills. The pay is okay but not competitive. My experience at GA may have been a one off and probably does not represent the company as a whole. They have a number of teams to work on and I think I may have been on the worst one. I would suggest doing your research if you plan to work at the company to avoid experiencing what I experienced.

Cons

Extremely high stress environment with very little recognition for hard work. I would work 50-60 hours a week mandated or face consequences. I had the misfortune of having a supervisor who had no interest in being a supervisor. He was unfit to be a supervisor in my opinion. Any mistake I made just fed into his belief of me as a terrible engineer and I received zero recognition for any of the great work I did. I was never going to be promoted and I was denied titles that I was already doing all the work for. Do not expect previous experience to count toward promotions, they look out for those who have been there the longest. Which begs the question, why have previous experience in the first place. The raises and bonus's are also extremely low. To enjoy working at this company is very team dependent and I was unfortunately placed on the team with the quickest deadlines and most mismanagement.

Explore other reviews about General Atomics

5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very good work life balance

Cons

9 hour shifts 4 days a week

3.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Mostly good people and skilled engineers that are easy to work with and great to learn from across all groups/locations. There is opportunity to pursue technical areas of interest and to stand out by leading improvement efforts. The company is flexible and often facilitates changes according to interest. Sense of job security generally feels good and stable, the greater GA really backs the Space division. The greater company works on some really interesting and cool things, beyond just defense. Pay is pretty good. Experience with most middle management (of engineers) has been positive, they typically advocate and support their employees.

Cons

Unsure of division leadership and strategic direction. Overall impression is that engineers' perspectives are not adequately weighted in both proposals and certain decisions for active missions. Processes burden performance, though there is intention for constant improvement. Ignoring engineering concerns (i.e. with schedule) + process burdens often result in delays and increased pressure, and therefore a less than ideal working environment at times. Overtime pay is not guaranteed but can be approved. Working with teams in different locations can lead to tension and "silo-ing" (though not always). Space division is becoming mostly defense focused (an industry trend), but would be nice to continue work in the civil earth and space science arena. They also demo'd a nice cafeteria/gathering space for more work/equipment space.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All