Great engineers but management struggles with technical expertise
Pros
The engineers who work hard and take themselves seriously are still working here and are great to collaborate with and solve problems. The projects are interesting, as long as your manager is considering your interests and career path. There are ample opportunities in commercial and military, with the commercial being more of a remote/Teams environment and military being more in person. Bonus structure is strong, 15%. Incentive pay for coming to work. Work life balance mostly depends on the job you sign up for.
Cons
Managers may not have come up through the engineering ranks and so they may not understand us. They focus more on process, like Flight Deck, than having actual knowledge to solve problems. The technical expertise in the sub section and especially section level has gone down in the last 5-10 years. This less technical management class seems to be impacting engineering turnover among the IC’s. Additionally, constant pivots, often due to inconsistent funding, also decrease morale. Lastly, it’s possible your manager doesn’t care as much about your career as they do just getting tasks done / covering the bases. Basically non-existent health care (very high premium and deductible for larger families). Biased hiring through Next Engineers.
