The culture and the management are "old school." The majority of leaders and upper management have been there for 15-20 years and it shows. They are still playing that game of "don't let 'em see you sweat", but the people that do the work know exactly what is going right and what is going wrong. Employees rather have management be forthright and honest about failures and what needs to change. There is no want to change, no want for fresh ideas, no want for leaders that came from other large companies and may have ideas on how to improve. When pointing out that GA is not following aerospace industry accepted standards (and sometimes not following their own standards), it is just silence or lip service. No want to hear an opinion other than their own. It's the GA way, or no way. The preference is to promote people that will fall in line, say "yes", and do it the GA way. Advancement happens due to tenure and not necessarily credentials, although there are some good, competent leaders, but they are often overwhelmed. The employees that do care are stifled and not given opportunities to grow or take on responsibilities.
The pay was ok, but still below market value for aerospace engineering. The company wants to claim to compete with big DoD contractors like NG, Lockheed, and Boeing, but they are not and will not be able to. They still think and operate like a small company where decisions have to be made by only a few people rather than delegating authority. GA lacks the organization, infrastructure, and standards that those large companies have.
GA is happy to rest on their laurels because their current products continue to be bought and paid for by the government, and now by foreign governments. The newness and the challenge of it wears off quickly, and then it is just rinse and repeat. They like to think they are one of the best places to work, but they are a dead end for career growth. The dead end is made readily apparent by young and/or promising talent leaves after a few years or so. People realize quickly that management is out of touch, does not treat the employees like they matter or like their work matters.
The best analogy was as a "country club." You can go there, maybe do a little work that is somewhat engineering-like, get paid, and go home. If you have a family and want a semi-stable place, then it is a decent option.
