Pros
Probably the most outstanding positive I can say about Red Hat is its commitment to Open Source technologies. Many of the people that work here and are happy working here succeed because they believe passionately in the idea of Open Source. Even though the company makes its profit from community-developed software, it adds many resources to that development and actively works with the community to create a meritocracy of ideas. It is also a place where you'll find some of the best minds in the business. Great engineers work here and you are in great company when developing products and planning releases. Red Hat is an international company that really does its best to let that personality flavor operations. Currently there are more associates employed outside the US than in the US. This means there is a great deal of work on an international scale, which can be engaging and exciting.
Cons
Because Red Hat hires some of the best minds in engineering, the atmosphere is one of the most egotistical and entitled in the business. The tone is one of having too many chefs in the kitchen. Projects can take ages to move along because there are too many experts. Personalities are constantly in battle. People openly judge each other based on ridiculous standard such as what OS's they prefer or what hardware they use. The company spent many years as an engineer-only workforce, so much of the interfaces that have been designed for the 'public' are antiquated, outdated and (frankly) embarrassing. While the company is trying very hard to engage the Enterprise-leaning public with their technology, opinions from non-engineers are sometimes sneered at, misunderstood, or not taken seriously. This is exemplified in the fact that software developers have been hired for lead management positions in the Usability side of Red Hat. The on-boarding and entry process is very confusing. There is very little of the technical and HR support that one is usually used to when starting at a company. You're left on your own when you start, and if you have a busy manager, you're even more in the dark. It takes a solid 2-3 months to get the basic gist of what's going on at Red Hat, and by that time you're expected to know every product inside and out. When basic concepts about products and services are discussed, there are multiple contradictory answers provided from every realm of the company. It gives the associate the sense that no one is really at the helm of the ship. Senior management really does do well to be vocal and to be available to people in the company. The open source 'way' more or less demands that there is open communication. However, when it comes to individual managers, it's anybody's guess what you'll get stuck with. There is little 'management of the mangers' so you can end up in a dictator's ivory tower with hardly any support to help you feel supported.
