Cadence Design Reviews

Pros

interesting problems to solve and committed people

Cons

lack of vision at VP and E staff as to getting back to a competitive position, concern is on the current quarter only. People wondering when it is their turn for the RIF

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your customers and take heed to their comments on the technology.

Pros

Cadence paid very very well and provided an excellent work life balance. Their technology was interesting and provided good learning opportunities.

Cons

Executive team led the company down the wrong path, little strategy, manipulated the financials and conducted a series of layoffs and offshoring that have decimated the morale and the staff.

Advice to Senior Management

Have a strategy and stick with it, have some integrity and refrain from promising no layoffs even as you plan the next one.

Pros

Cadence has many dedicated, technically expert employees. I would rank the competence level of most Cadence employees above those at peer companies. Customer-facing employees generally work very hard on behalf of their customers.

Cons

Cadence is no longer a fun place to work. Management has forgotten that happy customers buy more software than can be engineered through fancy accounting practices. Consequently, they have erected barriers which made it difficult for customers to contact Cadence while at the same time they removed tools used to solve customer issues. From a benefit standpoint, they often forced employees to take more vacation than they accrued and instituted inflexible company-wide shutdowns. Many, many jobs have been moved from the US to sites in India, China, and Russia.

Advice to Senior Management

Cadence has great promise. There are still many dedicated, intelligent employees. However, for Cadence to be successful, the clever manipulations must come to an end. Giving software away makes value-based selling difficult. Playing games with contract renewals makes investors uneasy. Intentionally making it difficult to obtain support may make the phones stop ringing, but also drives customers to competitors. Constantly sending jobs overseas while reducing benefits doesn't help employee morale.

It's taken years of neglect for Cadence to get into the mess it's found itself in. Unfortunately, there are no easy routes back to stability. Putting the needs of customers first would start Cadence back on the road to success...

Pros

Cadence is an industry leader. Well recognized brand name. Good tools for software development.

Cons

Cadence has poor financial management and is top heavy. Very short-sighted layoffs. Refuses to divest from unprofitable products. Multiple years of missed raises, missed bonuses.

Advice to Senior Management

Take better care of the individual contributors. The track record is that the executive staff reaps huge rewards and the expense of those at the bottom of the food chain.

Pros

Motivated technical people with challenging and interesting work. Good salary and benefits. Ability to directly talk to customers from all levels of the organization.

Cons

Top heavy management organization. One size fits all mentality. Marketing group is AWOL. Management has damaged the brand. Outsourcing but claiming it is to be "closer to the customer".

Advice to Senior Management

Flatten the organization by removing layers from the top. Kill off niche products and re-invest in the promoting and developing the remaining product set.

Pros

1) Great facilities , building, transport facilities
2) great food
3) good job stability as compared to other sites worldwide

Cons

1) plagued with internal politics
2) compensation not competitive
3) growth opportunities severly limited
4) no recognition for good work

Advice to Senior Management

identify focus areas instead of trying to enter every domain of design

Pros

Good technology and excellent motivated people. The company has made some very good technical decisions. The software is extremely competitive in the marketplace.

Cons

Huge financial mistakes made by senior management. The repercussions of decisions over the last few years have caused the company to downsize significantly and it is becoming more and more difficult to support customers. Everyone is working at 200% and there is simply no more room to reduce. These reductions are adversely affecting customers and software development.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop letting good people go or there won't be a company left soon. Someone needs to decide that the people are the heart of the company and not the bank account.

Pros

Great colleagues
Senior management empower people
Communication is excellent
I have autonomy but never feel I must face challenges alone
I'm learning a lot
High pressure but fun at the same time

Cons

Constant and relentless drive for efficiency
Company is in recovery mode
Responsibilities increase without compensation increases

Advice to Senior Management

Keep doing what you are doing but pay me more

Pros

Challenging work, ability to impact the direction of semiconductor design, generous compensation and benefits, talented colleagues. Market focused, driven environment, and able to absorb best practices from across the industry. Products are used in leading edge designs and you will not lack for intellectual stimulation. People are highly qualified and competent.

Cons

You need to be proactive to avoid getting typecast in silos, roles are often assigned based on expediency rather than with a view to developing talent. A focus on short term results takes away from new product development initiatives, although all companies with existing revenue generating products face this dilemma.

Advice to Senior Management

Innovation needs to be truly encouraged, create small teams tasked with creating purely new products. Invest in employee development.

Pros

knowledge, salary and the people you work with, Good HR policies, Good referral bonus, Good technical expertize inside org, rest is fine

Cons

Domain is very specific , no opportunities outside cadence, you technical skills are not challenged or enhanced by virtue of the product development menatinence mode

Advice to Senior Management

Get more creative and less top heavy organisation