FLIR Reviews

Pros

Fair pay and very good benefits. The technology is exciting and individuals are given lots of responsibility. Managers are very hands off (to a fault in some cases). Company has been very willing to invest in itself and in its employees.

Cons

Engineering tends to be highly risk adverse, and it think it is because in most of the cities that it operates, FLIR is the best gig in town so no one has any incentive to risk their job or reputation by aiming too high. Management is increasingly experimenting with outsourcing design work, though in fairness, it is mostly because there is not enough internal engineering resources to accommodate the ambitions of the product managers.

Advice to Senior Management

They should try to realize some synergies of operating multiple different design groups at the different sites. I get the impression that each group has independently reinvented the wheel in many cases just because information is not shared very well between the different divisions.

Pros

Tech is pretty good but too much military

Cons

They hold back free thinking

Advice to Senior Management

Work harder

Pros

Great people to work with, great products and strong growth potential in the company. Has the ability to really go to the next level.

Cons

Very little leadership and direction.

Pros

* Interesting technology with cool applications
* Many nice people
* Good life/work balance (at least in my group)
* Could work at home when needed (at least in my group)
* Flexible start/end times (at least in my group)
* Creativity is welcome
* Room for professional growth

Cons

* Management could be difficult and was not always reasonable
* Poor communication between managers and employees
* Many two-faced people
* Lack of information sharing - this made it difficult to complete projects
* Lack of clear planning
* Compensation could be better

Advice to Senior Management

Develop a plan and stick with it, unless it makes actual sense to change it.
Be open with employees. This will help morale.
Pay people what they're worth.

Pros

1) You get your own office (in the Orlando division);
2) You get a lot of responsibility;
3) Stock options for just about everybody (granted, you're not getting thousands of them, but they still hand them out);
4) Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP);
5) A modicum of bureaucracy;
6) Flexible hours;
7) Small company feel with big company goals (i.e. ambitious);
8) You can load software onto your computer without IT-department scrutiny.

Cons

1) If your boss is competent, then he or she has to die, quit or retire in order for you to get promoted.
2) Management wants you to do everything and be great at it as an engineer (conceive, design, build, test, transition to manufacturing, produce schedules, manage people, etc.). If you're trying to be great at everything--especially if they aren't interested in it--you'll get people that are average overall when they could, instead, be great at what they enjoy and are good at.
3) You're constantly aware that top-level management has golden parachutes and massive amounts of stock options, all for being no smarter than you are.

Advice to Senior Management

Start showering everyone with an ample amounts of stock options. It's in your best interest. No one wants to hear how you make family sacrifices for one weekend like everyone else, because you are, in fact, sitting on a mountain of cash.

Pros

Great group of people. Interesting products and markets.

Cons

Different cultures between the different sites sometimes conflict.

Advice to Senior Management

The company is pretty well run.