Cypress Semiconductor Product Engineer Reviews

Pros

Pay and bonuses, good documentation, good communication from top level.

Cons

Unwilling to invest in cutting edge tools. Don’t understand the value of technicians and operators. Do stupid things because it’s in the spec.

Pros

Generous ESPP, poor salary at lower levels

Cons

Lack of long term vision

Pros

Cypress is a good place to obtain "thick skin" as demonstrated in its cutthroat enviroment. I think its a good place to start a career, but not necessarily remain. Cypress is a great place to grow through many of the educational services they offer. They have a great rotation program which allows college graduates to experience all aspects of the business. Cypress is also big on allowing marketeers to work abroad and learn international cultures. After proving yourself in the United States they will allow you to move to Europe or Asia and support customers on your own. Overall there are many positive things for college grads.

Cons

Cypress is a tough and demanding place to work. The management will belittle employees in large meetings. This is a very data driven company and not customer driven. We care much more about ourselves then our customers. Our CEO T.J. Rodgers is the driver behind this type of culture. He is a no "B.S." type of guy and is very brutal in operations reviews. Cypress has a terrible 401K plan which matches only up to $2000 of a contribution. Cypress facilities are also straight out of the 80's and out of date. Sometimes you feel like you are working for a company in 1985.

Pros

1) Undoubtedly good experience for new college grads. 2) Being in an environment with smart peers who are all local experts. 3) Everyone communicates well, not just execs, sales & marketing, but also all HW/SW/FW engineers, et al. 4) A definite chance to work on multiple projects, often wearing multiple hats, which provides great value to CY individual contributors than say larger companies.

Cons

1) Absolutely hostile and aggressive management chain. Prepare for abundant swearing and raised voices. 2) Incredibly lean workforce to a detrimental degree (morale at an all-time low). There's a saying that for every engineer, there are two managers telling him/her what to do (often with conflicting instructions). 3) Tough work-life balance - often working early mornings, late nights, and weekends depending on the global team you're working with. 4) Company does not exchange old processes for efficiency, be it software, documentation, etc. Plenty of bureaucracy slams on suggestions by fresh hires such that the old process stays after multiple rounds of attempted improvement. 5) Process overhead and strict top-down management does not promote innovation. Overall, if you want to climb the ladder, be highly aggressive. But you can be certain that you'll leave your peers/friends behind with them scowling at you.

Pros

While promotions and compensation are less than desired, the responsibilities given are appreciable. This is especially true for those just beginning their career out of college. The Cypress New College Grad program is very well received, enjoyed and appreciated by those who go through it. It comprises of 1/2 - 1 full year of rotation through different locations and departments. This is to round out your experience and knowledge base before beginning the job you were hired for.

Cons

The compensation is quite low compared to the industry, especially other companies in the Silicon Valley.

Pros

Ownership and full authority to take initiatives Periodic international travel and exposure Great team and manager (but I got lucky, generally most of the managers throw you under the bus when timing is bad, so make sure that you like the team and hiring manager that you would work with)

Cons

Nobody follows the core value - We will do what's good for cypress... Because of the culture of punishing mistakes and top-down decision making, people lie to save themselves.

Pros

Cypress is an environment in which you can learn countless new things. They are a proven company in the field of semiconductors with a solid mentorship program and the ability to branch out and learn about things you may not know much about

Cons

The culture at Cypress is not very exciting or fun. Almost all work and no play. Although they have proven success, it seems that many of the employees get burnt out quickly.

Pros

Reasonable working hours if you have a family. Many workers prefer to come in early and leave the office around 5pm Lots of training available for new grads

Cons

Extremely process oriented, but is improving with new management changes. Still a long way to go... Little appreciation from management for hard work Bonus payout is low RIFs seem to continue

Pros

You will learn what a company should look like. The computerized documentation system for new product introduction is the best I have ever worked with.

Cons

Highly unstable department configuration. For tactical reasons the company reorganizes very quickly when product line begin to fail. The inside political fighting is very vicious.

Pros

Only reason I work there is to get a paycheck, so that I can pay my bills. I'm trying to find another decent job so that I don't have to deal with morons who think world should revolve around them.

Cons

Terrible management excellent in abusing employees. Management uses F*** word in almost 50% of the sentences. Meaning of the "appreciation" doesn't exist in the management dictionary. If you can withstand frequent verbal abuse, Cypress is probably the best company not only in Bay area, but in all of Unites States of America.