Great company who takes care of employees, hard to get raises once within - Mechanical Engineer II General Atomics Employee Review

4.0
May 20, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Great benefits (healthcare, 401k matching, pension) - Hard to get fired (this is also a con) - Smaller company so a little more lax than extra huge corps - Individually owned, so a little more stable

Cons

- Hard to get raises once you're in the company, so try to get a good starting pay. The grading scheme "meets", "high meets", "exceeds" is highly based on how many high achievers are in your group. They can only rarely give out an "exceeds" and limit the number of "high meets" even if everyone is really good. - Hard to get fired. This is a good thing I guess, but what ends up happening is you get stuck with some people that really shouldn't be in the position they're in. I think HR doesn't want lawsuits so they do everything they can to not fire people.

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Explore other reviews about General Atomics

5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very good work life balance

Cons

9 hour shifts 4 days a week

3.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Mostly good people and skilled engineers that are easy to work with and great to learn from across all groups/locations. There is opportunity to pursue technical areas of interest and to stand out by leading improvement efforts. The company is flexible and often facilitates changes according to interest. Sense of job security generally feels good and stable, the greater GA really backs the Space division. The greater company works on some really interesting and cool things, beyond just defense. Pay is pretty good. Experience with most middle management (of engineers) has been positive, they typically advocate and support their employees.

Cons

Unsure of division leadership and strategic direction. Overall impression is that engineers' perspectives are not adequately weighted in both proposals and certain decisions for active missions. Processes burden performance, though there is intention for constant improvement. Ignoring engineering concerns (i.e. with schedule) + process burdens often result in delays and increased pressure, and therefore a less than ideal working environment at times. Overtime pay is not guaranteed but can be approved. Working with teams in different locations can lead to tension and "silo-ing" (though not always). Space division is becoming mostly defense focused (an industry trend), but would be nice to continue work in the civil earth and space science arena. They also demo'd a nice cafeteria/gathering space for more work/equipment space.

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