Pick and choose your stress as a software engineer - Software Engineer General Atomics Employee Review

3.0
Jun 1, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1.0 9/80 schedule, competitive salary, great benefits 2.0 Flexible work schedule 3.0 Work is predetermined for you (you do not need to be creative - you follow management directives) 4.0 If you like a grindy type job where you don't need to think and can just make paper or code or test code or test results this is the place for you.

Cons

1.0 Old school management style - no headphones allowed. No fun basically. 2.0 People auditing work environment that may take away comforts like fans and other devices you use to get by in your office space everyday. 3.0 Creativity and productivity are constantly attacked by perpetual upper level management encroachment into technical project areas. If it moves in a way that is beneficial to the company it is attacked by many procedural engineering instructions to the point where it is taxed so heavily anyone but the most stalwart engineer will push it through. 4.0 Upper and middle management sits in luxury while other engineers suffer in a environment that lacks in true product quality and is all about paperwork and process. 5.0 Defense contracting is all about billable hours. Instead of focusing on efficiency and good products. The focus is on billing more for contracts to the government via more labor, when less labor could get the job done and yield a better product. It seems defense contracting is more about employing the populace than about making a great product at an effective price point, because if you don't spend the money - the next contract will be for less money (no incentive for smart engineers!). It makes us all pay more in taxes gives us a worse product and doesn't help advance STEM. 6.0 Finally - terrible management - all the good honest team members (or those who can risk leaving for better things) orientated people leave - the corrupt hardheaded people with no better place to go or no internal drive to strive for more in this world stay - and make everyone else miserable at this place. Use their position of power to make others as miserable as them and enforce this on other entrants to this upper class.

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General Atomics Response
9y
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Explore other reviews about General Atomics

5.0
Apr 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Knowledgeable engineers and technicians, great learning opportunities, good training

Cons

Not so much of a CON, but you get thrown into the fire as soon as you're hired. Very fast paced.

2.0
May 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

9/80 work schedule. Benefits are decent. One of the few comapnies that offer a pension in addition to 401k.

Cons

Too many management layers. Promotions seem to be based on who you know, and if you fit into the right "clique". Some promotions are being given to managers with no experience in the function. Executuve leadership appears out of touch with their employees. Example - Chaotic games have been played the last 3 years with remote and hybrid work policies.

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