Pros
Fantastic people and strong teamwork culture - colleagues are collaborative, supportive, and genuinely committed to delivering high-quality outcomes, but more importantly helping new starters. Real sense of purpose - often a cliché in most companies, but the work here is directly connected to real-world events and national security (just look at the news!), which gives daily tasks genuine meaning. Cross-functional exposure - i.e. working with engineering, systems, manufacturing, and operations teams creates a rich environment for learning and growth. Stable organisation with long term vision - the projects are complex, substantial and offer strong development opportunities for PMs who want to stretch themselves.
Cons
Onboarding can be slow - due to security requirements and size of the organisation, it takes time to get fully embedded and productive. Organisational dynamics take time to understand - navigating functions, understanding legacy decisions and governance structures can be challenging for new starters. Processes can feel heavy/complex - documentation and approvals are thorough but sometimes difficult to interpret without prior experience.