Ad Hoc (DC) Reviews

Run as a services vendor vs. a product company. If the customer is happy, management usually doesn't care whether a product was actually delivered. Historically, lots of dismissal of HR-type issues by engineering managers, who don't tend to take issues around inclusion seriously. "Problem" employees can work here for years, and engineering management usually dismisses it as "not that big a deal." Also entirely normal for engineering managers to cancel 1:1s for months at a time because they are working on bizdev. Quality of existing project commitments (and of career growth) often suffers due to the company chasing down new contracts. Very good odds you will end up working with someone from a subcontractor or prime contractor who does not take basic professionalism (or human decency) seriously. Lots of HR-type problems from "coworkers" who actually work for other companies, which means you have no recourse if they say or do something inappropriate. Very variable experiences across projects, though. Entirely possible you'll land on a good one and have a decent experience! Also possible you will dread logging in for work everyday. Also: while it seems to have gotten better as the company has grown, have heard about $50k differences in salary for some people performing the same role, not attributable to experience, business impact, or even geographical location.

However, as the company grew, things changed. Founders stepped back and were replaced by professional managers more focused on their job security and their place within the hierarchy. Promotions favored business-minded or diverse good-looking folks over long-standing engineers. Decision-making became bureaucratic, filled with red tape. Engineers had less say. Exit interviews for engineers leaving, once valuable, disappeared. Peer reviews, once a way to nurture talent, faded. Social gatherings, where engineers and managers used to bond over shared passion and innovation, diminished. The gap between engineers and managers grew, and the company that had once smashed bureaucracy became one itself. It was a sad change. Engineers missed being part of decisions, and their expertise wasn't as valued as before. The startup that aimed to revolutionize by promoting engineers in management roles became a bureaucracy, stifling innovation.