The Dynatron Experience: Nepo Baby CEO, Engineering Practices from 2005, and Toxic Culture Obsessed with Blame - Engineering Manager Dynatron Software Employee Review

Leadership: The leadership at Dynatron epitomizes nepotism. The CEO was given the company by his father, who everyone idolizes despite the fact that he refers to his team as merely subordinates, and in an actual training video for the company encouraged employees not to “upset their managers” to avoid retaliation for making them mad. This was shared widely around the company. Despite touting principles of "extreme ownership," the company has repeatedly failed to deliver its software to customers, with three major failures in the last five years. We were often encouraged to lie to and hide things from our investors to keep them from finding out about inadequacies and security vulnerabilities. Pay: They SEVERELY underpaid employees, and in my case they asked me if I “cared about titles” solely to get me to agree to a salary two levels below my current position. I was often encouraged to find ways to blame my employees for failures they weren’t responsible for to keep them from seeking raises and promotions. Many employees had to get second jobs just to make ends meet, causing the company to go on a crusade to fire anyone they found moonlighting. They announced that if anyone needed financial help, they were encouraged to talk to management instead of getting a second job. When I spoke to management to ask for a market raise as they suggested, I was immediately told no and put on a PIP. Engineering: The engineering practices at Dynatron are shockingly backward. The backlog is driven by non-technical product decisions, and discussing critical aspects like testing, automation, or tech debt is met with literal disciplinary actions. Knowledge is siloed, with engineers assigned tasks based on their existing skills, expected to self-educate on company time without compensation. The company's technological prowess is stuck in the early 2000s, and engineers are burdened with unrealistic weekly KPIs like user story rollover, devoid of any meaningful context or improvement. When I suggested we briefly focus on testing to combat the obvious issues the product has, I was accused by my leader of trying to “boil the ocean” and that Dynatron was “not a software company” despite their name being Dynatron Software and their main product being software. Culture: Dynatron fosters a toxic and fear-based culture where leadership's word is unquestionable. Employees are treated as mere subordinates rather than valued team members. Rewards for exceptional work are nonexistent, instead leading to additional workload without incentives. The company's approach to employee engagement is punitive, stifling innovation and growth. In an all-hands meeting, when asked if there were any plans to work on the company’s toxic culture, the CEO became angry and refused to even entertain the idea that the culture was anything but stellar. The leadership team was very insecure, and often made rash decisions based on their emotions that day. In summary, Dynatron Software is a cautionary tale of corporate mismanagement. It’s a walking red flag. Prospective employees should beware of its regressive leadership, archaic engineering practices, and toxic work environment. I urge anyone considering a position here to think twice before joining because their main goal is saving money and lying to investors, customers, and employees alike.