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Software Engineering Institute

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Severely lacking leadership - Member Of Technical Staff Software Engineering Institute Employee Review

2.0
25 Nov 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Overall, it's a generally low-stress working environment with a fairly consistent stream of incoming work. Most staff members never work over 40 hours. The benefits are great (8% of salary automatically added to 403b, generous PTO). The pay is noticeably worse than the private sector, but marginally better than the public sector.

Cons

The leadership at this place has been described as "Dilbertian". Upper management is so out of touch with its workforce, the direction of the industry, and the morale of its staff. A heavy layer of middle management exists solely to do song and dance routines to the upper management; not to actually manage. I can expect a one-on-one conversation with my direct manager once every six months or so, and that's only because I initiate it. Our contracting rates are incredibly high due to enormous overhead (lots of middle management and support staff), so a lot of contracts are on arbitrary/bogus government projects that simply exist to burn money in someone's budget. It's demoralizing when you spend 6, 8, or 12 months working on a project only to have the government customer all but throw away the deliverables at the end. No thank you's, no feedback, no mental reward. It's not an isolated occurrence, either; it's happened to almost every project I've seen. It's very demotivating, and it's engrained into the culture here. My raises haven't even been on par with inflation since I started despite great performance reviews every year. Turnover has been high, and the talent that's coming in doesn't come close to matching the talent that's leaving.

Explore other reviews about Software Engineering Institute

5.0
29 Oct 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Work life balance - Great people to work for - Impactful work

Cons

- Funding sometimes can be uncertain

2
3.0
30 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The coworkers were the best part of the organization. Most people were collaborative, supportive, and genuinely committed to the mission. Many employees come from military or public‑service backgrounds, and that creates a strong sense of camaraderie within teams.

Cons

Senior leadership is friendly but relies heavily on outdated processes and decision‑making styles. Modernization efforts tend to stall, and the organization often falls behind industry standards. A major cultural issue is the lack of accountability. Employees raise the same concerns repeatedly, but leadership often responds with a shrug or a vague acknowledgment instead of a plan. When people keep bringing up the same issues, it usually means a real problem exists, and they are looking for leadership to engage and help solve it. There is also a noticeable disconnect between senior leadership and the day‑to‑day experience of employees. During town halls, questions and concerns from staff are often brushed aside. Even practical issues, such as rising parking costs, are minimized because they are not problems for leadership personally. This leaves employees feeling unheard and undervalued. Despite the number of employees with military backgrounds, the culture does not reflect the level of structure or accountability someone might expect.

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