Stable but Slow - Systems Engineering Manager Northrop Grumman Employee Review

4.0
Sep 10, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Northrop Grumman is a great place to work if you are a seasoned professional who values your life outside your job. If you work overtime, you get overtime pay at 100%, which is fantastic. As is pretty standard for the Defense industry, there is a program called 9/80, whereby if you work for 9 hours a day, you get every other Friday off. It's pretty great. There some tuition reimbursement, but it is contingent on your manager approving it. Up to 6% 401(k) matching with a 3 year vesting cliff is nice as well. Lastly, Defense is a very stable industry that will always be around and never outsourced, which gives you enormous job security.

Cons

Being a defense contractor, the pace of work is painfully-slow. Contracts are always delayed by months, which can be very frustrating for young professionals looking to make a splash in their career and stand out among the masses. Moreover, there is a huge problem with knowledge sharing. The old guard is retiring or getting grumpy at all the work they are doing to support their programs because their colleagues of 20-30 years are retiring. There is incredible disorganization in onboarding materials and no clear system for how to learn the way Defense work gets done. Directors will point you to intranet websites with broken links, and there are few human beings who are dedicated to your continuous learning. It's all on you to ask questions, which makes you feel like a pest. Lastly, senior management feels immensely disconnected from frontline managers and their engineers. They talk in lofty terms without understanding how hollow and aimless their strategies are.

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5.0
May 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Excellent pay, benefits and work/life balance

Cons

I have no negatives at this time

1.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Not much pros but talented coworkers.

Cons

I joined expecting a long-term career and initially had a positive experience. Unfortunately, the culture changed significantly after leadership transitions. Micromanagement increased, decision-making became highly centralized, and employee morale steadily declined. Many experienced employees and managers left during my time there, making it difficult to maintain continuity and trust within the organization. The work itself was meaningful, and I had the opportunity to support important projects with talented colleagues. However, recognition, career growth, and employee retention did not appear to receive the same level of attention as process, reporting, and management oversight. My layoff was communicated as unrelated to performance, which was appreciated. However, after years of contribution and institutional knowledge, the overall experience left me feeling that employees were viewed as replaceable rather than valued long-term assets.

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