Pros
Competitive Salary Decent Benefits (see more in the Cons about this) Good co-workers
Cons
Most of this is from memory, so I may be incorrect on some details, also these are my opinions and the feelings I got while working there for less than a year. Even for experienced professionals there is are 60 and 90 day probation periods where you can't use your benefits, nor do you earn some. So, if I remember correctly, health insurance and 401k matching does not start for 60 days. PTO doesn't start for 90 days, you can't take PTO and you don't earn it, so even after 90 days you might have some floating holiday time, but you'll have 0 hours of PTO. Basically a quarter of a year is on hold, even for mid-career hires. When I started they were huge on Work-Life balance, but the new president took over and more and more time was expected and PTO was more scrutinized. Under the old president, things were simple and nice, he was highly respectful and approachable, and looking to grow the company. The new president started, suddenly everything was reported as being terrible and the company was bleeding; he made thinly veiled threats about "might need to do something" while hovering over salary budgets on his slide. Departments suddenly had people quit or be let go and never replaced, so more work was expected out of less people. The new president spent no time listening to employees, despite it being a tiny company, and it seemed he was putting huge stress on the managers and directors, because things got really tense. He never seemed to be in the building. There is little room to advance, as it is a small company that doesn't seem to want to grow now, so all upper positions are filled. It is very much sink or swim and you better swim fast, because they have no patience anymore. Depending on department leadership and work might be different, but the engineering department was structured in such a way that the director pretty much had to be involved in every move, but he was hardly available (for that and other reasons). He was very unorganized and inexperienced; he would focus on making a tool in excel instead of approving drawings, he would spend way too long explaining simple things or completely avoid other conversations; he did not understand what his critical path was and would leave you to your devices to figure it out then hold you accountable for doing something in a way he didn't want/like. Timelines became very strict, even if the reason you can't move forward is out of your control, like awaiting director approval or input. My job description, even off the director's own words, was intentionally vague, because he didn't/doesn't understand what is needed and he only jumps to the emergencies and it all becomes emergencies with this method. Absolutely one of the most random jobs I've ever had. I was given a very positive review stating I would likely be in a leadership position in the next, then I was was fired a few weeks with no warning; other engineers were on improvement plans, so it was a random event. My work had not changed, nor did my attitude; I believe it was a reduction in force, as my job was never filled, they just didn't want it to appear they were laying people off. Like I said before, the work was all jumping from one area to the next, one day I had to investigate some issue as it was super important, the next day that investigation didn't matter, but this design was the most important, then the next day a scan was the most important the design can wait. Just felt like when something was mentioned to the director, that moved to the top of his list, because he had no plan or strategy and no spine to push back on higher ups. The director would get an idea in his head, make that his mission, then find out it wasn't good and drop it (sometime she might even let you know); he asked me to look at military contracts, but dropped it really fast for an unknown reason. He told me I was going to start a design team, then told me we were going to outsource all the design. It was pure whiplash. Doing simple tasks was like pulling teeth, I would tell accounts payable that work was complete and they could pay the invoice, then I would be asked about it again every month because I don't think someone was actually cutting the checks. I have heard raises are few and far between, but wasn't around long enough to experience that first hand. TLDR; Mismanaged company that is now looking to pinch every penny. I believe they are looking to shrink to conserve and no longer want to grow.