Engineer • Current Employee
Pros: - Defined processes and existing programs are decent aspects to learn from as an entry-level engineer.
- Benefits are good.
- Work your 40 hours and log off.
Cons: - Salaries are low for Seattle's cost of living.
- There are so many internal problems right now across all programs that it's almost embarrassing to work here.
- Management refuses to invest in its engineering teams. Many engineering tools are 30-40 years old.
- Simple engineering decisions have to go through multiple rounds of review boards, when a decision could simply be made by a responsible engineer.
- Most of the best older engineers left the company during COVID voluntary layoffs, and some of the most promising younger engineers were involuntarily laid off during COVID layoffs in 2020. Now they are hiring warm bodies off the street or fresh out of college.
- The company is forgetting, or has already forgotten, how to build new airplanes.
- Retention is at an all-time low; turnover is at an all-time high.
- Salary progression is pretty much based on years of service, not based on accomplishments. This incentivizes early/mid-career go-getter engineers to work elsewhere after 2-5 years to earn what they are worth and to do real engineering.
- The working relationship with the FAA does not exist, putting all commercial airplane development programs at risk.
I can't wait to leave. My passion for commercial aviation has been eliminated the past few years. I fear the company has not yet reached its bottom.