The biggest issue is leadership alignment. There were frequent instances where internal leaders, managers, and sometimes even clients seemed to have different understandings of what had been promised, what was in scope, and what the team was actually expected to deliver. This created confusion, rework, and unnecessary friction across multiple workstreams.
There also seemed to be a culture of defensiveness rather than accountability. When ambiguity or misalignment came up, the response often felt more focused on protecting teams or assigning blame than on learning, improving, and creating better operating practices. In consulting, some level of ambiguity is expected, but the lack of consistent alignment made the work environment feel reactive and unstable.
The company also seems to be struggling to clearly define what it needs from its people in the current AI market. Several newer employees, including myself, were let go after a short period of time, which made it feel like leadership had not fully thought through hiring needs, team structure, or how to sustainably support the demand they were pursuing.
Overall, Cyclotron presents itself with many of the benefits and language associated with modern tech culture, but the execution does not always match that image. There is a lot of emphasis on the future, the pipeline, and the demand for AI work, but less emphasis on reflection, process maturity, and sustainable growth.
