Draper reviews

4.1

90% would recommend to a friend

(387 total reviews)
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Jerry Wohletz

94% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Draper has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 387 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Draper employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Aerospace & Defense industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

387 reviews
2.0
Sep 8, 2020

Sad, out of touch, insular company, but has potential to be amazing

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very good healthcare and 401k benefits. Exciting projects but only if you are on the engineering side and have a good manager.

Cons

Draper is surprisingly out-of-date for a company that sells itself on doing cutting edge work. Consider the following observations: -The administrative side is run by white men who have been there 20-30 years plus, in many cases. Some have never worked anywhere else, except perhaps the military. Meetings are full of old-fashioned comments and depressing in-jokes about things that happened a very long time ago. -They prefer young, naive new hires to mold as they see fit, and who they can pay lessened who will not question things as much. -Mid-career employees with good experience might get hired, but do not last long. They are seen as a threat. (Probably because they have knowledge of the more progressive outside world. This is a shame, because it is just what Draper needs.) -Management is not interested in what their own teams think. They hire new people and make changes without informing or consulting those who will be directly affected. -Gaslighting: They cowardly sideline the people they do not want, all the while telling them everything is fine, or imply that they are solely the problem until they leave. -Culture of fear: new ideas and problem solving is discouraged. Management does not want to be challenged, they just want to be admired. The respect one gets at a progressive company compared to Draper is astonishing. You do not really understand how toxic your environment is until you are away from it.

2.0
Sep 8, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It used to be a meritocracy, driven by true rocket-scientist, with years of expertise, and who were excellent mentors. You could learn great amounts about the process of bias-free engineering processes, systems engineering at scale, and of course GN&C from the thought leaders in the field. Yes, there were roadblocks in terms of security firewalls, and DOD bureaucracy. But the sense of adventure and exploration made up for this.

Cons

The past 5 years has seen things go down and down. Management clicks, micro-management by young managers who are have pet favorite technologies, who force decisions that have no bearing on customer, or the tech staff. Rather than individuals driving new directions, it is now a job-shop, you are assigned tasks, and pigeon-holed into work. Might be ok for an intern to pick up some skills, but don't make a career here anymore.

4.0
Sep 4, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Projects are very interesting and innovative -Most people you work with are actually very smart, good team members, and genuinely want the project to succeed -403(b) matches 10% for every 5% of your contribution (fully vested after 5 years) -unlimited sick time, very good pay for fresh college grads and masters -Leadership opportunities even for people without PhDs as long as you demonstrate competency or expertise

Cons

-Management is extremely incompetent. They encourage bad behavior from higher-ups. There are minimal consequences for the mistreatment of junior staff. -They keep people who don't deliver, don't do their job well and fire people who actually do the work. -They chose to not offer COVID testing for employees because it was too expensive. They quickly brought people back to work after one week of shutdown with minimal safety precautions. -Projects are often extremely under budgeted. -Every hour of work must be billed to a specific project. Management punishes you for charging overhead even though it is their job to find you work.

Viewing 217 - 219 of 387 Reviews

Glassdoor has 518 Draper reviews submitted anonymously by Draper employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Draper is right for you.