Unfortunately, there are reasons why Draper struggles to reel in and retain both business and talented staff.
Dysfunctional and incompetent management, at all levels. As numerous other reviews have pointed out, management is obstinate and careless to the needs of their staff. Decision-making is extremely suspect. There is a lot of politics, lip-service, and little training.
Very little career progression for both new recruits and long-time employees. Unfortunately, this is the case across all departments at Draper. Talented and capable people often get shoved into a corner to waste, sometimes over many years. This problem is the worst for junior level staff, but Draper can’t retain brilliant and experienced engineers when they do come by.
Most expensive and inefficient business model - there is no real incentive to be efficient, productive, nor to produce quality work. Wheels are reinvented and glossed up to be marketed as ‘state-of-the-art’, when scientists well-versed in their respective fields know better. There is a lot of posturing and opportunities lost due to aforementioned problems. The only colleagues that are really satisfied here tend to be opportunists that are good at ignoring the issues altogether. Lately, there is more of push to be innovative in project directions. But whether due to poor leadership, lack of resources, or general company dysfunction, Draper continues to be a dilettante in these avenues.
Stale and dreary work culture, with little diversity.
