Truth in Tough Times - Anonymous employee Digital Signal Employee Review

I worked at DSC for a few years as an Engineer, and I have to say, their management was extremely talented. They were very effective at pulling in more funding, and even though we didn't ship many products while I was there, we were always assured of our market value. I think the last big meeting I was at, they said we had a valuation close to $300 million dollars and growing. So there was certainly no shortage of money. That being said, they were very efficient at handling money. They were very generous in giving stock options, and they said I would make out in the end. The raises were so much for us engineers, but we were assured it was only so we don't overspend. I only got at most 4% a year, so I can only assume the same was true for upper management. Raises also depended on what they expected and meeting those expectations, so they had really high expectations for us. I'm pretty sure the CEO only took a $1/year because he was so confident in the company. He really tried to not waste money, and I was quite impressed. The work itself was very fascinating, and it really kept my attention. I really enjoyed my co-workers, and especially management. Some would call it micro-managing, but I called it just good old making sure I'm not making mistakes. In fact, whenever my manager or the VP of engineering was not around to check up on me, I just didn't feel confident in my work. I had a lot of good and innovative ideas, and it seems it was the right environment to do something nobody else had done before. Management had a laser focus on getting the next software release out, so often times they didn't want to add any improvements because it might add some bugs. It was good advice. I just wish they had done more than one software release when I was there. They always said they were releasing 0.8, but it kept getting delayed. They're probably on 2.0 by now. I'd really like to complement HR. They were just outstanding. I really felt they were concerned about the employees and they had a strong disconnect from upper management and the CEO. So I feel confident if there ever was a complaint like "The CEO is making this a hostile work environment!" or "The CEO threatened to not give me a raise because I didn't give him my sandwich!" or "The CEO threatened to punch me in the face when I disagreed with him!", HR would have promptly handled it and informed the Board of Directors. They were also very diligent in knowing what was going on in the company, not just taking what the CEO and CFO told them.

Cons? Seriously? It's the best company ever. Biggest mistake of my life when I left. I saw another opportunity, and I thought the grass was greener on the other side, but it isn't. I wanted to reapply, but they don't seem to have any job postings as of today. In ten years, when it's stock is soaring, I'll still be sour about making the mistake to leave. If only I could be so luck to still be working there.

Unique technology that may have had a big impact in the security space. The work is generally interesting and challenging, with a modern software stack where using the latest technologies is actively encouraged. Good work environment with flexible hours, weekly lunches and various fun events. At one time, there was a great group of engineers with many good discussions over lunch. The first-line managers are very technically capable and are active contributors. I personally had a lot of freedom on setting the direction of my work and my contributions were always valued. Salaries and benefits are good for the DC area, but no bonuses and minimal options at this point.

The company has become extremely unstable, with limited funding left and no exit strategy. The senior management is opaque and ruthless, and the CEO is never around and seems to do very little. Very high turnover among the software engineers, with all the good ones leaving in 1-2 years and the management seemingly oblivious to it. Maybe they saw it coming, as 15% of the company was suddenly fired with no warning, followed by another similar layoff of 40% a few months later. Meanwhile, senior management kept hiring many others (sometimes just for a few months) and telling outright lies about the company's prospects. Secretive culture where people don't interact much outside their own teams, probably because it's so easy to get fired. No real promotions despite an excessively deep management hierarchy, although nobody wants to stay for long anyway.