Great Place to Learn - Okay Place to Stay - Engineer First Orion Employee Review

4.0
Dec 10, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Note all pros and cons relate to engineering team - at this point FO is a pretty large company and different sections of the company are very different. * Great people. There are so many people that are passionate, caring, intelligent, and generally good to work with * Interesting, fast paced problems. You will learn so much over time just working there and absorbing the knowledge around you. Excellent for people straight out of school. Sets you up great for a career in tech. * Office Benefits. Free, quality lunches many days are great, and beer:30 is a must-experience * Relative Quality. The Central AR tech scene is close to non-existent if you want to use technologies that aren't dying out... FO is quite possibly the only company that doesn't fit that. Tons of interesting technologies are used. Pay is also better than most AR companies, although it's not going to compare to remote work.

Cons

* Management/general leadership can be abysmal - sometimes nonexistent. It comes largely from the top, which has failed (or poorly) trained those that report to them, which carried on to middle management and so on. There are people that I think are great people/employees that are not good managers. Often, they're better than their bosses, but it's a low bar - there is no real leadership training or expectations. * Ignorance/Indifference. For whatever reasons management often struggles to (or doesn't care enough to) tell the difference between a competent employee or an incompetent one. This results in some of the worst employees getting promoted above their skill levels, which makes the job unnecessarily difficult for everyone. Talking with the right people and/or being in the right place is far more important in advancing than skill or output. * Shifting priorities. Adjusting projects and goals over time is healthy, but changing priorities every few days over months and months is unsustainable and a waste. * Bad apples. Somewhat ties in with points 1 and 2, but for every 15 great people there's at least 1 very toxic person that's been around for years and driving people out of the company. Everyone at the company knows exactly who they are but it doesn't seem anyone has interest in taking action.

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First Orion Response
4y
We agree, the people and talent at First Orion is top notch. We're glad you had a lot of great experiences and appreciate the feedback you have given us.

Explore other reviews about First Orion

5.0
Mar 5, 2026
Anonymous intern
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

FO is definitely a “people first” company. I absolutely love the atmosphere, and couldn’t see myself anywhere else but here.

Cons

Nothing to add here. Love it!

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First Orion Response
4mo
Thank you for your review, we're glad you're having a great experience at First Orion!
4.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great Benefits and great people.

Cons

Some management can be hard to deal with.

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First Orion Response
2w
Thank you for your feedback and review, we do appreciate it.
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