Good company - Engineer III General Atomics Employee Review

3.0
Aug 7, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Nice atmosphere, Poway is a great city, facilities are nice. If you get your job done and don't complain much then you will be on management's good side.

Cons

The organizational structure is confusing. There was recently (early 2016) a round of promotions where it seemed like everyone was made a director. Possibly too many chiefs? It seems to be really hard to fire an employee (this might be a pro?) I know a coworker who falls asleep at work regularly. You can tell because you can hear his snores. This happened daily for almost a year and management did nothing about it (they knew about it). Only recently was he finally reprimanded. Reviews don't correlate to pay increases. The difference between a good and great review is 1 or 2 % points in salary increase, sometimes no difference at all. It makes it extremely difficult to find motivation to go above and beyond your duties and responsibilities when you aren't rewarded appropriately.

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General Atomics Response
9y
Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We appreciate the feedback and regret that you had this experience with General Atomics and affiliated companies. We encourage you to reach out in order to further discuss your concerns. Please feel free to call our anonymous support helpline at (858) 455-4545 and leave a message with your contact information, or visit www.ga.com/careers and utilize the support mailbox to provide additional information about your concerns.

Explore other reviews about General Atomics

5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very good work life balance

Cons

9 hour shifts 4 days a week

3.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Mostly good people and skilled engineers that are easy to work with and great to learn from across all groups/locations. There is opportunity to pursue technical areas of interest and to stand out by leading improvement efforts. The company is flexible and often facilitates changes according to interest. Sense of job security generally feels good and stable, the greater GA really backs the Space division. The greater company works on some really interesting and cool things, beyond just defense. Pay is pretty good. Experience with most middle management (of engineers) has been positive, they typically advocate and support their employees.

Cons

Unsure of division leadership and strategic direction. Overall impression is that engineers' perspectives are not adequately weighted in both proposals and certain decisions for active missions. Processes burden performance, though there is intention for constant improvement. Ignoring engineering concerns (i.e. with schedule) + process burdens often result in delays and increased pressure, and therefore a less than ideal working environment at times. Overtime pay is not guaranteed but can be approved. Working with teams in different locations can lead to tension and "silo-ing" (though not always). Space division is becoming mostly defense focused (an industry trend), but would be nice to continue work in the civil earth and space science arena. They also demo'd a nice cafeteria/gathering space for more work/equipment space.

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