Company going through growing pains - Systems and Project Engineer General Atomics Employee Review

4.0
Aug 22, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

ASI is very technically focused, so it's good if you are or aspire to be very technically savvy. Work life balance is good, but each group does things differently based on the managers. Most people work limited overtime, I would say about 40 - 50 hours per week. There is extended work week program, which is voluntary paid overtime for about 2-3 months every year towards holiday time. It has also started with its 9/80 schedule, which is common in government work. 9/80 is working 80 hours in 9 days so you have every other Friday off. ASI also still has pension benefit, which is becoming more rare.

Cons

Areas outside of engineering are in the growing stage, and not very organized. For example, finance, purchasing, etc are not as structured as other companies I have worked for. Management and organization is still catching up with recent size growth. There are a lot of confusion in terms of roles and responsibilities, as well as authority of each manager. Each department does things very differently, which makes intracompany moves more difficult. The company has very informal communication, so if you are new it takes effort to tap into the information circle. Being a private company, management is a black box and decisions are not well explained.

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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