Pros
Opportunities to learn from (a few) very talented colleagues.
Cons
Unfortunately, there are many issues with this organization, and my overall recommendation is to look elsewhere if you are highly motivated, talented, and looking to advance your career. First, the internal matching function is in complete disarray after shifting to the core-periphery innovational model, and as a result, skillsets are rarely lined up with what is required to make a project successful. This is true for both technical and managerial positions. The schism in communication channels created by the core-periphery model is very much to blame, and you will often see highly specialized and talented individuals underemployed. Second, career advancement is ethereal. Promotion is most often associated with tenure, meaning true talent is often overlooked in favor of loyalty and those who promote current hype cycle concepts. Third, there is too much internal branding within the organization and too many folks are believing it. Consequently, too large a fraction in the company consider themselves subject matter experts, but the reality couldn't be farther from the truth. Most "expertise" is confined to a fairly narrow composition of experience and project work that significantly lags innovation occurring in the private sector. Fourth, there is a real diversity problem in this company. Senior leadership loves to play up their commitment to DEI initiatives, but the same hiring practices continue. Internally, there is a massive groupthink problem, most likely stemming from recruitment practices that tend to favor experience in the defense sector. The result is that innovation continues to lag because the same ideas are recycled over and over again. Finally, compensation is uncompetitive and increasingly falling further behind. This is true both internally and externally. It is not rare to see highly specialized employees, e.g. multiple publications and PhD training, being paid at or near the same level as employees 1-2 years out of a masters program. Furthermore, there doesn't appear to be a strong, centralized HR function to manage these internal pay gaps.