Pros
Fully remote work provided flexibility.
Opportunity to work across a wide range of Microsoft technologies and customer environments.
Exposure to technically challenging infrastructure projects.
Cons
My biggest concern was the quality of my direct manager's leadership. A manager's responsibility is to communicate expectations, provide coaching, and address performance concerns while there is still an opportunity for an employee to improve. That did not happen in my experience.
Throughout my employment, my direct manager never communicated that my job was in jeopardy or that my performance was considered unacceptable. I was never placed on a performance improvement plan, never received clear coaching that my position was at risk, and was never given measurable goals that I needed to meet. Instead, I was terminated without prior warning.
When I asked what I had done wrong, the only explanation I received was that I "could have done more." When I asked for specific examples, none were provided. I also explained that I had never been made aware of any customer complaints regarding my work and that I was completely blindsided by the decision. The Vice President told me he was not aware of any customer complaints and that he could understand why I felt blindsided.
I also felt my direct manager relied heavily on encouraging engineers to use ChatGPT and AI tools, while providing very little coaching, mentoring, or technical leadership himself. AI can be a useful productivity tool, but it is not a substitute for active management, communication, and employee development.
After several years with the company, I was also disappointed that my employment ended without any severance package. While I understand severance is not guaranteed, I believe providing some level of transition assistance to long-term employees would demonstrate a greater commitment to the people who helped build the company.
If you're considering joining this company, ask your future manager how performance is measured, how concerns are communicated, and how often you'll receive honest feedback. My experience was that those conversations didn't happen until after the decision to terminate my employment had already been made.