Pros
The site is brand new and gorgeous. You will work with the most sophisticated tools and systems in the business. Management is consumed with meetings and politics, leaving room for the individual contributor to breathe much of the time. Fantastic cafeteria, by corporate standards (although very expensive). There are opportunities to interact with top executives from companies throughout the supply chain, offering unparalleled ability to build your contact base. Location is in the proximity of several nature areas and quaint upstate NY towns.
Cons
Performance is absolutely not rewarded. Throughout my time, I was constantly reminded that I was "one of the best Engineers on the site." Not so fast....two years later, I received zero raises or promotions. In more than two years, I was only given one performance review, and it wasn't even close to fair. After being expected to carry responsibilities in the job title two levels above mine from the moment I stepped on-site, I was baffled by the lack of recognition. Engineers are expected to be on call 24x7, and due to a lack of institutionalized training, are constantly bombarded by phone calls at ungodly hours of the night. The company is reactionary to customer audits, and allows itself to be backed into a corner each time before attempting to fix systematic problems. Thus, the efforts are frequently nothing more than superficial. I can't count the number of projects of $10 million+ that are never finished, have results inaccurately reported, or just fall by the wayside. I feel genuinely bad for anyone who gets involved in this company. It's an absolute sham. Good ol' boys club of failed managers padding their resumes and retirement accounts.
