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      MITRE

      Engaged Employer

      MITRE Principal Software Development Engineer reviews

      2.7

      25% would recommend to a friend

      (139 total reviews)
      avatar

      Mark Peters

      73% approve of CEO

      8% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.9

      Work/Life balance

      3.4

      Diversity & inclusion

      3.1

      Compensation and benefits

      2.7

      Culture & values

      2.4

      Career opportunities

      2.0

      Senior management

      Principal Software Development Engineer employees have rated MITRE with 2.7 out of 5 stars, based on 139 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Principal Software Development Engineer professionals have an average working experience there. MITRE is rated 26% below average by Principal Software Development Engineer professionals compared to other employers within the Government & Public Administration industry (3.6 stars).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      139 reviews
      1.0
      Aug 26, 2025

      Existential Moment hasn't hit yet

      Principal
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Still has the right mission

      Cons

      Middle management is still protecting their friends. Long time directors, division chief engineers, and highly tenured program owners are still covering based on friendships and political alliances. Newer "outsiders" that are not FFRDC "native" and raised in the revenue-centric model are still ego-driven and not truly mission and people-centered in their outlook. Layoffs on paper are based on coverage. In reality, good people are getting kicked to the curb while "friends" get coverage because they are in the right department or have the right alliances.

      1.0
      Aug 25, 2025

      Job security -- be a manager

      Principal engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Despite several round of RIFs, they are able to keep hiring away at the same time. While the RIFs are challenging for some as the process is opaque with no accountable reasoning, it's remarkable that almost no managers were impacted. There is quite a bit of office space available.

      Cons

      Platitudes and group think are favored over realism, pragmatism, and operational experience. Junior management frequently have no substantive work history for the topics and people they manage, Severance falls well short of OPM guidelines, extended service and performance is not considered. It was awkward to justify (high) costs to government leaders as compared to national labs while at the same time being expected to grow work. PTOB time accrual is calculated down to two decimal places, presumably to avoid the same rounding effects that are ok for reporting work hours.

      Viewing 10 - 12 of 139 Reviews
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