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      MITRE

      Engaged Employer

      MITRE Software Systems Engineer and Project Lead reviews

      3.6

      79% would recommend to a friend

      (64 total reviews)
      avatar

      Mark Peters

      94% approve of CEO

      18% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Software Systems Engineer and Project Lead employees have rated MITRE with 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 64 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Software Systems Engineer and Project Lead professionals have a good working experience there. MITRE is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Software Systems Engineer and Project Lead professionals compared to other employers within the Government & Public Administration industry (3.6 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      64 reviews
      3.0
      Sep 4, 2019

      Used to be a great place to work

      Senior systems engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Great benefits (sort of). 401K matching is excellent and the dental care is excellent. However, lately the health care benefit has gone down the drain. They have moved to a single provider rather than the 3 options we used to have. Interesting work. Ability to work with lots of really great smart people. Supportive team environments - almost family like (this is starting to change).

      Cons

      MITRE is going through the longest culture change I have ever seen. 5+ years and its been rough and doesn't seem to be getting better. Leadership is better at communicating to the workforce about its intentions but implementation of the vision is different by center and programs. This creates confusion among the employees who work together on projects but are from different centers.

      avatar
      MITRE Response
      6y
      MITRE offers a wide range of benefits to support the health and wellbeing of our employees, including two comprehensive health plans. By moving to a single provider in 2018, we’ve been able to deliver benefits that are important to our employees and their families, including a stronger suite of well-being programs targeted to the needs of MITRE’s population, modern point-of-care options like telemedicine and E-visits, and much more. MITRE is focusing on our culture because, as a central force shaping many of our behaviors, culture has the power to free-up or place boundaries on our potential, and it directly impacts the outcomes we achieve. In 2019, our employee survey results showed that we’re making great strides toward realizing our shared vision for the future.
      2.0
      Jul 17, 2019

      Ignorance is bliss

      Senior systems engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Lack of direction and leadership passes for work-life balance

      Cons

      MITRE is doing SETA work for the government, competing with for-profit engineering companies. The FFRDC contracting mechanism allows them to respond to Government issues more easily than can for-profit SETA firms, so MITRE grows thanks to an unfair advantage. Because of MITRE, the Government has had to crack-down on all FFRDCs and impose strict STE restrictions. This is a shame as the other FFRDCs fill a very valuable need for our Government. Somehow, MITRE has created the model of the self-licking ice cream cone where they advise the government what good systems engineering is. Problem is, MITRE provides very poor quality systems engineering because they don't actually practice it like the for-profit companies do. This lets MITRE peddle snake oil such as system of systems and MBSE and get away with it because they don't actually have to engineer any systems. You can say anything works if you don't have to take responsibility when it doesn't. Guess what, it doesn't.

      avatar
      MITRE Response
      6y
      MITRE takes our commitment to the public interest very seriously, and we are proud of the unique work we perform to solve complex problems for our government sponsors. Federal Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are subject to governance and oversight by sponsoring agencies and their oversight bodies. Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), before MITRE receives any work from its sponsor a determination must be made regarding whether the situation or the work requires the unique attributes of an FFRDC. This process is intended to make sure agencies do not use FFRDCs in situations where the use of a commercial contractor or SETA is more appropriate. This decision process is reviewed at intervals by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and many sponsoring agency Inspectors General (IGs). There are often misunderstandings about the FFRDC model and how operators such as MITRE can work in different ways with the federal government. There are three types of FFRDCs: (a) Studies and Analysis (S&A); (b) Research and Development (R&D); and (c) Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) Centers. These are designated by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and they help to define the scope of the FFRDC. Much of MITRE’s work is operating SE&I Centers, which means that MITRE’s work may involve supporting implementation. Our charter prohibits MITRE from competing for commercial contracts. We may only compete for the opportunity to operate FFRDCs.
      3.0
      Mar 15, 2019

      Interesting work; few opportunities for advancement (or pay increases)

      Senior systems engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Excellent benefits. MITRE puts in an almost-unheard-of 7.5% automatically, and with matching will go up to 10% (they take one year to start matching, but you're fully vested from the get-go). Net result is that you're putting in 12%, and they're putting in 10%, for a total of 22% per year. They also have student-loan repayment up to another $1800 per year (although only for 3 years). They also have subject-matter experts in almost every topic you can think of. So you can save a lot of time by finding an expert to look over something, or bring you up to speed. They have continuing education opportunities through the internal "MITRE Institute". Depending on the group, they can be extremely flexible about working hours. Work-life balance is solid; you won't be criticized for putting in your 40 hours and then going home.

      Cons

      Promotions beyond Level 3 are rare (as in, one person per department per year from 3 to 4, one from 4 to 5, etc). So functionally they're awarded largely by seniority, as opposed to merit. Pay is tied very closely to salary band: Level 3 (Senior) is centered at $110k (+/- 25k), Level 4 (Lead) is centered at $140k. Management convinces themselves that they're "paying above market", but that's not really correct. While nominally you're paid a bit more than in another company with a title of "senior" engineer, the truth is that in those other companies, you already would have been promoted. So relative to your actual job performance, you can be severely underpaid. This sets up a perverse incentive within the company: the most capable/ambitious employees are likely to find another job, while the least capable are likely to stick around in hopes that they'll at least get promoted based on seniority. The company certainly has high-quality people... but less than if they used a different promotion scheme.

      Viewing 34 - 36 of 64 Reviews
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