Company still operates like a startup, everything is subject to change at the last minute and best practices are rarely gleaned and implemented...there is little time for reflection and learning because the company is so fast-paced. Many decisions, down to smaller details are funneled up to the CEO because he is the founder and still wants to be involved. This can sometimes stifle creativity, because everyone will ask themselves "What does Joe want?"
Company recently announced a 1 week mandatory shutdown period, which will come out of employee vacation days. This is not industry practice. My perception is that this policy was implemented to make it culturally acceptable to take vacation days. That should tell you something about the culture here and how hard people are working.
Engineering runs the show here, and will bully the other departments into submission. They don't play well with others, and they (unfortunately) have the full support of the CEO.
Engineering seems well supported, while other departments struggle with available resources to stay afloat. Too many supervisors, not enough resources to get work done. Thus, many work on weekends and late nights (and sometimes during vacation). Work life balance is difficult to achieve here so turnover in some departments tends to be high.
