Rocket Lab reviews

Very large disparity between US based and NZ based engineers, I’m talking over double what the NZ engineers are getting paid for the same position. Technicians get paid overtime but engineers don’t yet there’s a culture where everyone works 10+ hours a day to get the job done. High expectations make set backs all the more stressful and you are often given tasks you’re not qualified for to fill the resource gaps. The career grading matrix makes it seem like personal development is a priority but when performance reviews come round it’s mostly a box ticking session and if you don’t have all the points you don’t go up. They are also annual so join at the wrong time and you’re doing an extra year without the promotion. Overall the cons make it difficult to want to stay here long term unless you have been awarded heaps of stock to stick around.

The people and culture team is out of touch at times. This recent round of performance reviews was embarrassingly bad. The process took nearly 6 months, and the managers appeared to be kept completely in the dark. Also, for high performance teams, like the ones on the floor in Long Beach, it is frustrating to see new job reqs coming out for Space Systems engineers getting paid in a higher bracket. Also, now that pay information is transparent, it doesn’t seem fair that engineers who have been with the company for years would in some cases literally be better off quitting, then reapplying for the same position. Just make the adjustments and get on with it.