Favorite stop I've had in my career so far
Pros
To offer some context: I have been in the software industry for over 12 years: 1) ~9.5 years with a similar small defense contractor (e.g. ~100 employees) as this one 2) ~1.5 years with a very large, well-known fintech, Fortune 500 company 3) ~1.5 years with SOLUTE A lot of fellow engineers would say staying at one place for anything more than 2 years is selling yourself short on salary, opportunity, experience, etc. and I don't disagree with them completely on that, but each person has to do what makes them happy. I consider myself relatively a smart individual and have advanced many times over in my career into a role that I truly enjoy managing a team of ~8 developers. I truly believe that working hard, enjoying the work you do, and investing in relationships tends to take care of a lot advancement things itself. So all that being said, if what drives you is hitting a cushy Google/Facebook/LinkedIn place with a ton of perks, swag, stock-options, large amounts of vacation, etc. right out-of-the-gate (which is perfectly valid in the market today for software engineering), I don't think this is the right place for you. If you are the type that wants to work on cool projects, a programmer/engineer at heart that just loves to hack stuff out and solve tough problems, grow as an engineer and a person, meet a lot of good people [that I consider friends], have a work-life balance that won't cost you years on your life (as the 2nd job mentioned above did; and that was a place that did offer 40 days of PTO), and get in on the ground floor of a group that I believe are going to be major players in the DoD DevSecOps community for years to come- then apply here. I'm not sure I fully understand the complaints against the benefits- I've had back surgery and a son this year (easily six-figure bills each) and have probably paid less than ~$5k of all of that combined over the course of the year. My 401k has been matched each paycheck with SOLUTE's own money. I've been financially advanced/compensated multiple times in the short time I've been here via salary bumps and bonuses. (To be more specific: 500% more [in dollars] than at my 2nd gig mentiond above.) This is likely due to being at a small company where you can have more direct access to top-level brass compared to big companies that require going through levels of bureaucracy and approvals. Yes, I agree the PTO isn't as competitive as where I worked at my 2nd gig (mentioned above), but many times over my boss and peers have encouraged me to go on vacation, take breaks, work remotely, take care of my wife and our newborn son, etc. I've never had to work after 5pm a single day here so far unless I wanted to (e.g. stuck on a coding problem I can't figure out). I am hoping (even though I'm only over a year in) that this is going to be the last stop on my career as it's the most fun I've had since I graduated from college. Additionally I've talked a few of my past teammates into joining the team here, too.
Cons
If being around people physically everyday is important to you, then this might also not be the right place (depending on what location you're in). In Orlando, we do have monthly lunches and are looking to grow that into happy hours and outtings (as the pandemic cools-off). I have also been impressed with the use of Microsoft Teams here for video chatting, channels for various groups and topics, daily stand-ups, etc. to the point where it feels like you know people (even though I have never met most of them face-to-face). As well, I've seen developers take the initiative and come together to meet-up for hack-a-thon type of workdays. For me, I have a wife, son, and fur-child that I like seeing every day and not having to lose 2 hours in my day to commuting through rush-hour is wonderful.
