Wabtec reviews

Wabtec is mostly a railroad hardware company (locomotives, rails, signals, etc.). Wabtec also makes software, but management and customers don't understand software or software development. Wabtec's customers, i.e., railroads, resist change or progress despite much of it being mandated by the FRA. The codebase of most product offerings is poorly written (ad-hoc, without design) in Visual Basic on outdated .NET frameworks. There are small pockets of C# development and pockets of Java development. Projects are often started years late, and management expects the deadline to stay the same. Software developers are often pressured to meet unreasonable commitments, but no overtime compensation is offered. Wabtec has no intention of modernizing its product line—it plans to ride the old mare until it dies. This leads to much frustration for the actual software developers, who know what they are doing and want to make products to be proud of. Wabtec's software offerings are miserable, but sadly, they are the best the industry offers. Surprisingly, many very skilled software developers have stayed with the company despite all the negatives.

Current leadership lack vision and expertise in larger/complex construction project management Lack of systems Lack of corporate support resources Lack of vision in local leadership team - missing opportunities to grow the business, to build up the team and to win further work. Too much focus on reducing headcounts/cost to the detriment of the business - rarely replacing people who leave, no retention strategy.