system engineer

principal software engineer

senior system engineer

senior software engineer

software engineer

BAE Systems

- The hiring/onboarding process was unorganized. HR was not responsive and provided little guidance on steps to be on-
boarded. I had to phone and email HR representatives to find out what I had to do for the pre-employment process. I
had to travel to Jacksonville, FL for pre-employment, and they forgot to give me a badge.

-From the time I started, there was disconnect and misunderstanding of my qualities and skills. While I acknowledge I
bare some fault for this, management initially was receptive to training me to enhance these skills.

- I received very little guidance or training on the systems and processes & procedures. BAE utilizes homegrown tools that are old, complex and require some nuance. I would be given tasks I would not know how to do, and despite my
pleas for help and guidance on how to do them, coworkers were either too busy with work, or would send me out of date work instructions. There was disconnect from my understanding of COBRA. Even though COBRA is an EVM
tool used by most defense companies, each company has different processes, templates and procedures when using the tool. Again, I did not receive any guidance on how it’s used with BAE.

-There is no emphasis on work/life balance whatsoever. I see people working after normal hours, on weekends & holidays. I have also been encouraged to work after normal hours, despite being on a 9/80 work schedule and going
over the allotted 40 we are paid for. This is not healthy.

- In addition, there was no communication to me that I would be working with people on Pacific Standard Time. This was not communicated to me until my start date, nonetheless, I was expected to work until 7PM-8PM every night to
accommodate their time. I cannot do that, as I have other matters to tend to outside of work. This reinforces my point on there being a lack of emphasis on work/life balance.

-Everything from data management, systems and processes is sloppy, unorganized and a logistical nightmare. Nothing is streamlined in any regard. Deadlines and processes are arbitrarily changed with little communication.

-The program itself, while it being a great program, is in financial shambles. I believe this has allowed pressure and stress to be allocated from upper management to regular staff employees. Everyone seems to be under a great deal of stress, which is not conductive to a healthy working environment. As it was stated in the all-hands meeting, the program is at risk of losing a very large contract.

-The amount of travel. I flew up to Michigan for a week, which was fine. However, I was expected to stay in Detroit the next 2/3 weeks (June 5th -9th and June 11-16th ). While it is not consecutive since I can come home during the weekend,
and management has been receptive to being flexible, I cannot travel this much and be away from home, as I have a sick grandmother and other activities I have to tend to outside of work. It was also noted that we would work 10-12
hour days, and maybe longer when in Michigan. Again, this is not conductive for work/life balance.

-I received no correspondence or guidance on my daily, weekly and monthly job duties. My coworkers and management were either unclear or too busy to go through my duties. Although there are battle rhythm calendars, there was no clear explanation on my responsibilities. While in training sessions, there was too many times I would receive calls from others to hop onto meetings or to drop off from the training sessions. This came off as unprofessional and was very frustrating. However, I understand they also had their duties to tend to as well.

As the Technical Writer for the Service Desk, and the Knowledgebase Content Editor, the days tended to change with what was happening with the networks and applications throughout BAE Systems. The Service Desk serves as a central, Tier-1 Point-Of-Contact for Service Requests and Incidents, and is ITIL - centered. For the sake of keeping costs down, the company invested in a Knowledgebase with User-Facing elements (the Self-Service portal) and Analyst-Facing Elements for the more technically problematic issues (the Analyst portal). RightAnswers, a highly configurable Knowledgebase solution, was selected as an alternative to the earlier solution of sharing the NOSC's KBPublisher Knowledgebase.
I am not certain I can say there was a typical day at work. It might be very quiet, or it might have a lot of requests for the creation, editing, or administration of documents, solutions, user guides, or some other such.
On a given day, requests could arrive for updates to standing RightAnswers solutions and documents. These could happen due to relocation of SMEs and POCs for the documentation, or subjects of the documentation. Also, updates in the applications, changes in procedures, elimination of a worksite, or loss of a contract could necessitate small or large changes in documentation.
Additionally, if multiple Incidents had occurred concerning a system or application, I would work with the Analysts that had received the call/chat/email and seek to contact the POC or SME for the system or site affected, so as to create and post a Problem or Workaround solution to stem the effects of the breakdown while the issue was reviewed and a final Fix to the issue was created.
On an ongoing basis, the information in the Knowledgebase needed to be updated at least yearly, so as to keep the information current, and reflect changes in the applications, procedures, and sites. This was somewhat automated in emails that RightAnswers was programmed to send out to the authors, but I was also emailing authors concerning solutions that had very little use, enquiring whether further updating or deletion of them would be appropriate.
I created, and administered author accounts in the RightAnswers Knowledgebase, designating the SMEs authoring level, and creating a Nuts-N-Bolts User Guide to authoring solutions in RightAnswers from a Microsoft Word Document. The user guide occasionally had to be updated as the Version of RightAnswers progressed, and the WYSIWYG aspect of the editor improved.
I also assisted in keeping Master Documents, containing escalation, POC, SME and escalation data for systems within each site of a Line of Business [or that was the model we were moving towards] at hand.
Aside form the occasional emergency, or large, unanticipated change, the Service Desk could be relatively quiet, but it always kept me contentedly busy.
The managers at the Service Desk are understanding and great managers, who manage the job, but allow for initiative and creativity as they are able. The Analysts used to be hired as employees, but as the market has become tight, and budgets have shrunk, they are now hired as contractors, and if they flourish, are brought over as employees as positions and funding allow.

I worked at BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems (formerly Ball Aerospace) for over six years. While the projects can be interesting, and I worked alongside some truly talented colleagues, there are significant systemic issues that potential applicants should be aware of.

Leadership & Culture: Promotions are frequently based on personal connections rather than merit, leading to ineffective leadership and decision-making driven by office politics rather than technical expertise. Departmental infighting—especially between production, quality, and safety—often hinders progress rather than improving processes.

Workload & Resources: Workload fluctuations are extreme—some weeks are overwhelming, while others are painfully slow. The company takes on more contracts than it can realistically support, stretching resources thin. The facility itself is outdated, leading to inefficiencies and even safety concerns due to space constraints.

Process & Execution: The approach to engineering is highly reactive, with last-minute design changes and rushed deadlines creating unnecessary stress. The push for higher production volume does not align with the facility's capabilities, further compounding inefficiencies.

HR & Employee Experience: HR wields an unusual amount of influence, sometimes at odds with leadership, creating additional dysfunction. Employee concerns, especially regarding workplace culture and process improvements, are often ignored or met with retaliation. Since the acquisition, benefits have also declined.

Despite these challenges, I value the experience I gained and the skilled individuals I worked with. However, I would not recommend this company to those seeking structured leadership, clear career progression, or a stable work environment.

The benefits have eroded a little over the years, but they had started out better than most other companies in the business when I started with it. They are still above average now for companies of this size in this business. They are significantly better than anything offered in the public sector on a cost versus benefit basis in terms of medical and dental - going from coverage of a government employee to private sector employee with this company saw an amazing increase in coverage and a decrease in costs. Leave time is on par with anything a public sector employee with less than 3 years' experience can expect (bad), but the company is generally flexible on making up hours if one must take unexpected leave when a customer site is closed due to weather or other issues. Paid time off is on par with other companies in this sector if not better. 

Management quality in my experience is overall in the good to excellent range. Overall I've love my management. I am certain there are "bad apples" within any company this size, but the folks who were promoted to management positions while I was with it were both well-deserving and good fits for the most part. The company seemed to regard those who want to take the management track and those who preferred the "doer" track with equal regard while I was in multiple positions, which tells me this is a company-wide policy. As somebody who preferred to be a "doer" (no disrespect to management, you do management work versus doing tasks work), the company is/was good to me. For somebody who wants to be a life-long analyst versus a manager, this is not a bad place in my experience. When there was a reduction in force at one government customer, the company did a good job at finding the GREATEST fit for me with another and paid me while waiting. 

I have complaints about the company from a personal point of view, but they are nothing different than I would complain about any company that pays me a salary for the work I do. I want more time off. I want more money. I want...a company car and credit card. Surely my annual salary should have been in the millions and BAE did not realize that, but overall it was pretty realistic with what I should experience in the real world. It does a good job promoting managers and giving opportunities to the "doers" to become managers and valuing its doers who aren’t interested in management. I would suggest working there if you get the chance.

BAE has been good to me for the last 10 years.  They offer a competitive salary and have excellent benefits.  Working there was a very good experience.

I performed Operations and Maintenance (O&M) on many servers, some of which were considered critical.  The stress level certainly increases when you have a critical system down that impacts activities on a world-wide scale.  These were the times that I would consider the 'hardest' part of the job.  Your work day suddenly has no end in sight until the issue is resolved or another shift comes in to continue troubleshooting the problem.

There is a very large team of managers at BAE and some were very good; others not so much.  The only critique I really have is that there was so many layers of management that there didn't seem to be enough workers to go around.  Eventually we would each have our very own personal manager!

My co-workers were the best part of the job.  We were such a strong team that we were considered the team to emulate.  As different as we all were, there was a mutual respect and we genuinely liked each other personally.  There will always be times when people get short with each other; that is to be expected.  Usually you end up with a stronger, more respectful relationship after all is said and done.

From what I understand, BAE had won two major contracts about two years ago and part of the proposal was to cut the cost of the contract each year through consolidating some jobs and also through attrition.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen fast enough and also the attrition rate slowed down due to a slower economy and job market. 

When BAE started laying off employees, we each knew any one of us could be on the 'list'.  We had spent the last year finalizing documentation and training BAE employees in Colorado to take over much of our work.  It was considered cost effective to transition the work to Colorado Springs and we all knew that at some point we would be laid off.  We made it through several waves of layoffs until mid-year.  So, although it wasn't a surprise... you are still somewhat shocked when it happens. 

It ended up being the perfect opportunity for me to take the summer off and just enjoy time with my family.  Now it is time for me to reenter the job market in an effort to find the right fit with the right company.

Laurie Vashro

I only worked as an intern at BAE but felt like I learned quite a bit about a professional environment while I was there.

BAE uses a 9 day 80 hour work schedule, so you have to work 40 hours in a shorter amount of time than typical (4.5 days) but it means that every other Friday is off.

The expectation is that every employee arrives at about 8am and leaves around 5pm. You are expected to track your hours, but what BAE really wants is for you to clock a minimum of 40 hours every week, so if you show up a few minutes late in the morning you can just stay a little later at the end of the day to make up for it.

Accurately clocking your hours is especially important because you are essentially working for the government and therefore under more scrutiny than usual. For example, lunch does not count and only about 15 minutes of break time every 4 hours counts.

In my internship I was given overtime if I clocked more than 40 hours a week, which is quite generous. If you get the same opportunity I suggest taking advantage of it.

Mostly I learned that communication with your co-workers and bosses is key towards finishing tasks. Coordinating on the job is usually easy using e-mail or the instant messaging software, although there were some wifi problems in the winter that really affected my productivity.

The management that I interacted with was great, they gave me and the other interns good advice, they listened to our ideas, and were very respectful.

One annoying but understandable part of the job is access limitations to things like software due to security, for example me and the other interns had to use Internet Explorer to browse the web.

I really enjoyed feeling like I was necessary to the project. Of course there were tedious tasks that the management handed to me and the other interns, but the tasks were never "busywork" they always accomplished something that the project simply could not continue without.

I would say my only disappointment is that I did not really use any software development skills, otherwise I had a great time working for BAE.

If me and my family weren't moving to another part of the country I would definitely want to work for them; though I will try and see if they offer jobs in that area.

I don't know anything about BAE's CEO so take that rating with a grain of salt.

This was a volunteer program @ Bae Systems in Nashua
Worked in groups on project design & development
I learned skills on how to troubleshoot computer(s) & software
Learned how to breakdown old computers & install parts to a new computer. Items like hard drives, ram, batteries and etc.
We took the newly constructed computers and loaded them on a truck, for distribution to local schools. I was asked to sort out computer products & to dispose all broken products, including blackberries. This was the most enjoyable part to me.

    Also I was working on production based projects using everyday materials for design solutions for real-life problems. One of these projects was to design an electrical circuit using a soldering iron to solder circuit parts on to a computer chip. The parts were resistors, transistors, capacitors, and etc. The product that I derived from the materials became a metal detector. This operated but using a standard radio onto the circuit board. The sound emitted from the radio was transmitted through the circuit to detect metals. This was the hardest part of the job as I would recall.

    The work environment itself was divided into teams of two to four members. In the teams we were all competing against each other to design the best solution to troubleshoot real-life related problems. I worked in a diverse group of individuals to communicate our ideas across each other to develop design solutions. There was an employee from Bae Systems administrating the workload and assigning projects. The environment is very high-tech, and everyone has to be escorted throughout the workplace. Before I could enter, Bae Systems, I was asked to sign in and turn in my cell-phone at the front desk. Before entering a conference room or any other room, I was required to go through a security checkpoint.

BAE Systems, a British defense company procured United Defense LP in 2007.  In 2 years many multi-million dollar contracts were awarded to BAE to build several varieties of military vehicles i.e. MRAPs, Palidan tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and several others.  With the change in politics in 2009 notice came down from the new management that jobs were going to be eliminated or relocated.  No regard was given to decades of loyal service and excellent technical support.  The 9/09 reduction in force involved  more than 400 employees.  So much for dedicating one's career to a mega-company.  I was laid off at age 60 at the beginning of the country's economic collapse.

The work I did involved interacting with many engineers and managers working on various military vehicle platforms within BAE.  I also solicited technical work from engineering staff at many semiconductor and medical device companies.  I tested many engineered materials by several methods of instrumental analysis (FTIR, XRFS, AAS, GC-MS, SEM, OES, DSC, DMA, TGA, TMA, rheometry, etc.) and wet chemical procedures from ASTM, Mil-Spec, ISO and proprietary directions. 

I maintained several labs needs in materials, chemicals, supplies, calibrations, upkeep, repairs, safety monitoring and conformance to ISO-9000 guidelines.  I provided the handling of hazardous chemicals through numerous processes, appropriate storage and chemical waste disposal through proper channels.

Many graphical reports were generated from instrument and test data and presented to engineering staff and managers using MS Office, IR spectral databases, statistical programs and micro-photographic imaging equipment.  It was necessary to provide these technical services within tight timelimits with interpersonal conversations throughout the progress of a project to assure the correctness of testing guidelines to satisfy the objectives of engineering staff customers.

When I was started working with BAE I was very pleased with how the shop was ran. The site lead and lead Field Service Representative  were very knowledgeable in there tasks and duties, they were always making sure that we were doing the right things and ensuring our safety.
   A typical day at work would consist of; safety brief in the morning, production with vehicles would start ranging from installation, provisioning, cutting, painting,etc. As a QC inspector, myself and another QC would go from bay to bay inspecting the work that the installers would preform to engineers specifications, making sure installations of wiring harnesses were correctly routed and secured, making sure electrical connections and voltage were going where it needed to go. 
  Working with BAE I learned a lot of new things and was also able to bring some of my knowledge that I learned in the military to the table. I learned and understood the Bradley Fighting Vehicle a little better because I saw the whole breakdown of the vehicle and what was put into it to make it safer for our military service members in a combat scenario or situation. It gave me a better feeling that I was contributing to something that was bigger than myself.
  My other co-workers we very knowledgeable as well in their task and duties. They were always ready to get the job done and meet production goals. If someone needed help on a task that was giving them an issue, they would not hesitate to ask for help.
  The hardest part of my job was when I first started working the company. I didn't understand how the company worked or operated at the time. Thanks to my leads, they trained me and brought me up to speed on how the company worked and what they expected. The enjoyable part of my job was that I knew what I was doing or being apart of was making our service members safer.

BAE prides itself on their DEI initiatives. They go slightly overboard. In Louisville the workforce is union, and the office / administration is not. There is a distinct difference. I'd walk through the shop and union folks would be on their phones, waiting on another task / piece of material  to show up. You can't expect them to do something outside their BA in the meantime. Management was worse. All knowledge at BAE is tribal. If you're new, there is no onboarding, no policy overviews, no discussions of expectations or training. Just figure it out. Worse, I watched them promote people without competing the jobs, because they fit a certain demographic. The ERP, such as it is is weak, and the systems don't talk to one another. PM's are held accountable for the labor and material by executive leadership, and because it is a union shop the PM has no say whatsoever in scheduling, budgeting, material procurement etc. The PM is just hanging on and hoping for the best. Finally, they won't articulate it, but the first few months the hours are not bad, then they start piling on and before long, you're working at nights at home, answering emails on days off and doing all you can to keep your head above water. They preach work life balance, they don't live it. The meetings are insane. I would have roughly 70%-75% of available office hours consumed by meetings weekly. Customer is military, and the work is satisfying, in knowing you're supporting the warfighter on the tip of the spear, but the work is thankless and leadership  will expect you to do whatever it takes for the privilege of working there, they neither value you nor your input. Cog in the machine. 

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