software engineer

system engineer

senior system engineer

senior software engineer

manufacturing engineer

General Dynamics Mission Systems

"A typical day" there was going in, sit down at your desk and wait for work to come across it. Once you began a job, you were basically to stay stuck working on the job as quickly as possible with absolutely NO MISTAKES!!! If you missed something and / or made a mistake, you were wrote up by the QA department (who is managed and seems like they for work against you as a competitor company.) then sent to your Manufacturing Supervisor for them to grill you about it and put you on probation or pending termination due to your performance and the number of times this has happened. Once a job is complete, you are to move onto the next by waiting for it to come to you. But be careful, because management doesn't like when you just sit and wait. So you have to go kiss their butts all the time to 'possibly" keep work on your bench for you. If you don't kiss their butts or do what they liked or they just disliked you for any reason or favoritism, you were or are consider an outcast. The outcast being one of the people they look for reason to get rid of you regardless of how many years you have been there. If work isn't available quite yet, they tell you that they will get back to you and still make you wait (which again...THEY DONT LIKE!!) The only thing I have "possibly learned" from this company was that you won’t get anywhere and won’t get there fast. It’s nothing more than a paycheck to survive life. Management was pretty good until December of 2011. All work was completed well in advance, very little mistakes happened, everyone had flex time ability in the event something happened, most employees were quite happy with working there because the company was a more family concerned company. Management all changed people in January of 2012 where everything went downhill. All work wasn't being completed by its deadline times, some co-workers and people who report to management are backstabbers and  then a friend to your face, new manufacturing manager was put in place by March of 2012 who had no idea what we did or how we do it. The employee now are growing to hate being there more or more each day as they wait to find another job or be terminated. Other co-workers that I worked with became good friends and feel the same way as I described above. The hardest part of the job was to satisfy every person in management by kissing their butts and producing the work as fast as you can with no flaws. I was always told the phrase "You can either have better quantity or better quality....Which one do you prefer??" Management says both....and IT NEVER WORKS THAT WAY!!! So good luck with that! Also, even if you have Personal time off (PTO)...they give you a hard time about using it...Even if you have a very sick family member you must take to the doctors or the hospital; they don't care anymore and expect you to be there at your job with no excuses. Doctors and hospital excuses didn't work either. So you are basically not allowed to have any type of life or family matters outside of Progeny!! The most enjoyable time was from the time I started until December of 2012. Manufacturing supervisor was great and on top of thing to get them done on time and done right. And when you needed more work, he had at least something for you to work on (even when things were slow.) The cookouts were great back then, the Kennywood full day paid picnics were nice every year, asset rentals were nice, and Healthcare was cheaper and good. This WAS a company that I was looking to stay with and possibly retire from. Obviously I learned my lesson the hard way after the big change of management and them coming to me to force me to resign or be terminated with no other options. So if you’re just looking for the worst job in the world for just the paycheck, to be let go later on...Then this is the job for you. Good Luck. Maybe it will be better for you than it was for the other of numerous people they screwed and let go for no reason(s) or circumstances that they could even possibly back up in an unemployment hearing!!!!!!

I have spend my carrier working in high demand quick turn around work environments which requires a pro active mentally for developing  I have spent my carrier working in high demand quick turnaround work environments which requires a proactive mentally for developing solutions for customer related problems.  
While in the military I was trained on how to develop solutions for real world requirements with little management oversight.  Training includes the ability to develop solution based on user requirements using the resources at our disposal. My work regiment required extensive travel and required I learn to adapt to new work environments and customers.  I was infused with a mission first and never quit attitude as most of my support activities were critical to support elements of the government. If I was setting up a secure military VTC, preparing our conference room equipment to brief a high dignitary military or Intelligence Agency Individual, or traveling with the President of the United States to document a Historical event; it was critical that my support activities were accomplished successfully with time frame identified by my military chain of command. 
I transitioned these skills to the civilian sector using my knowledge in multiple media imagery disciplines to learn IT support services as a contractor for government intelligence organizations. I started my civilian carrier working as a video engineer and was blessed overtime to elevate my position to onsite technical manager governing the support activities of multiple sites.  
Training in the military and civilian sector is limited for my support activities placing the responsibility of learning new skills on crafts on the individual.  I am blessed to say I was able to navigate so many support activities in the imagery media and IT realm and hope to continue to expand my experience going forward.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I have the support of management and leadership. They have listened to the issues that I had on a program that we are supporting and recognized the challenges. They worked with me to find a program where I could feel comfortable again and deliver to the best of my ability consistent with General Dynamics standards. A little compromise led to all of us winning. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The stress that I have felt is more of the situation that the prime contractor or customer have created. General Dynamics and the people that I work with and for have been phenomenal. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Most of my experience has been where I have been seated in another company's facilities (last 2 contracts) so I will speak to that. In comparison, I have enjoyed the transparency and freedom to reach out to my GD-MS management and one level above as I need to. Alternatively, the companies whose facilities I have worked at have had a toxic environment in one case, and a positive environment in the other. The culture promotes openness and transparency while supporting creativity. Accountability and honesty is demanded of employees - a fair trade. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Currently, each day is different. I work remote currently except when on-site support is necessary or there is a critical customer meeting. I have flexibility in how I perform my tasks as there are daily check-ins to ensure that critical tasks are completed as agreed to. The prior contract was painful. I would commute to the facility, take part in daily standup meetings, and then proceed to try and get work done while feeling like I was being set up to fail by business partner teams that would not share critical information necessary to get the job done. It would be an effort to focus through the day until it was time to go home and get ready to do it all over again. I am enjoying the work that I am doing currently, but it will end soon - we are in the process of transitioning the system to the customer who will no longer have our team maintaining it. On to the next thing.

The best part of the job was being able to interact with many employees, managers and staff from different cross functional team on a daily basis.  Being able to collaborate through research and analysis to capture key business information in order to provide key information needed to communicate, create, test, implement and support all types of projects and business processes that would enhance and provide efficiency to the Organization.

The hardest part of the job would be lack of resources to support major and key project initiatives that would unfortunately result in scope creep and potentially impact project/program schedules.  Lack of budgets from Upper Management in order to execute key initiatives and not being able to be provide feasible achievable schedules due to the environment as of late. Very difficult to work in a low moral environment.
  
It is an experienced environment that had plenty of opportunities to sustain and keep great young talent, but unfortunately, not able to do so with the change in the Defense Budget and Funding Programs being cut.

Lasting thoughts, do your homework on company reviews from 3rd parties online, check out what others say on reputable sources, good and bad, look at the markets and stakeholder data for projections and future growth, before you commit to any employment opportunities anywhere, period!

Good luck to anyone that finds this to be beneficial in your search!

The management has very little knowledge of what actually goes on day to day within the working shops. The decisions are made without any regards to what employers feel. No input about production, new ideas on how to improve processes, or even work relationships between employees are inquired by management. There is a huge divide between assemblers and all other levels of the company. Pay is very minimal for the actual jobs being performed. We are told that we are so important for national security and without us these jobs could never be completed, but when it comes to pay the opposite is reflected. We are told that it is just another manufacturing plant. But we are required to have skills such as IPC certifications, splice capabilites, trouble shooting and flexibility rather than sitting on a line watching product flow by. There is a lack of backbone with supervisors and managers. They are more worried about getting projects pushed through, which is important, than making a good work environment. In my opinion a great work environment makes for great production. I overall would rate this company as one of the lowest.
There is a lot of work that needs to be done within in order to make a better company for their customers.

I worked for GD for almost 6 years up in Maryland before having to find a way to get back south due to a terminal illness in my family. I tried for 6 months to find a transfer, but most of the different organizations within the GD company structure do not work harmoniously with each other, so I ended up having to find a new company to work for in order to move closer to home in the SC/GA area. For the 6 years I worked for GD I performed on several contracts. (They almost always had work available, so as long as you knew what you were doing they kept you busy on a contract.) GD was always working on cutting edge intelligence technology, so the work was very interesting. I can't talk about most of the projects I worked on due to the classified nature of the projects, but you always had a sense of helping the war fighter and/or national security when working on a GD contract...(at least the contracts I worked on...) The only bad part of GD that I remember was Sr. Management at the CEO and President/VP level was always messing around trying to take benefits away to boost their profits and stock price (to make themselves even richer due to their stock options). It seemed that every year they were taking something away from the workers while I was there...

General Dynamics Mission Systems in Mobile, Alabama is a high-paced, physically demanding, shipyard environment.  There are always several ships in various states of construction that need constant oversight to get the various shipboard systems installed and integrated.  There is infrequently times when there isn't work to be done.  The summer heat is brutal, especially since climate controlled locations are few and far between in the shipyard.
Management is great.  They are very supportive and inspiring.  They help you go as far as you want to go, and as fast as you want to get there.  The environment can be described, in many ways as "old-school." (Not to be mistaken with a 'Boys Club' environment.)  Traditional values are welcomed and rewarded.  If you are willing to work hard and with a good attitude, you will be treated well and rewarded well. Good morals and ethics are recognized and appreciated.
The hardest parts of the job are the heat and the physical nature of the shipyard.  That, and the fact that your office is really a backpack, since mobility is important.
The best parts of the job include the "cool factor" as well as the satisfaction of seeing your work making a difference.  We flat get it done and at a fast pace!

Everything on this post is purely my opinion and not intended as a statement of legal fact and is a perspective telling of my experiences. 

Fair is fair, I understand the Charleroi facility may not be representative of the company as a whole. I hold out hope that there is potential in other places or positions.

That said, during my time there, I saw a few contractors get booted before contract and without notice. My experience, same. I put in the effort, learned the systems and equipment, had the skill and experience, and was highly regarded by other engineers and co-workers. No communication from management, no training on the position, and I couldn't pull a set of expectations for my position after months of trying to get communication established. Terminated a 6 month contract early at significant cost to me. Also, waited until after hours to do so and barred me from returning to the building or property, but there was no reason or negativity to take such action. Failed to return some personal effects after this as well.

Again, I do understand this is possibly an isolated issue. That said, I would not recommend relocating with this company as your risk may be readily disregarded.


worked for progeny for just about 5 years... job and management went downhill the last 2 1/2 years i was there. managers have no business being managers.. no training whatsoever. literally will step over a dollar to pick up a dime. no training given to employees, just empty promises. looking for advancement? forget about it. you will sit in the same chair that you did on day one. there is no room to go anywhere. there are no levels of technicians, or assemblers. recently the wonderful management implemented that personal time must be used to join in on company functions.. i.e. picnics, outings, dinners, etc. another example of nickel and dimeing the employee. skip this place and stay unemployed or go flip burgers... you will be more satisfied and be more appreciated. handful of employees are for the most part immature, and act like they are in grade school. pay was terrible...id get thrown a 15 cent raise and then be expected to jump for joy.. for a company that pumps out millions of dollars of product yearly, the workers really get the short end when it comes to raise time.

The manufacturing department was impressively mismanaged in Scottsdale. Turn over rates are extremely high and the average experience of the manufacturing engineering team is under 3 years. They hire no to low experience individuals (interns/fresh out of college) due to being inexpensive but do not train them effectively. This results in a roughly 9 month breakeven point then they leave after 2-3 years. 

The emphasis on quality and process improvement is not there. All overhead spending is highly discouraged and sometimes even punished in order make metrics and quarterly reports.

The Engineering and Systems departments are more well managed and funded. 

They do not hire outside individual for manufacturing management and only promote from within in order to retain management that knows how to navigate the disfunction instead of getting individuals that shake thinks up and make process improvements. 

Easy job, below market pay, poor management with the normal stresses of manufacturing.

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