Old-fashioned, disconnected from reality top heavy management - Senior Engineer Applied Materials Employee Review

2.0
7 Jun 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Standard benefits, average market rate salary, can be better if you're lucky enough to be in a good group under good management.

Cons

Way too top heavy hierarchy, too many VPs, Senior Directors, Managing Directors who just all talk day in day out and never do any real work. Probably 50% of the work force are these senior management, only 20% of real working level engineers doing the actual WORK. CEO Gary disconnected from reality eliminating hybrid work, maybe because all he meets every day are the VPs under him who are paid well enough to be able to live anywhere close to company in expensive Bay Area. Very old-fashioned thinking in this day and age. Too many processes, approval flows which slows down everything, this stems from again too many Directors and above, who are implementing more and more approval steps to justify their existence. Your career path greatly depends on which team you're in and how good is your chain of managers. Difference can be no promotion for 5-6years vs promoted twice within the same timeframe, even for doing the same type of work and performing the same.

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5.0
15 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Friendliness Stock Purchase Benefits Culture Development

Cons

Hours Schedule Flexibility Relocation Salary

2.0
8 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Salary, I was compensated very well, the I hated working there so much that I resigned without anything even lined up. It was a good move for my mental health.

Cons

The leadership in general are not very intelligent, disorganized, and uncommunicative. They were decades behind in certain areas that lead to massive inefficiencies and overwork. (Out of respect I will not be specific). I suggested an improvement that would have taken task time down from 8 hours to virtually real time, but the executive Team, in their arrogance, did not allow me to implement the system. Sometime later, the cumbersome, unreliable system was not working and a deadline approaching. I worked 20 hours per day for 7 days and built an entire real time reporting system - then resigned. No one at AMAT was ever helpful. It always seemed an inconvenience to give a colleague outside ones group the time of day. I gained absolutely ZERO new skills or professional development at AMAT all my time there. Many of the employees at the time, including senior management, felt free to publicly express invectives against the current POTUS in their suffering TDS. Another reason I could not work in the environment. Rules for thee and not for me.

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