Pros
- Staff write proposals for DOD contract RandD funding. Gives you some ability to shape your own work. - Nice people
Cons
- Very little true scientific research going on here. Mostly applied development projects. Project timelines are short, often only a year. not effective processes for starting new research directions - Lacking in scientific leadership. The advanced technologies and systems division (ATSD) in particular is a mess. - Hard to start new research directions here because funding is difficult to get and there are not good staffing processes - difficult to get on projects because there are often not enough hours available. project work is not stable - Management doesn’t understand the challenges faced by staff. poor communication and often environment is not inclusive. Many strategic errors include poor choices of core competencies, a misguided emphasis on high $$ contracts at the expense of smaller contracts, and bad management/leadership at all levels.