Pros
Good benefits, no PTO policy, good pay, Mac book Pros (last time I heard), improving architecture and infrastructure, and leadership that cares quite a bit about morale. If a developer demonstrates competency and is mature, he or she will have no problem excelling at Ristken. If a developer is strong, Ristken will reward that developer greatly. This company has the most flexible work schedule I have ever seen. If you need to work from home for a week, just do it. As long as your work is done, the management doesn't care where you work from. Ristken can be an awesome place to work. With that said, you get what you give. Today is Friday the 13th (2/13/2015) so I wouldn't be shocked if the CEO is taking the company on a fun outing today or tonight. Friday the 13th's seem to have a special meaning at Ristken for some reason.
Cons
Ristken is going through growing pains right now. Over the past year or so, they have taken on big customers. Some of these customers forced Ristken to completely reevaluate compliance issues and a ton of other things Ristken didn't have to worry about before. Legacy code still has to be maintained while newer technologies are adopted. Who gets to work on legacy code? The developers who know how to work on it. Who gets to work on new technology? Whoever isn't working on legacy code gets to use AngularJS, etc. It isn't fair, but Ristken is a business, not a school. If a developer is tasked with working on legacy code and he or she wants to use newer technologies to stay current, they should find a way to use the newer technologies, even if it means putting in more time. It will only benefit them in the long run. The Core Values are not just lip service. The CEO really believes in them. However, Ristken is a business and they don't have time to coddle anyone. If a developer complains that the CEO doesn't follow his own core values, that developer should ask himself or herself if he or she is following the core values.
