Avantages
The general environment is very positive. As a new employee, others are very willing to help me. This includes fellow engineers, IT, management and HR. In my experience, people are genuinely committed to getting the job done and helping each other, and not just on looking good or pushing work off to other people. My manager is friendly and laid back. He generally takes a hands-off approach, but checks in enough with people to make sure everything is going smoothly. All employees are given membership to a very nice gym near the office. The company is big enough that there are people of all age groups, so it is possible to make friends with someone my age.
Inconvénients
The IT infrastructure is very poor. Engineers who are very demanding of their computers are forced to struggle using three year old laptops running nine year old software. Managers are unwilling to approve replacements even when an old machine is obviously hindering productivity. Many projects are worked on simultaneously in different offices in different time zones. This can make communication difficult and it makes work frustrating sometimes. The quality of the code being written and adherence to best engineering practices is uneven.