Pros
Better than average 401K employer-match benefits (50% up to 8%), good health coverage plans, pretty nice modern new building in Waltham. (Most) People in Waltham are really friendly and great to work with. If working at a company that's the most recognized name in the CAD world and a stable, decent paying job without big ambitions, then you'll fit right in.
Cons
- No new investment in R&D staffing for last several years. - The V6/3DExperience based products are a disaster in many ways. Yet Management in Velizy and Waltham believes that's the future and keeps pouring good money after bad. - Competitive threats aren't taken seriously until it's too late (e.g. Grabcad, Onshape). - Management believes internal components and services are better than what's out there in the rest of the industry; a very myopic view. - When a threat becomes obvious, the responses are: denial, hand-wringing, acceptance, brainstorming and a "strategy du jour". - There is bipartisan split in the company : people who believe the V6/3DExperience products will be successful and those who do not. Very caustic work environment due to this split. - Any time someone from US/UK leaves the company, the headcount is pushed to outsource partner (3DPLM) in India. - There is no reinvestment into the flagship product line that is still making pretty much 99.9999% of the revenue, more than half of it in recurring revenues. That's a gravy train that's going to run out sooner or later. - Several key management people and the key R&D staff have departed in the last 3-4 years. They must have seen the writing on the wall. - SolidWorks has gone from being THE place to work in the CAD industry that attracted all the best and brightest to JABC (Just Another Big Company). - Every decision needs to be vetted by the higher ups in Velizy. Waltham is treated like just a branch office. - Compensation is not very competitive, especially in such a hot tech startup market like Cambridge/Boston area. - All this has resulted in a very low employee morale and a shocking drop in GPTW (Great Place To Work) survey results over the last 5-6 years.
