Not ready to change culture for new company mission - Project Manager Leidos Employee Review

3.0
Sep 19, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

On all appearances, it looks like this is a great company to work for. New name, new mission and culture. I was excited to start working there, but it changed very quickly. Very nice offices in Reston (although do not like the open concept environment).

Cons

Majority of company employees still want to operate "as they did before" when they were SAIC. Problem is they are not supposed to and for a new hire it is difficult if you do not know how it "used to be" because you hear it all the time. Healthcare is awful. It has very high deductible plans as I guess is the norm now. Not everyone received a bonus in 2014 because company did not do well financially after split -- but "some" people got one which, in my opinion, if some got it, everyone should. Before I came (getting ready for split) there were a lot of people from SAIC promoted into new positions they did not have the experience for. This will be a negative for the company to achieve the standards they are expecting -- and what I observed very quickly. I also observed with the open office environment that everyone was listening to conversations and, if they did not like something someone said regardless of what it was (and I am not talking about inappropriate things, just general conversation), then they would report you. Kinda felt like I was in elementary school. 401K: Well, they would contribute, HOWEVER, if you left before 5 years, they would take BACK the money they contributed. Even though new people were hired for what they were expected to bring to the company to move it forward, during the reorganizations, I noticed new hires were let go instead of older SAIC employees. What message is that sending? New CEO is "old school" as well and does not bring new forward thinking to the table to take the company to a new direction.

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5.0
Feb 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You are compensated well at the company

Cons

No cons to list currently.

3.0
May 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Leidos provides opportunities to work on complex government programs with meaningful technical challenges. Depending on the contract and team, there can be exposure to cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, systems engineering, networking, and mission-focused work that is difficult to find elsewhere. The company also has a large footprint, so there may be internal opportunities for people who are able to navigate the organization.

Cons

My experience was that the quality of management varied significantly by program. Communication around expectations, roles, and priorities was often inconsistent, and decisions that affected employees were not always explained clearly or handled in a transparent way. Work-life balance also depended heavily on local management. Flexibility that existed in practice could be changed quickly, and employees were sometimes left trying to reconcile changing expectations with existing workloads and personal obligations. In my view, the company would benefit from stronger oversight of program-level management decisions, especially where employee responsibilities, workplace flexibility, and performance feedback are concerned. I also found that technical decision-making was sometimes driven more by schedule pressure than by sound engineering judgment. On complex government programs, that can create unnecessary risk and frustration for employees who are trying to do things correctly.

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