Toxic and Mediocre - Senior Engineer McKinstry Employee Review

1.0
Jul 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent salary and PTO policy Onsite gym for a fair monthly price Cool rooftop golf setup Nice little taco truck nearby outside

Cons

This place has extremely poor leadership and is very toxic at every level. Prepare to be micromanaged, ignored, gaslit, and shown zero empathy for heavy workload or personal emergencies by mediocre middle managers. Principals are checked out and are too busy creating new promotions for themselves and drinking wine at the CEO’s ranch. The bonus structure and profit sharing is laughable and a complete lie from what is listed on Workday. Annual raises aren’t even competitive to inflation. The C-suite executives are only focused on blatant nepotism for their own kids and relatives. HR puts people last and only cares about the company image (typical at most companies but they don’t even try to sugarcoat it). They force people to come in (3) days a week but they don’t even have enough parking. There is a cafe that sells mediocre food with typical expensive Seattle prices. The healthcare package is complicated, expensive, and relatively unknown to all providers. As a billion dollar company, they go cheap on the company holiday party and literally just host it at the office.

Explore other reviews about McKinstry

5.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

People oriented company, good culture.

Cons

Competitive salaries but low incentive pay compared to other contractors.

2.0
Feb 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Not a lot! At first it’s work life balance but then they expect you to work late and say they pay overtime so it’s fine. People first culture but if you ask for PTO, it could be rejected even if it’s at least 6 months in advance. The only good thing I can think of is the cafeteria and the gym. Those are nice with nice staff. And I guess the holiday party is nice.

Cons

They will sell you on work life balance for lower salary compared to the industry standard. Remember you work for a family business for profit so no matter how successful they say the company is doing, it does not mean you will benefit from that. I cannot stress enough about how underpaying it is at McKinstry. Profit-sharing is so bad here it’s laughable. I definitely were sold on work life balance because I was so burnt out from a previous firm but in the end, still toxic leadership and workload. High turnover rate and fake. Overall, I really don’t know how they exist this long with the disorganization, horrible management, horrible pay, etc. Everyone I talk to is underpaid and undervalued. Please please avoid! Go somewhere else.

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