Pros
I had great leadership in Flight Operations, with co-workers who genuinely cared. My projects I had quite a bit of autonomy with incredibly high impact. Benefits as a federal employee are so good, NASA matches 5% towards your TSP. Time-off is incredibly generous. 12 weeks paternal family leave. Lateral movement within the agency is possible if you want to try different things. Work with some truly intelligent people.
Cons
Government red tape is real, particularly when working with export control matters as an agency that must collaborate with foreign agencies. Occasionally you will come across (work with) the one person who was promoted via the good ol' boy club. Everyone knows who this person is. This person leaves a gaping hole in the organization where an incredible amount of productivity is lost. It's not often that you come across this person, but you will know when you do. As a federal employee, you are political fodder, most in especially in 2026. I have seen an absolute brain-drain happen in the federal government under this administration (Trump 2.0). Myself included. Truly a sad time to be a federal employee. The flip side is that this can change with a new administration if you can stick it out.