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Solar Turbines

Part of Caterpillar

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Solar Turbines reviews

3.9

74% would recommend to a friend

(621 total reviews)

Jim Umpleby

72% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

Solar Turbines has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 621 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Solar Turbines employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Energy, Mining & Utilities industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

621 reviews
2.0
Mar 5, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Employees are open to providing help to each other. Demand for oil & natural gas is high and the world needs energy. Safety is prioritized and they will get you what you need in the field to be safe if you ask for it.

Cons

Politics in the San Diego offices are terrible. Upper management team does not listen to employees despite an annual “Employee Insights Survey”. The Solar CEO openly leads with fear and criticism. This results in an anxious workforce and mistrust at the upper levels of management. Employees are expected to work in the office after covid restrictions are relaxed. New minimum 3 days per week in the office. It’s clear workers want a more flexible work environment. I anticipate a drain of talent when this is implemented.

3.0
May 31, 2016

Project Manager

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Solar offers above average stability and benefits packages. Average pay seems to be on par with other companies of this size.

Cons

Archaic and disjointed systems for such a large company require extensive manual and redundant intervention. This multiplies opportunities for errors and dissatisfied customers. The common saying within the workforce is, "Solar is successful in spite of itself." Limited opportunity for advancement since management allows people to "camp out" in the limited leadership positions indefinitely.

1.0
Jun 13, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay. Great 401K company match for employees. Work from home policy for some employees. A few good people keep this place running. Downtown San Diego location close to Little Italy restaurants and on the waterfront.

Cons

The most dysfunctional fuddy-duddy company I’ve seen: red tape, siloed departments, disconnected systems and utter incompetence. Work environment with passive-aggressive overtones. Employees hoard knowledge and go MIA during work hours. Deadlines are meaningless and most put in least viable effort. The corporate culture of a dead fish. The workforce is made up of disengaged contractors (80%) and mostly old timers counting the days to claim their fat pension. All vacation days need to be taken before year end, so the place is a ghost town in Q4, and no work can get done. Many white-collar workers work 6AM to 2PM manufacturing hours even though those are not the standard office hours. Good luck scheduling a meeting with key people after 2PM. Downtown main parking lot is full after 7AM, other parking lot next to airport runway is loud and 10 min walk crossing busy Laurel airport access road. During rain building leaks, floors, streets and parking lots flood. Homeless people sleeping around building, cases of assault during day when getting lunch. Their turbines power the gas and oil industry and have nothing to do with solar. This place is well past its glory days decades ago. Solar Turbines will suck every ounce of ambition and engagement out of you. Your experience may be different, but mine was terrible. Run from this place if you want to stay sane.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 621 Reviews

Glassdoor has 809 Solar Turbines reviews submitted anonymously by Solar Turbines employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Solar Turbines is right for you.