May God have mercy on your soul if you have to work at Cree.
Pros
Decent benefits (but don't plan on getting more than 3-4 days of PTO approved per year if you're salaried) and good job security. There are some departments that are "hidden gems" within Cree that are good to work for, but they are far and few between. You have to be hired into a good department though, so don't plan on starting off in a less desirable position and making a lateral transfer later. Requests to transfer are always denied without comment by management.
Cons
Whether you're a recent or upcoming graduate looking for your first engineering job, or if you're a more experienced engineer who just got laid off, let me give you some advice I wish I would have listened to: Do not work at Cree. Your experience will be worthless outside Cree and you will be miserable. Cree will affect your life in a very negative way. Your relationships with friends, family, and your SO will suffer, or maybe even be completely lost. Your mental and physical health will suffer. You will have to work 70-80 hours a week while being on call 24/7/365, you will be screamed at (literally) by managers who can't control their anger, you will be micromanaged to the extreme (my group had 3 2-hour long staff meeting every week, plus you were required to send out a ~8 slide update to management 7 days a week, including your days off), and you will only be paid an average salary for it. Unless you're at the point where you're going to starve to death, keep looking elsewhere. If you got laid off from your last job, keep milking unemployment, or if that's run out, try prostitution before you work here. As a prostitute, your clients will probably respect you more than Cree managers respect their employees. If you're an experienced engineer looking for a change, I can guarantee you Cree isn't the type of change you're looking for. If you're a new graduate desperate to get your foot in the door, look into field engineering positions at oil service companies first. You will work similar hours but for better pay and a better career path, and possibly even better working conditions. Most engineers with only a B.S. who start at Cree end up having to go to graduate school to get out. Cree doesn't use any statistical tools, six sigma, or lean manufacturing that are common at other companies. Most young engineers at Cree end up with 3-4 years of their life wasted doing nothing but work along with a several year block on their resume that's completely worthless. I'll repeat the advice I was given many times but ignored: Do. Not. Work. At. Cree.
