Bad company culture outweighs many of its benefits
Pros
The starting salaries are higher than average in Brazil, but not the highest. The standard hours are long, but you hardly ever need to work overtime, except if you are in customer support or during certification campaigns; you work with far less pressure to deliver than you would in most industries. The location, São José dos Campos, is not the best in Brazil, but there is a lot worse, São Paulo for example. There is plenty of opportunity for employee training, ranging from very good to very poor quality.
Cons
To some degree, the cons at Embraer are true of all big companies and aircraft manufacturers; however, there is a certain local flavor which manifests from time to time: Although there has been some effort to reform, Embraer has a very byzantine management style, and ends-up leaving too much power in the hand of individuals at all levels. The company is still haunted by its state-owned past with many 'do nothing' managers and what seems to be entire 'do nothing' departments; I know many high payed employees who seem to be just waiting for retirement. Merit-based promotions exist, but are rare; cronyism is very visible. Human resources is unimaginative and extremely aggressive. Middle management is often clueless, absent and seemingly disinterested about anything relevant to their function. At Embraer you will find yourself having to re-explain the basics countless times to decision makers and self-appointed 'experts', who in spite of knowing everything, can't remember anything or walk and chew gum at the same time. Engineers here have an almost occult bond to procedure, and are very touchy concerning any unflattering questions about their methods. Any honest comment can make you a target of KGB-style intimidation for no apparent reason at all.
