Pros
Very good pay and benefits. Facilities staff is outstanding!
Cons
A significant issue is the ineffectual management through decision-making based on what was more beneficial to a manager personally rather than to the project or to the company. A complete leadership void exists within the Engineering management at the Melbourne site, which is taking its toll on the Engineering staff. On the project-side, there are too many managers and not enough leaders. In fact, there are so many managers, that responsibility is significantly obfuscated, making it difficult to get work done. The senior engineering staff (at least those that don't have some manager role) try to fill this leadership gap within their project teams (and sometimes even within their departments)... but in the end, it's a Sisyphean task as there is no support from above. Agile development is not a silver bullet, though management thinks it is, even though the development is really being done in Spirals. Overall, while "big-T" Thales may be a good place to work, my experience in the IFE organization was not. I would not recommend this organization to anyone who is looking for a supportive engineering organization and who wants to design, develop, and deliver great products to their customers.