Performance is Secondary to Proximity: The R&D "Caste System" - Anonymous employee Trystar Employee Review

The current R&D leadership has shifted the culture from meritocracy to pure cronyism, where political proximity to the Director and VP of Engineering is the only viable path to promotion. As a veteran with 21 years of experience, it is disheartening to watch engineers with only 3–5 years of experience fast-tracked into Lead or Principal roles while seasoned staff are told to "stay down" to make room for favorites. This bias extends to resource allocation; while the political circle receives company-funded certifications, grants, and free money for growth, the rest of the engineering talent is sidelined. The ETO, Power Distribution, Power Conversion and PMO managers operate without accountability due to personal ties with R&D leadership, and there is a disturbing trend of third-party consultants being converted to full-time and promoted without proven records. Furthermore, there is a blatant "double standard" regarding presence and work ethic leadership frequently disappears for "private appointments" on Fridays, while the people actually doing the work are denied the same flexibility or recognition. If you work hard here, you will remain stagnant; if you play the political game, you will grow. The C-suite must intervene before the remaining senior talent heads for the exit. The technical and financial competence of the management layer is also alarming; many Senior Managers don’t even know how to calculate a basic budget forecast and were promoted solely based on relationships. Ultimately, it is a "yes-man" culture: if you dare to question the Director or point out these flaws, you are effectively blacklisted from any future promotion.