Pros
Worked with some of the smartest people I’ve ever known.
Great opportunities to learn from your coworkers and an atmosphere that encourages learning, including a well-run technical education program.
Fabulous support staff and technicians that can get seemingly impossible things done quickly.
Great resources and lab spaces (if a bit dated).
The nature of the work encourages good work/life balance.
Fantastic benefits (though the pay is low).
Cons
No/limited opportunities for advancement makes this a hard place to work mid-career.
Good engineers are promoted to be mediocre managers.
Every program is under-funded, under-staffed, and over schedule.
Bad managers are shuffled around but rarely fired.