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Defense Digital Service

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Defense Digital Service Reviews

2.1

27% would recommend to a friend

(21 total reviews)

27% positive business outlook

Defense Digital Service has an employee rating of 2.1 out of 5 stars, based on 21 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Defense Digital Service employee rating is 42% below average for employers within the Government and public administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

21 reviews
5.0
22 Oct 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very talented team of unique characters with diverse backgrounds. You have near-complete autonomy to get what you want out of this position. You often have the freedom to choose projects that interest you. Your work often has direct impact on the warfighters' lives. If you push yourself and can chart your own path you will find this job to be very productive and rewarding. You are encouraged to present at conferences and participate on panels and grow your skills. You are in a good position here to help influence change across the DoD through policy and advocating for best-practices.

Cons

Depending on the partner organizations and external stakeholders involved there can be a lot of bureaucracy to navigate. If you aren't good at raising concerns early or don't have solid people skills you can get buried. There has been a lot of bureaucratic churn over the past few years with a number of leadership changes but current leadership is very capable, a strong advocate for the team, and will have your back. The workload is very streaky – feast or famine. You need to be able to find things to do without someone telling you. Not all have this ability and will lurk in the shadows from time to time.

5.0
15 Oct 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Researching, planning, designing important software UX supporting our troops, government, and working in agile, nimble way with the amazing (PM/Eng/Design) experts around you. - Fully remote - with travel as needed and required. - Once in a lifetime experience for senior product designers to make a difference and learn about working at the DoD and in Gov. - This isn't your typical tech job - it's really exceptional. Expect the unexpected. - Flat org; the director you're hired under is important (I was lucky and had a couple of great ones!). Everyone on team is treated at same senior level.

Cons

- Projects can sometimes stall or lag due to authorizations and approvals and reviews or customers and outside partners schedules. - The larger CDAO org DDS has become a part of is sometimes helpful - sometimes not; priorities are changing within CDAO; not sure DDS has seen lots of benefits yet. - Newer tools - if not on the approved list - can be harder to get but mostly DDS has a solid, modern tech stack already.

5.0
9 July 2020

Do work that matters

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Our country is mired by a great unrest. Many would characterize the current state of America as uncertain, even chaotic. The path forward for Us is steep and meandering. And there are many days, our current reality weighs heavily on my heart and mind. However, the greatness of The United States is not based upon the labor produced, technologies fabricated or produce delivered. Our greatness comes in the form of our people and opportunities: the promise of a better tomorrow if We put in the work today. As Americans, we have the ability to achieve extraordinary things. And many times, the journey to Greatness feels like we are traversing through a never ending abyss of darkness. At Defense Digital Service (DDS), I have the ability to personally affect change in our country. We have incredible people working with an incredible sense of urgency. There are long hours and tireless changes. But you can’t get anywhere by being mediocre. Greatness is only achieved by people doing extraordinary things, going through endless dark times in order to get to a better place. What they don't teach you in school or textbooks is the human side of our work. The dedication of our families to our journey; the months of commitment we all have to endure to get something truly amazing transformed. Our country deserves better than what’s currently out there; We deserve to spend more time with our families; We deserve to live in a country which serves Us with purposeful intent; We deserve our future to be crafted with love and compassion. No one is going to deliver this on a silver platter to Us. It takes a monumental effort by a fanatically driven group of people. I believe this is DDS and I believe the time to deliver is now.

Cons

There are a lot of challenges at DDS. The shifting layers of bureaucracy, at times, leaves you feeling like a crumbled waffle cracker. The hardest part about my job is not the designs or technology. It’s managing the changing landscape of the Department of Defense and making sure our people have the best chance at doing the work they love. I leave work at times drained trying to ensure that we’re doing the best job possible.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 21 Reviews

Glassdoor has 21 Defense Digital Service reviews submitted anonymously by Defense Digital Service employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Defense Digital Service is right for you.