Vantaggi
Akamai is the leader in its field of content delivery and moves1/3 of the world's Internet traffic on its servers. It's technologies are often leading edge, and as a general rule the people tend to be smart and easy to get along with. The company is particularly well managed, treats employees well, and compensates people at an above average level. The overall benefits package is very good. Management is very transparent (this is a public company) in does quarterly meetings telling us how the business is doing. Excellent work/life balance.
Svantaggi
There aren't many downsides to working at Akamai. There is the general challenge of working in Cambridge which can be expensive to commute to and live in. The company does not provide things like free parking or gyms, etc. Currently the company is in multiple sites in Cambridge having outgrown its resources. It is expected to relocate (probably in Cambridge or Boston) in 2017. As to your particular job and the career track that depends almost entirely on your managers. The company does promote somewhat from within, but doesn't make it an emphasis. Over the past 4 years the company has nearly tripled in size from 1800 to 6000, and the quality of the people has diminished. People there tend to be happy and have voted the company the 3rd best large company to work for in Massachusetts. I think that the company's ranking is based more on the past than the present, and is a good marketing exercise.