You're probably not going to get the chance to design or work with engineers who have designed products from the ground up. You're pretty much always taking a platform developed in Germany and adapting it for a U.S. customer.
In the automotive industry, meaning they are subject to the ups and downs of that industry.
Advancement opportunities appear limited for non-Germans.
Large, slow-moving bureaucracy. Very process-oriented, and you're rarely made aware of why a given process works the way it does.
Highest leadership sets ambitious and probably achievable goals, but the actual execution of changes needed to reach these goals is not always optimal. Suggests leadership is out of touch with the ground organization.
You truly feel that you are working for a "wholly owned subsidiary." That is the U.S. company is subsidiary to the German one.
Bottom-up feedback seemingly has no effect. Attention given to candid employee feedback is mostly lip service.
Senior leadership of the global organization is very non-diverse (white, mostly-German males).
Automotive focused. Although it has a substantial non-automotive presence, the main focus is on auto. Company processes come from automotive; don't necessarily make sense in other business areas.
The "Technical Expert" path for engineers who want to advance, but not move into general management positions, is not well-established in the U.S.