best for life sciences - Recensione dipendente - Architect presso DGA

Good people and benefits. Nice environment and learning opportunities.

Hard work. Similar projects, min variety.

I no longer work there.

DGA presents itself as a “we are family” workplace, but my experience was very different. The culture felt highly toxic and driven by favoritism. Certain employees were openly favored, while others were excluded or held to entirely different standards. There appeared to be inconsistent expectations around flexibility, workload, and accountability — particularly for working parents. There is little to no formal training or mentorship. Employees are often given assignments without clear direction, and when clarification is requested, it is met with criticism rather than support. Each principal has a different set of drafting standards and expectations, yet there is no unified system or guidance. Mistakes are not treated as learning opportunities; instead, if feedback is given it is frequently delivered in a public or demeaning way. Most times you will be left in the dark. Staffing and workload distribution are inconsistent. Some employees are overloaded with 50+ hour weeks while others remain underutilized. Project budgeting and management practices often seem reactive rather than strategic. There is a noticeable lack of transparency around performance expectations, and employees may receive little to no feedback until termination. There are also serious concerns regarding professionalism and workplace conduct. Inappropriate comments and behavior have reportedly occurred without meaningful accountability, creating an environment where employees may not feel safe speaking up. They promoted an employee to Principal after he sexual harassed a vender representative and made extremely homophobic and derogatory statements towards working employees. Leadership appears disconnected from day-to-day operations and relies heavily on input from a small inner circle. Decisions about staffing and termination can feel abrupt and unexplained. Titles such as “Associate” are used frequently, but there is limited clarity around what they represent in terms of authority, mentorship, or earned advancement. From a professional development standpoint, the firm does not invest meaningfully in training designers in space planning, building code application, or ADA compliance. Without structured growth opportunities, employees may find that their years of experience there do not translate competitively to other firms. I would strongly encourage prospective employees to ask detailed questions about training, performance reviews, staffing structure, and reporting processes before accepting a position.