invest in your "junior" staff - Associate II DAI Employee Review

3.0
Oct 18, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting work, a well-known and respected company within the development world. A massive portfolio that touches every technical area.

Cons

The pay for junior-level staff could be better. I left for a small business competitor and was offered 40% more right out the gate. Very unclear about the promotion cycle and the metrics to move up. HR often says their hands are tied based on the salary grade bands and that staff can't move up more than one grade at a time, which is not true. Talks the talk about DEI but when push comes to shove DEI work is often done outside of employee's scope of work on their own free time.

Explore other reviews about DAI

5.0
Jan 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Highly professional, top notch technical experts in several fields

Cons

Work subject to USG funding

4.0
Feb 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Strong culture of integrity. Absolutely spectacular colleagues. Super interesting work.

Cons

Basically denuded of staff due to USAID cuts. Upper management had become obsessed with performance against metrics that were poorly fit to the business, and were focused entirely on how they might meet those metrics this week, without looking ahead to how to make structural improvements over the longer term.

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