The matrix organization that is touted as the template is not followed here. There is no parallel hierarchy of program manager vs functional manager, essentially the functional manager is simply 3 managerial levels above your program manager. There are many semi-skilled managers at the lower levels that have poor leadership qualities. They will easily castigate technical excellence and producing quality work with a bullying type attitude. It is a big company, but it can feel like there is nothing beyond the immediate manager, while any recourse requires reporting to HR/Ethics which requires documented paper trail of retaliation, not a luxury available to much of the classified work that's done here. Level 1 and level 2 hires straight out of college have the ability to rotate programs and get out of nasty situations this way, but I would not recommend this company for Level 3-5. You need to know how to play politics and stay in the good books with your work to make your immediate managers look great. Not a quality readily available to introvert nerdy types.