| Overall Score | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| Type | Global Enterprise | US Government IT / Defense |
| Employees | 5000-6000 | 24000 |
| Founded | 1965 | 2013 (post-split) |
| Headquarters | Sydney, NSW (NZ HQ: Auckland) | Reston, Virginia, USA |
| Revenue | Private | $7.5B |
| Salary Range | $75,000 - $160,000 | $70,000 - $170,000 |
| Specialties | Managed Services, Cloud Infrastructure, Data Centre, Application Development | Government IT, Cloud, AI & Data, Cybersecurity, Digital Engineering, Defense Systems |
| Certifications | Microsoft Partner, AWS Partner, Cisco Partner, VMware Partner | ISO 27001, FedRAMP, CMMI Level 5, AWS Partner, Microsoft Partner |
| Green Flags | Privately held Γ’β¬β no PE pressure, no quarterly earnings
Low offshoring (~20%) Γ’β¬β most work delivered locally
Genuine work-life balance in most teams
Rarely does mass layoffs Γ’β¬β stable employment
Largest locally-owned IT company in Australia | Premier US government and defense IT contractor with 50+ year legacy
Deep expertise in cloud migration, AI/ML, and digital engineering for DoD
Strong clearance portfolio β works across all major US intelligence agencies
Fortune 500 financial stability with consistent government contract backlog
Good work-life balance by defense contractor standards |
| Red Flags | Below-market salaries (A$85-95K average vs A$128-138K market)
Career stagnation Γ’β¬β 'dead man's shoes' culture
Internal politics favour tenure over talent
Graduate program used as cheap labour pipeline
Manager quality varies wildly between teams | Security clearance dependency restricts hiring and career mobility
Below-market compensation compared to commercial cloud/tech roles
Government contracting bureaucracy limits innovation pace
US-only presence β zero international career opportunities
Spin-off culture (Leidos split) still creating identity challenges |
| Worker Pros | Stability Γ’β¬β private ownership means no restructuring cycles
Work-life balance is genuinely good
Local delivery Γ’β¬β your job isn't being offshored
Good graduate programs with real mentorship | Mission-driven work with national security impact
Fortune 500 stability and government contract backlog
Good work-life balance for defense contractor
Deep cloud and AI/ML expertise in government context |
| Worker Cons | Salaries are 20-30% below market rate
Career progression is slow Γ’β¬β 'dead man's shoes'
Manager quality varies wildly Γ’β¬β your experience depends on your boss
Innovation is limited by risk-averse culture
Internal politics favour loyalty over competence | Clearance requirement creates hiring bottleneck
Below-market comp vs commercial tech sector
Zero international presence or mobility
Government contracting overhead slows innovation |