Pros
The engineering department is filled with intelligent people, and there's a department-wide respect for good design and the design process. As for the UX design team itself, I can't imagine a better set-up – the team of managers is incredibly supportive and was always willing to make time to give me advice or help me out when I was stuck on something. My managers made sure I was always learning and growing. Since the UX team is still relatively small compared to other roles, there are tons of opportunities to take ownership and make a significant impact. I loved the fact that designers at Appian are given a good amount of autonomy, which meant there was a lot of space for me to decide how to best use my time, including working on passion projects (known as "indie time").
Cons
Product managers call most of the shots, which often limits the role that design can have on the outcome of a project.
