Comment by d0gsg0w00f

IME working as a team in large companies is dangerously entrepreneurial. What I mean is that there is loose guidance on what needs solving and then it's up to you to figure out how to solve using what you have. If you stray from the original problem too far, you'd better be good at explaining why. It's dangerous because there's a lot of autonomy with the illusion of security.

Keep the original problem in mind always. Keep your head up looking out for competitor teams who might be solving your problem. Know them, align with them.

If you show up on an exec budget spreadsheet and the exec can't defend your value, then you're toast (or transferred).