Avantages
AMD is definitely an engineer's company. Ideas and projects, in the vast majority of cases, are evaluated on their technical merit. The company as a whole values individual contributors and allows people to have a wide breadth if they so desire. Perpetual understaffing means there's always an opportunity to take on something new. You're the little guy - fighting the biggest kid on the block, giving the job a certain rebellious sense.
Inconvénients
Perpetual understaffing means there's always an opportunity (and expectation) to work long hours for a long long time. You're the little guy - fighting the biggest kid on the block, giving the job, at times, an endless despair quality, and can make it not especially lucrative from an investment point of view. Also, strong individual contributors can mean the creation of fiefdoms, which sometimes block progress.