Pros
1. Developing revolutionary cell therapeutics from novel synthetic biology concepts at a fast pace. It is exciting to say the least, with potential to lead to a paradigm shift in the way cell therapeutics are built. 2. CEO has done an exceptional job getting funding to allow the rapid growth of the company. With the new CFO and financial planning staffs, the near term financial health looks strong. 3. Many excellent scientists on different teams, and their dedication to top quality science amid the aggressive timeline is the main reason the company has been successful scientifically. 4. Senior management keeps transparency about the state of the company to keep everyone informed and engaged. 5. Highly competitive and top-notch compensation and benefit package.
Cons
1. The company often fails to make the most of the limited resources, especially in the area of staffing. Headcount allocation is often based on "perceived need" without reviewing whether a team is already well-staffed. This generally leads to teams with poor output getting outsized while still failing to generate matching output. 2. The imbalance of staffing also leads to some people perpetually overwork and therefore the work-life balance issue. At the same time, others have more reasonable or even light workload. It is important to consider this as a failure of the management, instead of as people not willing to work hard. 3. Arsenal has done a poor job rewarding employee based on merits. How well a person does her/his job or how much measurable contribution one made have less to do with career opportunities than the position (s)he has or the team one is on. This opens doors to the behavior of focusing on individual advancement and not the success of the whole company (aka playing politics).