Excellent place for career growth for doctoral level researchers - Researcher I Mathematica Employee Review

5.0
Jun 9, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great opportunities for career advancement and leadership for doctoral level researchers. High quality research outside of an academic setting. Good work-life balance, especially compared to similar private-sector research firms/think tanks. Positive company culture based on teamwork and respect. Very high rentention among senior level staff. Many of the company leaders have been here 15-30 years-- demonstrates happy employees and strong committment to the company. Excellent compensation and benefits.

Cons

Communication can be difficult at times because we work with teams across all 6 national offices. Proposal-based researcher (as compared to grant-based research in academia) limits your ability to do exactly the type of research you want.

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5.0
Apr 11, 2026
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CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great colleagues, 401k match, and interesting work

Cons

Work life balance could be improved and more ability to move between departments

3.0
Jun 29, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Smart people, impactful work. A real community.

Cons

Poor strategic planning. Rather than performing real analysis and proactive thinking, leadership reacts to the environment. Strategy development and implementation at Mathematica seems like leadership throws wet spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. In the 2010s, it was predictive modeling. Rather than proactively using predictive modeling to support their client's goals and the organization's mission, they created a data analytics division, hired smart people, and provided no guidance to support the division. Today, AI has replaced predictive modeling. These examples provide two instances of failures of corporate leadership; many more exist. Unfortunately, the company suffers from short-term incentives and an aversion to long-term investments. As an employee-owned company, you would think that the board and leadership would be more responsive to the employees. No! Over time, they have removed employees' voices from decision-making and focused on increasing their own power and independence.

7
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