Illumina reviews

- Horizontal structure and open culture pioneered by Jay Flatley is disappearing - "Move fast and embrace change" is selectively applied - Constant reorganizations which appear hypocritical (we want to focus on key areas so lets reorg - ok now lets buy Pac Bio) create lack of continuity for career growth, at least if you are one who cares about actually doing a good job at your current job vs. positioning yourself for your next - One can expect to change jobs less than a year after they start work - be prepared to start all over again with a new boss you didn't interview with and do this multiple times. - Directors that succeed here are constantly working on pitching themselves to upper management vs. actually focussing on being leaders and nurturing talent - Marketing roles are not clearly defined - No clear guidance for career enhancement - promotions are highly subjective and weighted towards perceptions vs. actual quality of work - Company still struggles with being a "research company" vs. being geared towards meeting needs of clinical markets - Upper management does not come from clinical background so they don't get the fundamentals of how to lead the company properly towards being a market leader in the space (i.e., there is a difference between being a technological leader, vs. being a solutions leader). - Lots of internal discontent especially around results of recent marketing reorg where new roles were poorly defined as well as rules of engagement - Marketing clearly being led by "the cool kids" vs. being open and inclusive to new talent or opposing viewpoints - Company seems to favor going outside for internal openings vs. promoting internal, loyal, quality employees - this is VERY noticed internally - I have seen multiple times a marketing lead of a major product launch do tons of work around pricing, user requirements, etc. only to get over ruled at the last possible moment by senior execs for no reason whatsoever (i.e., newly proposed numbers are not based on research but just the whims of the exec). When that marketing lead tries to debate the topic, they become "marked." - Traffic in and out of 805 is ridiculous - Be prepared to park and walk all the way across campus As many have said, there is a certain personality type that will thrive here. Being able to adapt, not needing prescribed ways of doing things, and working proactively to solve challenges will serve one well. However, there are major gaps in leadership and their inability to even have a basic understanding of what the products do, markets, user needs etc. which impacts both the time and quality of decisions. Because of the constant reorgs, be prepared change jobs often and be prepared to have several managers. It is not uncommon to have 5-7 managers over the course of 3 years here. Because of that, it becomes nearly impossible to gain the support (air cover) of a manager as you try to navigate the company's idiosyncrasies and actually to get things done for the greater good. Those that do well here realize that the company is in constant flux and will start to "chart their own course" by managing upwards and creating their next opportunity as a way to be proactive when the musical chairs move again. This is smart for the individual, but not a good strategy for the company overall for obvious reasons.