Illumina Reviews

Pros

In these difficult times, ILMN has stepped up to help employees - safety, pay, benefits, and flexibility to get work done. Trying to meet the needs of my family and work is tough - but I know my manager trusts me to get the job done from home right now.

Cons

Ambitious goals and extremely fast pace - its not for everyone.

Pros

I've gotten the opportunity to work with some of the smartest scientists and engineers in the world, and every day is a new chance to both learn something new and to steer Illumina toward an even more successful future.

Cons

Those same smart people tend to want to reinvent the wheel - leveraging existing technology to speed development is a good thing!

Pros

As a whole, the company offers great benefits, flexible work arrangements, stock, unlimited time off. If you can get involved early on and build a large network, you can make moves fairly easily within the company. Pre-COVID, there were many opportunities to network and interact with colleagues (if based at HQ).

Cons

The culture is heavily skewed towards "who you know" and many promotions and role changes are given to those that have been there a long time or have made strategic friends. Middle management is mostly in place due to tenure and relationship, rather than management skills. There is a lack of trust in individual contributors - management often makes decisions despite team feedback. In marketing, approval processes are very rigid and lengthy, it is very difficult to be agile. Lots of budget is wasted due to a lack of alignment between the matrixed segments.

Pros

Some smart people, flexibility, pay above average

Cons

Company grew to fast, does not have the infrastructure to support rapid growth. Middle management leaves something to be desired. Some nepotism in certain groups.