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Francis deSouza
262 Ratings
Pros
"Great work life balance, if you put in the effort to make it so" (in 43 reviews)
"fast paced environment where you can learn a lot" (in 70 reviews)
Cons
"So much going on - you need to be very good at setting boundaries or it will be easy to get sucked into poor work-life balance" (in 61 reviews)
"Ultra fast paced environment, high stress during critical release dates" (in 43 reviews)
- Featured Review
Helpful (18)
![Illumina Logo]()
"Move Fast and Embrace Change"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Illumina full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
This is a very fast moving company constantly innovating and changing. I know many companies say this in their values, but here you'll feel it every day. No two years are the same, no two months are the same. Everyone is collaborating towards the same end vision; to unlock the power of the genome, to transform healthcare and beyond. It's dynamic and very meaningful. I find it very motivating to know the work we're doing is improving thousands of lives today, and millions in the future!
Cons
The Pros can also be Cons if it's not a good fit culturally. Someone who needs a regular routine or struggles with the undefined would not align well at Illumina. Because the company is pushing the limits of what's possible, and doing things no one in history has done, there is a lot of undefined gray areas. This can be a pro if one likes charting their own course. If an employee is looking for a more defined and routine culture, this is not a good fit.
Advice to Management
Continue the improvement on prioritization. There can't be many number 1 priorities. Forced ranking could be a useful tool to hash out relative priorities. Great trend here already, but still more to do.
Illumina 2018-04-05 07:54 PDT ![Illumina Logo]()
"Manager, Quality"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Illumina full-time
Pros
good environment, good benefits, good extra activities, great HR and benefits team
Cons
Change happens frequent, less focus on career development
Illumina 2018-12-07 21:55 PSTHelpful (1)
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"Great Company"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Illumina full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
The benefits are far reaching and truly beneficial.
The employees are some of the most hard-working people I’ve ever met and also the kindest. It’s easy to get along with anyone in any department.
Illumina encourages personal growth and provides many opportunities to do so, you just have to be proactive about it (like any company).
The campuses are absolutely gorgeous and the culture is second to none. You’ll love coming to work every single day.
Illumina does its best to provide the best experience an employee can have, and it’s working!Cons
The pay is on the lower end, although the benefits do help make up for it a bit.
Miscommunication, or lack of communication, is a constant problem that is currently trying to be remedied.
It can be a con that the company is fast-paced and constantly changing, but that doesn’t mean your work is always directly affected.
There are a lot of tiers of management, but I see it positive because that means there’s plenty of checks and balances.Advice to Management
Don’t just communicate amongst yourselves. Encourage your direct reports to communicate at their levels and so on. Communication needs to be established company-wide, not just between teams. We will be a much more efficient company if a standardized process of communication can be implemented.
Illumina 2018-12-03 20:23 PST![Illumina Logo]()
"Great company with vision for the future"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Illumina full-time
Pros
The company is dominating the sequencing industry
Cons
Often the company feels it must beat Wall Street rather than focus on long-term growth
Illumina 2018-12-06 15:15 PST![Illumina Logo]()
"Let's join hands and make changes"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Illumina full-time (More than a year)
Pros
continuous innovation; leading and respectable in industry; strong business performance with clear priorities; culture of care and supportive to personal development
Cons
resources constraints at times
Illumina 2018-12-04 22:27 PST![Illumina Logo]()
"Great mission, technology and benefits"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Illumina full-time
Pros
Fast paced
Constantly evolving
Exciting and rewarding technology
Smart and collaborative employees
Great benefitsCons
Long hours due to collaboration with HQ in San Diego
Some pockets of toxic managementIllumina 2018-12-05 10:13 PST![Illumina Logo]()
"Great work culture"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Illumina full-time (More than a year)
Pros
A highly dedicated team with a lot of collaborations across large teams. The company is has made good business decisions in the long run which has benefited in strong product development, so it is good to ride the tailwinds. It is highly satisfying to be part of the ambitious mission of the company.
Cons
As the company is growing rapidly and products are getting closer to medical applications, the projects require more validation and bureaucracy. Pay is good for bioinformatics roles compared to the local competition and the mission is great, but it is not at the point where it would be a no-brainer for the smartest people to move to San Diego, or give up on high paying software engineering jobs in the big tech giants.
Illumina 2018-12-05 17:37 PSTHelpful (3)
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"Awesome Company! Extremely talented individuals making the impossible happening. Need better leadership in some areas."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Illumina full-time (More than 5 years)
Pros
This is the company to be with! Huge, impactful and ambition mission with clear objectives and steps to help us get there. For an individual that is committed to the mission and culture of the company, there are tremendous opportunities for career development.
Cons
Not the company for everybody. To succeed, you need be resilient and comfortable with change, with a true entrepreneurial spirit. Some areas lack of strong leadership and the company overall suffers. In particular, a stronger CIO is much needed. Technology is such an important component of everybody's life. The IT organization needs somebody that is visionary, influential in driving change, cares and supports his team and is able to truly partner with the rest of the organization. There are very talented individuals in this area; however, they suffer from a weak top leadership.
Illumina 2018-12-07 10:19 PST![Illumina Logo]()
"lab assistant"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI worked at Illumina full-time
Pros
good culture
excellent staff
shift allowance
opportunity to climb up the ladderCons
Pay is just enough compared to the cost of living in Cambridge
Advice to Management
Increase Pay
Illumina 2018-11-30 00:08 PSTHelpful (5)
![Illumina Logo]()
"Silver Lining became Tarnished, but I'm cheering them on from the sidelines"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookNo opinion of CEOI worked at Illumina full-time (More than 5 years)
Pros
"It was the best of times, ..it was the age of wisdom,.. it was the epoch of belief... it was the season of light... it was the spring of hope"
e.g. Smart, talented, dedicated, committed people, working toward meaningful goals, having one another’s back, learning, growing, changing, sharing a vision, honoring different possible paths for how to achieve it, celebrating successes, learning from failures, building a sense of belonging and community. Respect. Free flow of information, welcome and open doors.Cons
"It was the worst of times.. it was the age of foolishness.. it was the epoch of incredulity.. it was the season of Darkness.. it was the winter of despair.
e.g. Arrival of the peter principled, the know it all, the nasty bully, the two faced ladder climbers, the smooth speaking snakes, those lacking empathy and ethics, vying for their next “win”, reaching out with one hand while using the other to push you into rough seas, sink or swim, while anointed confederates stand aside tightly gripping life saver rings. Beware the reorg.Advice to Management
Beware Parkinson's law.
When a successful employee stumbles offer a hand, not a foot.Illumina 2018-12-05 14:50 PST
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