Vantaggi
The science being executed here is amazing. They really do lead with science and innovation in all aspects of the business and encourage everyone to have a continuous improvement mindset. It is a great place to start if you like to take on initiatives or design your own projects and/or studies aside from your everyday tasks, which is a great way to develop your scientific and leadership skills. 9/10 times management will fund and support your ideas if you build a strong feasibility case.
Svantaggi
I never felt mentorship from my management or that my strong skills were used effectively. There is still a huge lack of diversity in the management ranks, and this trickles down to the overall culture of the teams and how opportunities are granted. For me to grow as a scientist, I had to resort to designing my own continuous improvement projects and taking advantage of the trainings offered company-wide to feel that I was staying competitive with colleagues that did get selected for large projects. I also felt for most of my career here at IOPS that there is a certain personality type and hobbies that make you easy to connect with, and therefore favorable. (Basically have to love hiking, skiing, and follow sports). Which is really unfortunate because although there is a push for DE&I, this more invisible cultural problem causes people to feel excluded and therefore leave for companies in larger cities with more diverse workforces. The PS role is also underpaid for the scope of work. Although the company is improving flexibility, training, and even updating job titles, the biotech industry is growing exponentially and there are many opportunities out there that outperform this company in terms of compensation & flexibility. Don't be afraid as a candidate in this industry to shop around.