Pros
I joined Battelle 10 years ago largely due to the unique nature of its mission: to translate scientific discovery and technology advances into societal benefit. I enjoy being part of a 90-year old non-profit organization that uses the money it earns to educate the next generation of scientists through its STEM initiatives. Battelle has helped introduce thousands of at-risk students to the opportunities of a STEM career through education-based initiatives, and has a goal of reaching a million through the next decade. That’s something that motivates me daily and is way more satisfying than working to please shareholders. Having spent time at other research-based companies, I can tell you that the employees at Battelle are the most wickedly smart people I’ve worked with. Because of the wide variety of science and technology projects under the roof, you have the ability to move among different disciplines to apply your expertise where needed. I’ve never been bored. Benefits are average and similar to those I’ve had at other companies. Some that are above average: you get a 401k match up to 3% of your based and a company contribution of 5 percent of your base salary whether you participate in the 401k or not. A 9/80 schedule started on Jan. 1 – which means that you work 80 hours over two-week period and have every other Friday off (so 26 Fridays off a year). PTO is average when you’re a new employee, however you can amass up to 240 hours to use any time you want. We also now have a four-week parental leave benefit.
Cons
Like any company that has successfully changed and adapted to market conditions to survive for nearly a century, Battelle is transforming itself to the current realities of the world in which it operates. Changes have been made to the organizational structure, benefits and operational policies. There is a new CEO, Contract Research leader and CFO within the last year (two retirements and a departure) and while this resulted in some expected churn and anxiety, I’m hopeful for the strategy and direction they have charted as that was somewhat lacking prior to their arrival. To succeed at Battelle, you need to be able to adapt to change and live with some ambiguity because many of our contracts are with the federal government, which injects its own disfunction into how Battelle must operate.