Pros
25 Paid Holidays plus PTO
Opportunities to network with people at big manufacturers and Gov
Access to experimental outcomes from Industry and Academia.
Flex work arrangement.
Cons
Second year in a row with significant, across-the-board layoffs.
A majority of senior management departed or were removed after a new CEO was named a few years ago. That change shifted the culture from open and collaborative to siloed and protective.
Internal processes are antiquated for an “innovation institute.” It’s unclear how financial audits pass when critical records are maintained in Excel spreadsheets. The other system is an over-customized web-based spreadsheet; built-in tools aren’t being used effectively.
Compared with other Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (see manufacturingusa.com), the institute produces little directly. It primarily manages projects where external teams do the actual work, adding minimal value. Outcomes more experimental than applicable.
There is less hands-on innovation and more emphasis on fundraising and PR — more effort proving the institute’s significance than doing the work that creates it.
This is not the best use of taxpayer dollars.