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Formlabs Reviews
128 reviews
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Maxim Lobovsky
96 Ratings
Pros
"perks (unlimited printing, catered lunches mwf, open vacation) are just a cherry on top" (in 25 reviews)
"Employees are encouraged to explore their own interests through free 3D printing as well as shop resources" (in 19 reviews)
Cons
"some growing pains, but growth definitely isn't a con" (in 22 reviews)
"The company is growing quickly and having some growing pains while trying to get more space for all the new talent" (in 5 reviews)
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"Exciting job at a growing company."
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Formlabs full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Formlabs is an incredibly fun place to work at, with serious aspirations and attitude. People are amazing and inspiring. Personally, this is a challenging dream job.
Cons
We are still learning how to do things more efficiently and systematically as our teams continue to grow (for career growth this is an incredibly valuable experience, as everyone contributes quite meaningfully).
Advice to Management
I really appreciate the internal transparency. Keep it up.
Formlabs 2018-12-31 21:28 PSTHelpful (1)
![Formlabs Logo]()
"I am excited to walk into work every day and that is a first!"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Formlabs full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
Completely flexible daily schedule and no cap on vacation. Catered lunch Mon, Wed, and Fri. Kegs on every floor along with ping pong, pool and VR. Professionally, management is flexible and willing to admit mistakes, while open to new suggestions for solutions. I feel like my manager wants me to succeed and will help me get there!
Cons
Pay is slightly below market value. Growing rapidly and there are pains associated. High expectations.
Advice to Management
Continue to work with us on optimizing our company.
Formlabs 2018-12-03 13:26 PSTHelpful (27)
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"Avoid the Manufacturing Team"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendPositive OutlookNo opinion of CEOI have been working at Formlabs full-time (More than a year)
Pros
As people have said, it is a laid back, casual atmosphere. A good place to go straight out of college if you want to ease into the workforce or if you had a high intensity job and are looking to still work but somewhere more relaxed.
Don't get caught up on the "free lunches," this is part of your compensation people, and you should view it as such.
As most people have said as well, the overall pay is low and is increasingly creating an atmosphere of low moral. On multiple occasions now Management has made comments about salary reviews and things, but these have yet to happen. It is not uncommon for people to go 1-2 years without any sort of raise. And when you bring it up they just kick the can down the road. The most common excuse being “Max won’t approve a raise for you right now” (apparently the CEO has to sign off on all raises). Of late, it seems the only sure way to get a raise is to get a competing offer and be willing to leave.Cons
Like any company or organization, the team you are on and your manager can have a huge impact on your experience, so I am writing this review focused on what's known as the Manufacturing Team.
To date Formlabs has been successful, and this success seems to mask the poor management within the company, particularly on the Manufacturing Team. Head Management of the Manufacturing Team seem to think the success of the Team is due to good leadership, when in actuality it is in spite of poor leadership and due to good, competent employees who get things done and make up for Managements shortcomings. As long as the company and Team are successful, there seems to be a perception of having no need to change by management. When we had the engagement survey, the first thing said when presenting the results was to state a disbelief in the results (they were critical of management in manufacturing) and on comments that questioned the leadership style, with management openly stating not to expect any changes. Arrogance and indifference are not effective leadership styles.
There is also no path forward or possibility of promotion within the organization. In your interview you will be told you can “take on as much as you want and work on any projects that interest you,” but this isn’t really the case. You will not be recognized for additional work or contributions, and the general company policy seems to be to hire people over current employees without telling them it’s happening. This is a place you go for a 1-year plan and then get out.Advice to Management
The Manufacturing Team needs qualified management. Bring in someone with true experience running a manufacturing operation and team. The current management is not qualified to run a team of more than 4 people, much less 50.
Follow through on the things you say. Particularly regarding salary and reviews. People talk and know what each other make, and its common knowledge that people hired more recently make more than those who have been here longer and who have more responsibilities. It is also common knowledge that pretty much everyone who has received an outside offer has received a competing offer from Formlabs with a substantial raise. But when the outside offers are 50-100% more than a person's current salary, a proposed 20-40% raise from Formlabs isn’t convincing enough to stay. But it does show that you know the person was significantly underpaid., making your statements about “fair pay” unconvincing.Formlabs 2018-08-11 13:01 PDTHelpful (3)
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"Excellent Company with a Bright Future!"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Formlabs full-time
Pros
Fun-loving and hard working community that makes you feel involved from day one. Many good benefits included in the full time package - including health, vision and dental, 401K, catered lunches and plentiful snacks. Autonomy allows for you to involve yourself in many projects and mold your experience to what benefits both you and the company!
Cons
Clear and defined growth expectations are still being worked out. This is the type of company that you want to work for if you're interested in help create the process rather than just maintain it. But its a very small con, compared to the numerous pro's of working at the company!
Formlabs 2018-07-25 07:51 PDTHelpful (5)
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"Formlabs deserves a little more love than some of these comments"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI worked at Formlabs full-time (More than a year)
Pros
The community at Formlabs is unlike anywhere else I've worked, and since day one I've felt nothing but welcome at the company - which makes a real difference in your attitude coming to work every day. The people continue to be the best part about Formlabs.
I disagree with the comments below that say that Formlabs is not a company to grow at. I do think there is tremendous opportunity to grow at Formlabs. The company is growing at a very fast rate (and certainly not without its pains) but with that brings advancement opportunities and new roles/projects to explore. One thing that was always consistent during my time at Formlabs was the vast opportunity to try new things. These could be things related or unrelated to your role, but exploration and growth is not only supported, but encouraged.
+ really awesome product that everyone is passionate aboutCons
Each of the departments run very differently, which provides better experiences to some over others. There should be more consistency across the company.
Disorganized - lots of chaos. It kind of works, but it kind of doesn't.
Compensation - this is obviously a trend among the other comments and is one of the top complaints amongst employeesAdvice to Management
Act with more urgency! The people at Formlabs are awesome - keep it that way and don't lose them.
A lot of people don't realize how much work is being done behind the scenes to make improvements, and they feel they are not being heard. Make it more clear that you are listening through more transparency and action.Formlabs 2018-06-28 08:28 PDTHelpful (6)
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"Fun place to work for a short period of time."
StarStarStarStarStarI worked at Formlabs full-time
Pros
Fun perks like free meals, classes, and cool presentations
Flexible hours + schedule (within reason)
Freedom to work on projects you enjoy
Culture encourages learning and community
Good professional development (if you take a strong initiative)Cons
High turnover
Very bro-style tech culture (not always a friendly environment for women)
Overworked management
Very little mentorship
Generally low salariesFormlabs 2018-06-14 17:25 PDTHelpful (4)
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"Anonymous"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookNo opinion of CEOI have been working at Formlabs full-time
Pros
Unlimited vacation, freedom to try new ideas, work with smart people
Cons
The company is struggling to keep the startup culture being in a 300+ people size. The company is also losing increasing number of talents to other companies.
Advice to Management
The management should think about why we are losing people, and take this issue seriously. An anonymous survey is probably more helpful to get the true feedback from employees.
Formlabs 2018-05-30 18:46 PDT![Formlabs Logo]()
"Challenging but Rewarding Place to Work"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Formlabs full-time
Pros
- full transparency into why certain practices are in place
- open to different experiences & recommendations
- constantly being challenged to take on more & grow professionally
- catered lunch 3x a week
- fantastic health care & HR benefits
- smart, curious co-workersCons
- would like to see professional development for staff - ie, management trainings.
- not necessarily a con, but experiences vary, mostly being junior with a ton of potential. Looking for some more guidance from senior leadership with wealth of experienceFormlabs 2018-05-21 07:54 PDTHelpful (7)
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"full of potential"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at Formlabs full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
- startup benefits: food, coffee, dogs, social events, town halls
- life benefits: full health coverage, unlimited PTO, flexible hours (when your work is done, which comes with long hours. I don't expect this to last forever but could be wrong)
day to day culture at Formlabs is great, no "trapped" feeling like you might experience at a larger company. People are not only friendly, but likely graduates from reputable programs with interesting stories and experience. Overall it's easy to find intelligent and amicable co-workers across all teams.
products, technology, and innovations are incredible. Things move very quickly. You're never the smartest person in the room.Cons
- Managerial practice varies considerably between teams, ranging from non-existent to inextricably involved. There are cases where less-than-ideal candidates are handed responsibility that is not sensible, or may be better suited for someone else.
- "Growth" is a relative term at Formlabs, where the company's initiatives often supersede an individual's aspirations. Hiring is done so rapidly that your replacement is usually on hand if necessary.
- worker compensation that remains significantly under market value. Basic work/life benefits, stock options, and chain of command are used to obscure the obvious fact that employees are underpaid, plain and simple.Advice to Management
Direct internal changes within the company and teams based on what your employees ask. Understand when the scrappy, laissez faire startup mentality has run its course and clear definition of roles, project accountability, and worker potential should take its place
Formlabs is no longer a garage operation. It cannot be expected for worker motivation to solely lie in an entrepreneurial spirit and stock value of the company. People need clearly defined responsibility, ACTUAL growth transparency, recognition (for better or worse), career guidance, and acceptable and competitive compensation.
How do requests reach the final decision makers? Are there lenses between that might affect the outcome? Actions speak louder than words.Formlabs 2018-05-15 20:35 PDTHelpful (17)
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"Not a company to grow at"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Formlabs full-time (More than a year)
Pros
-Fun people
-Extracurricular activities are fun
-Interesting product
-potential to be a solid companyCons
-Terribly low pay for any company, let alone a company in Boston
-Management is truly a joke to the point that people who should probably never have subordinates are leading teams
-Not merit based
-CEO should be an engineer and stay out of running a business, truly has no ability to build clout or have interpersonal functions
-Pay distribution is quite hilarious. Upper level receives large pay while everyone else is left far below market value and they do not care as inflow of talent is seemingly endless
-Disorganized
-You are no longer a startup, quit using it as an excuse to cut cornersAdvice to Management
-Hire real management and pay your people to do the job or going public will only ever be a dream
Formlabs 2018-06-08 08:13 PDT
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Formlabs Response
Jan 8, 2019 – People Operations
Hello - thanks for taking the time to share about your experience working at Formlabs. It's great to hear that working here is both challenging and inspiring - I feel the same way! Figuring out how to do our work better, fast, and more efficiently while growing fast is a challenge for the entire company, but I'm confident that with colleagues like you, we can make it happen. Keep up the good work - and keep the feedback coming, good and bad!
Cheers,
Caitlin - People Ops... MoreLess