Vertex Pharmaceuticals Reviews

Pros

Strong culture of innovation and urgency with a sincere dedication to patients Emphasis on employees as individuals Visibility of executive leadership and their engagement Working with people who love what they do Incredible benefits

Cons

I have yet to experience a con in working for Vertex. Everything has been incredible and I'm so glad I decided to make this career change.

Pros

team building activities free snacks and drink opportunities to learn new skills

Cons

commute is terrible if you live outside suburbs of Boston without access to the T

Pros

I've been at Vertex for almost 11 years, I've seen the company grow into new disease areas, helping more and more patients. I think the biggest asset Vertex has are the people. We have some of the best and they all have passion for the mission of bringing life changing treatments to patients.

Cons

Never having enough time to do everything. We are very busy and I wish there were more hours in a day to get everything done!

Pros

-Amazing people who are driven, dedicated and committed to curing diseases. -World-leading science. -Thoughtful leadership. -Committed to culture. -Invested in ongoing changes driven by employee feedback

Cons

Experiences process, platform and other workplace culture challenges as the company continues to grow and change based on the advancing science.

Pros

Company places high value on having a dynamic, hard-working work force. 1) Listens and acts on employee feedback; excellent benefits above usual, eg winter and summer shutdown weeks and many extra holidays, in addition to generous paid time off. 2) Currently has excellent financial position and good prospects for mid and long term appreciation of (stock) value. Depending on your level, this can translate into excellent renumeration. 3) Fun and central Boston location in Seaport (also in San Diego and Oxford, UK; Paddington UK). Most departments have at least some hybrid on-site/remote flexibility. 4) Many "irons in the fire" for new therapeutic areas, any of which could provide fantastic career opportunities and company growth. 5) C-suite unsurpassed. All members have magic combination of knowledge/experience, drive, acumen, and emotional intelligence. All will talk with any employee in the hall. 6) If you are driven and hard working, and can roll with occasional personality friction, you should definitely go work at Vertex.

Cons

1) Like many places there are small fiefdoms. If the sub-culture in these suit you then gold, if not it can range from exasperating to driving you and the best colleagues out the door. I have seen this in more than one department over the years. As an example, I once had a line manager who would freak out if I would talk about anything material to any management level above them. This is a big red flag. Recommend that you talk to as many people as possible during interview and offer stages to get sense of the sub-culture, which is just as or more important than the great macro-culture. Ask about their colleagues, boss, boss's bosses. Ignore this at your peril. Maybe won't break the deal for you, but at least you will have better idea what your getting into. 2) A sense of urgency is good, but some mid to upper level managers seem to foster and thrive on crisis-of-the-day adrenaline rush. 3) While you do have flexibility in schedule and career path, you are expected to work hard and creatively. Exceeding expectations is the expectation. Some managers are better than others in supporting you in this. The micro managers are typically detrimental, which leads to career stagnation. Even so, Vertex is above average in helping you find a way out of this, e.g. by opening up alternative career paths. 4) This is a company that is constantly growing and transforming. I don't see this as a true con, but sometimes "May you live in interesting times" can be considered a challenge (curse?!).

Pros

Vertex is an extremely positive and energetic place to work. The company goes above and beyond to take care of employees and puts a lof efforts to make it patient centric, While a lot of companies say it, Vertex really means it. The motivation level and commitment from Senior leadership is outstanding.

Cons

Very past paced work place with moderately high intensity. Might not be everyone's cup of tea.

Pros

Great Technology Drive to deliver transformative changes R&D LT is very knowledgeable and easy to approach Compensation at par Healthy company financials/Stock value Good commercial pipeline for next 5-8 years

Cons

New Sr. Directors, VPs in support functions have no mgmt experience, leave alone good leadership qualities There is no team building and mgmt. tends to throw you under the bus No hiring startegy in place - eg. entry level employee is forced to join 5 new sr members and trains them, only to realize that him/her self has no job security in a year Limited growth opportunities or visibility New Sr leadership in support functions invovled in a lot of politics affecting smooth functioning

Pros

Benefits are amazing (financial and otherwise). Salary is very good. Culture is focused on inclusivity and respect -- and it's not just lip service, it's real. Facilities are very nice.

Cons

Members of leadership team are passionately for onsite workers, meaning opportunities for remote work may diminish over time. Vast majority of employees are in cubes -- the good news is that this isn't just lower-level workers, it includes directors and other high-level employees. Company goals are aggressive and sometimes not based in reality.

Pros

highly diverse and inclusive company with great growing potential

Cons

Parking accommodation can be tough specially for sites near Boston center

Pros

Great time off with two week-long company shut downs annually on top of four weeks of vacation. Nice equity comp. Strong pipeline.

Cons

CEO lacks business experience, thinks she knows everything and is unpleasant. Executives unable to make decisions. Much talk of ID&E without articulated goals to improve diversity.