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Lumen Bioscience

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Lumen Bioscience Reviews

4.3

85% would recommend to a friend

(32 total reviews)

Brian Finrow

87% approve of CEO

94% positive business outlook

Lumen Bioscience has an employee rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 32 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Lumen Bioscience employee rating is 23% above average for employers within the Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

32 reviews
1.0
2 May 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good question. I can think of none besides the views of Puget Sound. The “awesome” health benefits and stock options are deeply offset by the low wages and demands of the job. This benefit will also go away for those who will be moved to the manufacturing plant that also lacks air conditioning because they can’t afford it.

Cons

This is a cutthroat environment. Never mind the free snacks and open office environment. People who survive here are in it for the glory of making it big. And they’ll trample on others to reach this goal. Is Lumen professional? No. I’ve never been treated so terribly at a work place in my life. I’ve also never seen people get away with such horrible management skills. I was yelled at in front of the whole office for no good reason. My team would schedule meetings and forget to invite me. I also saw others getting yelled at and disrespected without any recourse. Management cuts corners at the lowly employee’s expense to fit their budget. Despite the bioreactors running hot, there was no plan of having air conditioning in the new building for the production workers. On top of that, each production worker was performing the work of what should have been multiple employees jobs. This lead to consistent deviations. Lumen might have a great concept, but the way they handle manufacturing could be the end of their dream. Woe to the person who works an entry-level role at Lumen.

1.0
15 Mar 2022

Morale is tanking

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It’s a biotech company with an mission to do some actual good. This company is very close to blowing up and sending a successful product to market. (Which could also be a con considering how things are going in the lab). Company culture and morale were once the highest I think a company could ever have. One day I hope we can all get back there.

Cons

NOTE TO POSSIBLE FUTURE EMPLOYEES: If you value your well being do not apply here right now. Morale has been tanking lately and company culture is in the toilet. People are miserable. The lower level scientists / lab workers are extremely overworked and extremely underpaid. The executives sit pretty with their nice new cars, meanwhile I have holes in my shoes and I can’t reasonably afford new ones. People get cheated out of promotions they rightfully deserve. I know multiple people who are about to start applying to other jobs with positions and pay they know they deserve. Someone had a panic attack at work the other week, an ambulance had to be called and everything, and HR said nothing. No “we care about your wellbeing”, no “you can come to us if you’re feeling overwhelmed with work”, not even a “this employee is okay now”. This has made it clear that HR only cares about the company, and couldn’t care less about its employees. Which is really bad timing because lately people have been crying left and right at work. I have talked to people from all different teams / sections of the company, and this is a shared experience. We were also robbed the other week. Someone has master keys to the entire building. And once again, NOTHING from HR. Nothing on understanding how we might be feeling unsafe in the workplace, not even so much as an update on if/ when the locks are getting fixed. It’s disgraceful. There aren’t enough desks for us. We’re hiring people like crazy but we literally don’t have any room. The common areas where you can work when your desk is occupied / if you don’t have one lack outlets and it’s also a place for people to have meetings / eat lunch so it’s impossible to focus. Upper management literally doesn’t care about any of this. I don’t see how they couldn’t notice either because people are so obviously in distress.

avatar
Lumen Bioscience Response
4y
Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback regarding your experience at Lumen. As a growing company, we are continuously learning and there is always room for improvement. We take the health and wellbeing of our employees seriously. We also respect the privacy of our employees when it comes to these matters. While we are intentionally trying to create a great work environment, we know we can do more. We will be implementing a Wellness program that will address several topics such as Mindfulness, Health, and Financial Wellness to name a few. We know this is just a start, but our hope is that this program will continue to build on the great culture Lumen has. Due to the success of Lumen’s technology, we have been preparing for growth. Efforts to expand the office, manufacturing, and laboratory space were initiated approximately a year ago and plans and status have been communicated in all-company meetings, in the national media, and during tours of the expansion space. While construction has been in progress, we have been appreciative of the patience of the on-site team members and the efforts to develop solutions for the space constraints. Team members are encouraged to reach out to their managers for additional information about Lumen’s expansion plans since all teams have been involved. Managers can also be the first contact to identify solutions for navigating the space constraints. Lumen has a very flexible work from home policy and desk spaces that can be reserved. While there are periods during the week where it may be busier, there are often workspaces that are available. The laboratory team has also been planning for expansion. While the focus has been on training, process development, and planning of the new space to ready the team for growth, headcount has not changed significantly. We are however staged for exciting growth over the next few years and expect that the foundational work contributed by many team members will promote a smooth transition. Team members are encouraged to reach out to their managers if there are any questions about the plans. Your feedback regarding HR is noted and we are sorry you feel that way. We know our most important resource is our people and want our employees to feel valued, appreciated and heard. While we encourage that individuals first reach out to their managers, we will ensure HR continues to build out partnerships with team members and that they feel comfortable escalating any issues over to the HR team.
4.0
2 May 2022

Good experience for junior scientists

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Lumen is a fast-paced, well-established startup with good opportunities for career growth within the company. I've worked at Lumen for just under three years now, and the research experience I've gained in that time has been invaluable. In my experience, hard work is noticed and rewarded via increased independence, responsibility, and/or promotion. My boss is awesome to work with and I really enjoy the work that I get to do. Plus, seeing the successful completion of clinical studies makes the work feel that much more important. Also, the benefits are solid: zero premium for medical, dental, and vision insurance, optional FSA, good 401K matching rate, up to 160hr PTO, and stock options. There is also a decent amount of flexibility in work hours depending on the needs of your team.

Cons

As a junior scientist, job satisfaction is largely dependent on the senior scientist that you work with. Because they are trained scientists, not necessarily trained managers, some scientists are definitely easier to work with than others. Additionally, the junior employees are severely underpaid compared to equivalent jobs in Seattle. The amount of work asked for is not always reasonable given the below average pay. Also, in the past hourly employees were asked not to report hours worked overtime, cheating us out of earned time-and-a-half. This has since been resolved, but it's worth noting that management allowed this to occur under the radar. Lastly, it does feel like some issues get swept under the rug in order to maintain appearances. The brutal Glassdoor reviews, for example, have basically been ignored by upper management. Other than the half-hearted responses to specific reviews, it's been radio silence from HR. The concerns brought up in these reviews have not been addressed in a company-wide manner, leaving current employees to hear about them through gossip. The new 'wellness program' feels like an ineffective, misguided attempt to fix these issues without addressing them directly.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 32 Reviews

Glassdoor has 32 Lumen Bioscience reviews submitted anonymously by Lumen Bioscience employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Lumen Bioscience is right for you.