senior mechanical engineer

supply manager

mechanical engineer

senior test engineer

senior electrical engineer

Form Energy

Pros: 
Working with Form Energy's groundbreaking battery technology is genuinely exciting and presents unique challenges to the workplace. While not every workplace is perfect, the atmosphere is generally cooperative, friendly, and inclusive, fostering collaboration and issue resolution. Compensation and benefits are decent plus snacks galore.

Cons:
Form Energy grapples with a range of concerns. The high turnover rate reflects an unhealthy work environment. Employee well-being isn’t always a priority, leading to issues like a less-ideal work environment spilling into home life. Form is an extremely Liberal company that contradicts itself with the treatment of employees and core value alignment. Their core values of Humanity, Creativity, and Excellence are mere lip services, as dedicated efforts and countless overtime are unrecognized and unrewarded. Initially promised amazing benefits, pay, and flexible schedules, only to slowly strip them away. Decision-making is top-down, with no regard for employee input, creating segregation between different job titles. Funds are squandered on unnecessary expenses, while employees are overworked. Work-life balance is nonexistent. Form’s expedited push to get a product to market fails to embody its own stated value of Humanity by requiring overtime and sacrificing work-life balance. There is no job security, where you constantly feel like you’re walking on eggshells. Voicing concerns may have consequences and anonymous surveys are anything but. Despite claiming to be green, they neglect recycling and generate excessive waste. Form Energy appears to be embracing “Tesla Culture,” prioritizing profit and selfishness over employee well-being. With a surplus of managers and poor communication, the left hand rarely knows what the right hand is doing.

Lots of smart people - pro: intelligence is required for this kind of work; con: it feels too academic
Lots of ambition - pro: who doesn’t love feeling that they are part of something big; con: it attracts people who may be blinded by the reputation/“cool factor” of working at a  leader in their industry
New battery type/chemistry - pro: how exciting it would be to help invent the first commercially-viable Iron-air battery! ; con: it is very, VERY hard to make a new electrochemical method work
Work culture - pro: people are energetic and cheerful in person (but, like, isn’t that really a pro? Shouldn’t that be the baseline?); con: it seems  asymmetrically populated by young people and it creates a feeling of the blind leading the blind
Compensation/benefits - pro: very good health insurance plans and come good moves in the area of pay equity across people of same level; cons: other companies in the area seem to be offering more (though it’s difficult to say 100% what the truth here is)
Atmosphere: pros: good if you like a no-frills setting; cons: people are chronically unable to get their todo’s done and the office spaces feel dated and soulless 

Overall I really can’t put my finger on why Form isn’t working better. They seem to have all the key ingredients but folks (at least those in the R&D and Opertions teams) just seem lost all the time. Disorganization is rampant — technical documentation is spotty, project priorities churn, and there teams end up taking this self-preserving stance where they pursue projects and priorities completely out-of-coordination with each other. It’s not a fun place to spend time. 

Form Energy has the benefits of a start up, as well as a well established company. It's fun and exciting, without being too chaotic and has structures and support systems in place to help engineers do their best work.

Everyone at Form really cares about the company mission to decarbonize the grid, and that gives people a lot of motivation. People are extremely friendly and bright, and willing to help when you need support. 

It's an extremely inclusive environment for young female engineers. I've never worked in a lab or company that had such a large proportion of women. I often find myself on all-women teams and in all-women meetings, which is SO refreshing.

Of course along with the excitement of being a start up with such a huge impact comes a lot of stress. Timelines are extremely quick and major decisions get made quickly with limited data. 

There's a lot of fun start-up culture that has lasted even as Form has grown in size. People are motivated to form interest groups and engage with their coworkers, but of course that dwindles as the company size increases. Each of Form's locations has a slightly different culture. 

The team is growing quickly which is exciting to see, and helps make the work loads more manageable. 

Things started off really good for the first couple of months and then reality kicks in. If you like reliving your school days when there was favoritism and cliques then this is the place for you. If you are in, you are IN, otherwise WATCH OUT. You can have 4 people doing the same job all making different pay rates. The person supervising you is more than likely straight out of college and very book smart but knows NOTHING about correct manufacturing processes. When you try to bring things up they will give the deer-in-the-headlights look, tell you you are wrong, and then come back with that idea a month later only to take credit for it (and be treated like it was something ground-breaking). They preach 'inclusiveness' but that is selective at best. They will have endless meetings day-in/day-out with the same subjects over and over again with no real resolution. Be ready to work an on-call like schedule as you will be half way through (or later) on your work day/week and they will want you to stay late or work the weekend on a whim (usually from the meetings mentioned above). I have NEVER felt more valueless than I did with FORM ENERGY I i regret ever being there. I did like the benefits package and the rank and file coworkers.

Form Energy is the kind of place that will work you to the bone and then discard you at the first chance they can get. Working over 60 hours a week is standard. 

Management cannot make up their minds about what they want to do so they are constantly pivoting, with production schedules changing up to 5 times a day. Because upper management has no regards for reality they make impossible timelines and when these timelines are ultimately not met because this is R&D and things will not work the very first time you try something they punish the first person they see by removing them from the company.

Form's values are supposed to be "go slow to go fast" and "humanity first" and time after time those values were streamrolled for an unrealistically aggressive timeline. We had to constantly redo work just because we were forced to do something fast to meet timeline instead of doing it right

Form has turned into a tesla wannabee that prioritizes profits over employee well being. It does not follow its own values at all and is extremely toxic to work for. 



I love my job! I am extremely lucky to work somewhere that I hope will be my long term career. I have an amazing boss that gives me the support I need while allowing me to learn and take the reins during trials. 
The work and timeline can be demanding but I feel accomplished, productive, and valued, which is more than every other job I have had. I also, continue to learn new something new every day, even if it is a minor piece of knowledge! 
With all that being said, Form will push you to learn, grow, and do more and better every day. If you want to just coast by sitting in a chair on your cell phone playing games, this is not that job. If you are driven, enjoy idea sharing, collaborating with others, and working to accomplish goals, this is the most rewarding company to work for! 

My day usually starts with checking in with my team to develop the plan for the day's tasks. Prioritize those tasks and assign them appropriately.  I have learned a TON from Form Energy. The skillset that I have currently does not happen without this company and my management team. Working for Form has pushed me out of my comfort zone, but in a great way. No place is perfect, but we all work together towards the same goal. Adapting to constant changes in different process has probably been the most challenging, but I have adjusted well. Especially with the support of my team I am able to pull through the tough times. The best part of my job is knowing that I will be apart of something that IS going to change the WORLD!!

Company has great story and potential; however, certain groups (engineering) work very, very long hours and weekends and are expected to perform miracles overnight. Other groups have it much easier, with Engineering doing most of their work. 

Many of the long hours are wasted, and by the time the deliverable is completed, there is a complete change of direction (and this repeats itself). 

Company expects precise solutions  on the next generation of products (product, process, equipment, etc. do not exist), due to need to lower costs very dramatically to be profitable. 

Overall, mixed feelings, but, prospective employees should be warned of poor work-life balance, and an unclear picture of whether the company will succeed (technology, profitable,  etc.).  

Form has some of the best talent in the battery and clean energy industry. Employees are motivated; helpful; and focused on solving hard problems. Form has some of the best shots on goal at making a true difference in climate change: access to capital; a differentiated product solving a long-term challenge (decarbonizing the grid); and a team that can make that vision a reality.

The people are the most enjoyable parts of the job. The management team is experienced, thoughtful, and can manage though difficult challenges. Employees are smart, great communicators, and systems thinkers.

If startup ambiguity scares you, this place is not for you. Form has its fair share of challenges in bringing up a manufacturing business and commercializing a new technology. 

A typical day involves working closely with teammates across different groups to solve technical challenges and support ongoing projects. I’ve learned a lot through hands-on experience, collaboration, and opportunities to take on new responsibilities. Management generally encourages ownership, teamwork, and continuous improvement. The workplace culture is supportive, safety-focused, and filled with people who are passionate about the work. The most challenging part of the job can be managing changing priorities in a fast-moving environment, but it also keeps the work engaging. The most enjoyable part is working alongside knowledgeable and motivated colleagues while contributing to projects that have meaningful impact.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior mechanical engineer 14 salaries reported	$164,052 per year
Supply manager 14 salaries reported	$130,532 per year
Mechanical engineer 17 salaries reported	$165,338 per year
Senior test engineer 9 salaries reported	$148,946 per year
Senior electrical engineer 8 salaries reported	$139,665 per year

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