senior learning and development manager

senior software engineer

marketing operations manager

customer care coordinator

content lead

Public Library of Science

We just had a regal African American Director of HR Consultant come in and they let him go within one week as there was a fear he knew more than them and it was pervasive.  There were IT matters that had been on the back burner for 2 years that he resolved in two hours.  There was no alignment between our People and Culture Team and the rest of the organization that when he presented it to his UK HR counterpart, the CFO and the CMO he was let go the very next day. We are awaiting to see if the new CEO and the Board show leadership and reverse course on that decision as we all or at least the people I am chatting with thought he was a breath of fresh air and what we all needed since he understood every department - even IT!

Having someone in HR be caddy and best friends with the CFO and watching them make so poor a decision less than 24 hours after announcing to all of us that the new guy was on board only underscores for us the lack of confidence in leadership and significantly minimizes the chances for all us to do what we as an org was created to do - be OPEN and innovative.

I enjoyed my time at PLOS and experienced rapid growth of the company during my tenure. Each day at PLOS would bring different challenges and, as my role there evolved, the challenges became more complex. It was a fun environment akin to a start-up and this was a culture fostered by senior management. Many of the staff were academics from a science background and some of them found an office environment somewhat alien and the politics and processes awkward to navigate. I found it very rewarding to help individuals acclimate to situations that they initially found confusing. The hardest part of the job was handling a broad spectrum of expectations that were often unrealistic. Management at PLOS was often in flux as the company grew and they were quite often in vigorous conflict as to the strategic direction of the company and this could sometimes impact efficient workflow between teams.

This organization has been going through a bit of an identity crisis.  
Who are we? A publisher, software developer, SAAS provider? 
The direction changes almost quarterly, and we are slow to make progress on the "direction of the quarter."  
Fortunately, there is hope with the appointment of our new CEO. So far, all impressions are positive, and I'm optimistic she will bring direction and accountability where it has not existed before. Now to be patient while we wait for her to initiate her vision.
This is a good group of people, and everyone is at PLOS because they choose to be. 
Turnover is relatively high, but many positions are entry-level, and moving on is to be expected. There are limited opportunities for growth - especially as PLOS has been experiencing flat growth (or reduction, depending on which numbers you look at) for a couple years now.

PLOS started the first open access science journal ever.  After moving to online publishing exclusively, PLOS created the first mega journal (PLOS ONE).  The current total of six journals contains 220,000+ strictly reviewed papers.

The mission of opening up scientific research to all at no cost to readers and with full permissions to print, download, and use that research (CC-BY license), especially for reproducing the results, is strongly held by all members of the PLOS teams.  This fosters a collegial and committed culture.

In my position I learned a great deal: macOS, Ubuntu Linux, desktop and server, Python, Pytest, PyCharm, TeamCity, and got excellent mentoring from my manager in all those, plus the testing process itself.

In my 25+ year professional career, this was the most confusing, toxic, and micromanaged experience of all. Senior leadership is incredibly insecure (therefore micromanages to the extreme), and has little confidence in their employees and their expertise. Encountered belittling in front of other employees (specifically other members of leadership) as well as confused leadership and even  blame-shifting. I also found some conversations about personal lives to be inappropriate in front of others.

Too many cooks in the kitchen. Takes far too many people and vendors to get anything done. Individually there are a ton of good and brainy employees. Collectively, they are like a chicken with it's head cut off. Penny wise and pound foolish - in other words, it is a poor display of accounting based management. I would not recommend anyone work here unless they were used to a corporate and hierarchical workplace.

Large projects that have taken months of planning to implement have been so poorly executed.

Co-workers were great, but management and company culture were right out of a Dilbert comic. An old-fashioned and incompetent management style leads to an office culture that is extremely hierarchical, which causes upper management to treat the vast majority of employees with a shocking amount of contempt. I don't know anyone who enjoys working here, and suggest you not even bother applying unless you want to hate life.

I believe in the mission, and it is a manageable balance. You'll work with smart people, but many have not lived in the pragmatic world of making things happen. In the reality of a non-profit's pay, individuals' preferences often rise above the needs of focusing on the most effective and sustainable solutions.

The immediate coworkers are great and people generally like their own managers but there's no professional development or career advancement opportunity. I see talented people leave all the times due to hitting the ceiling.

Fun place to work for in relaxed environment. There is no micromangement. Every one is given a chance to come up with ideas and discussed within groups before implementing.

Everyone is pleasant to work for.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior learning and development manager 7 salaries reported	$100,000 per year
Senior software engineer 6 salaries reported	$103,500 per year
Marketing operations manager 5 salaries reported	$76,500 per year
Customer care coordinator 1 salary reported	$56,500 per year
Content lead 1 salary reported	$79,000 per year

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