Materialise

Pros: My direct team leads are usually pretty solid and approachable. They often get what we're working on, especially in 3D printing software development. It feels like a stable place to be, and the hybrid work model is a plus.
Cons: Upper leadership can feel a bit out of touch, to be honest. Decisions often come down without much context, making it tough for career growth. It's hard to feel truly valued when there's a disconnect from the top.
Advice to Management: Try to be more transparent with company-wide decisions and show employees the 'why' behind things. Invest in more leadership training for managers across all levels.

Pros: The hybrid model in the Plymouth, MI office is a big help for balancing personal life with work. They offer some flexible start times which is nice, especially for those early morning calls with European teams in the additive manufacturing software space. It's not a strict 9-5 which is good.
Cons: Project deadlines, especially for new 3D printing solutions, can get pretty intense. Sometimes I had to put in more than 40 hours a week, and as an Applications Engineer, it felt like my workload wasn't always distributed evenly. Weekends were mostly safe, but you'd occasionally get an urgent request.
Advice to Management: Try to manage project scopes better and ensure workload distribution is fair across the Applications Engineer team. This would really help prevent burnout during crunch times.

Pros: The health insurance and pension plan are pretty solid here. We also get good vacation days, which helps with work-life balance in the Leuven office. They do offer some nice perks like eco-cheques too.
Cons: Salary for a Software Engineer feels a bit low for the market, even with the hybrid work model. Don't expect huge bonuses or rapid pay raises. It's tough to negotiate a much higher starting salary.
Advice to Management: Management should really look into making salaries more competitive, especially for experienced engineering roles. It's tough to attract and retain top talent in the 3D printing industry if the pay isn't on par with other tech companies.