Pros
I thoroughly enjoyed working at ADL. The people are incredibly smart and they are doing some very cool things on cutting edge technology. If you have ever worked with machine learning and predictive algos on massive data sets, you can appreciate how difficult it is. I find large organizations spending way too much time just configuring their data platform, let alone running scalable algos to really drive value for the business. I also find organizations struggling to connect business users to data scientists in a way both can easily comprehend. Alpine is the only organization that is tackling these specific problems. It’s not easy but I loved the challenge and believe in what Alpine is doing. While I didn't always agree with everything, I expressed those thoughts and tried to provide data to support my claims. I never felt anything negative, just smart people that differed on certain ideas and this is something every organization deals with.
Cons
Like any organization, you have to figure out how that particular organization works and make yourself valuable. I worked closely with management and felt just as responsible for our success as they did, even though I was not part of management. If you need a lot of structure and don’t know how to express your thoughts in a respectable manner, you will struggle. This is a con for some, a pro for others.