Pros
F5 Networks is a wonderful place to work. I work within Product Development and the organization is filled with brilliant, driven people that for the most part, love their job. Making a career switch from Oracle to F5 has made my life significantly better. People around the office have a smile on their face and the morale is primarily upbeat. For the most part, the environment is very relaxed and management offers a flexible work schedule and free rein to work, given you work diligently.
Despite the fact that they are moving towards being a larger company, they still have MANY perks that great big companies do not offer (Microsoft/Oracle/HP etc). Last week, F5 put on a large event where you could dunk executives and John Adams in a water tank, win raffle prizes, and order food free of charge (from a catering company & food trucks), drink beer/wine, and listen to a live band in the courtyard (all while supporting Children's Hospital).
When offered a job at F5, I was given an increase in salary, stock options, bonus's, full benefits, and 401K match. They also have a gym with free workout classes, offer parking stipends, beer/wine Fridays, and allow you to take 1-4 hr classes for career development (management, leadership, technology, brownbags etc). In addition, when I was hired, I also got the opportunity to sign up for "Wine with the Executives" in which I got to socialize with John Adams and half of the executives in the company. They also encourage an open door policy with the executives so you have the ability to stop into one of their offices if you'd like to chat. Pretty cool!
I've been here for just under a year now and all I can say is good things about management, the company, and where we're going in the next coming years.
Kontras
An area Product Development needs to improve upon is coordination and communication when new companies are acquired by F5 Networks. This can get increasingly difficult when purchasing companies over seas.
