Avantages
The company was not afraid of niche projects. They would help brush up the skills quickly. Some headhunters appreciated this and so they would bombard the colleagues with various opportunities. The company was academic styled, so much that they would care the university transcripts. And yes, people usually discuss matters objectively rather than politically.
Inconvénients
As one would discover in the mixed interview reviews, the company culture was not consistent across different teams. And, one could imagine some particular teams were inconsistent, unsympathetic, and difficult to work with. The company once had big visions to make great infrastructure software, but the technical execution and the business strategy did not bring in the much deserved success.