"Great" Companies to work for? (Thousand Oaks: fit in, job transfer)

[hamellr]

Hi all!

I'm tossing around the idea of a change in scenery and find that the LA area is on my short list after I started listing pros and cons. So now I need a bit of help from you all. What are some "great" companies to work for that have offices in the greater LA Area? I have an absolutely awesome job right now, but we haven't had any openings in the area for almost two years so a job transfer isn't realistic. I'm more concerned with the corporate culture vs. what industry the company is actually in.

But I do have a lot of experience working IT in creative companies. The LA area equivalent of Nike, Google, Apple, and Amazon are what I'm looking for.

Ideal companies:
- Casual work place
- Creative work, or fosters a creative environment
- Subscribes to modern business science theories such as Matrixed Management and Responsibilites
- International presence
- Has IT needs
- Growing, or at least staying stable
- frequent job transfers (IE, after two years you have a good chance of moving to another position)
- Opportunities such as stretch projects and assignments
- Ideas for improvements come from the bottom up instead of top down

I'm already following these companies in LinkedIn:
- Disney
- Universal Studios
- Sony
- Hurley (via Nike)
- ESPN
- CEVA Logistics
- Northrop Grumman

I'd prefer to stay away from Governmental entities, financial institutions, healthcare, and anything in the legal fields. I'd also be interested in knowing who the local recruiters are so that I can approach them directly.

Thank you!

[roadwarrior101]

Not sure if any of the LA companies on your list fit into that unique bucket that you'll find with Nike, Google, Apple and Amazon. You may want to look and see if one of your target companies has a large satellite office in the LA area.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Not sure if any of the LA companies on your list fit into that unique bucket that you'll find with Nike, Google, Apple and Amazon. You may want to look and see if one of your target companies has a large satellite office in the LA area.

I am already following all of them that do

[1200RT]

Several automotive-industry related companies are based in SoCal and likely have what you're looking for - Edmunds, TrueCar, KBB, Dealer.com (based in VT, offices in LA), etc. Facebook also has an office in LA, but its small. You may also consider companies like Mattel (el segundo) - and other aerospace's (Boeing, Raytheon).

[nightlysparrow]

Patagonia?

[trplmstrmike]

Within LA County, try looking at the following companies with headquarters here that might meet your criteria. Keep in mind that in LA, a ton of people actually work for fairly small businesses. It's surprising entrepreneurial here.

NastyGal
The Honest Company
Demand Media
Activision Blizzard
uSamp
Hulu
eHarmony
Riot Games
Machinima

Warner Bros., AT&T, NBC Universal, Live Nation, Mattel, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Disney, Fox, Sony, and DirecTV are some of the largest employers in the area that might meet some of your criteria, but are fairly corporate and not necessarily growing like a tech start-up.

[ccm123]

I have heard that Amgen in Thousand Oaks is a good employer.

[hamellr]

Thanks all, some good ideas here that I will check out.