What it does: Creates ‘virtual universe’-enabling software
Staff stats: 15,000 globally
The good bits: Reasonable hours, good pay, pleasant colleagues
The not so good bits: Big-organisation bureaucracy
What’s now Dassault Systèmes came into being in 1977. That’s when 15 engineers at a French aircraft manufacturer called Avion Marcel Dassault began developing cutting-edge computer-aided-design (CAD) software. At that point, the goal was simply to create software that would make it easier to design planes. But the computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application (CATIA) software the engineers delivered was so game-changing that a subsidiary was incorporated in 1981.
Over the last four decades, Dassault Systèmes has both continued to produce its own cutting-edge software as well as snapping up an almost endless list of innovative tech companies from across the globe. Dassault Systèmes is now best known for its 3D design, 3D digital mock-up and product-lifecycle-management (PLM) software and likes to market itself as “The 3DExperience Company”. The company has over 220,000 customers across 12 industries. It is now headquartered on the outskirts of Paris in Vélizy-Villacoublay. It also has impressive regional headquarters in Shanghai and Waltham, Massachusetts. In 2017 Dassault Systèmes had revenue of €3.2 billion (A$5.2 billion).
The company has staff from 130 nationalities employed at 181 sites spread across 40 countries. Males in the 20-40 age bracket are overrepresented in Dassault Systèmes’ workforce. In recent years the company has launched a range of initiatives, such as WIN (i.e. Women’s Initiative) Summits and female networking groups in an attempt to improve the gender balance.
The company aspires to be a civilised meritocracy. One where “recruitment, training, promotion, assignment and, more generally, all work-related decisions are based on competencies, talent, achievements and employee motivation, without any form of discrimination, harassment or bullying”.
Dassault Systèmes regards pursuing “ethical and sustainable growth” as one of its fundamental values. It is “committed to nurturing social equilibrium and protecting the balance of the natural world”. It also “nurtures long-term, trust-based relations with our customers, partners, shareholders and government bodies”. The company’s corporate social responsibility principles are “based on the fundamental international principles of human rights, social rights and environmental protection, such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation's fundamental conventions”.
Dassault Systèmes shares Dassault Group’s commitment to eco-design, that is creating products that optimise raw material and energy use and producing them in a way that minimises the impact on the environment.
The company foundation is called La Fondation Dassault Systèmes. It aspires to harness “the powerful capabilities of virtual universes and experiences to develop a more sustainable society by driving improvements in education, research and heritage and enabling a broader and more equal access to them”. Not-for-profit organisations from around the world wanting to launch ‘virtual universe’-related projects can apply to La Fondation Dassault Systèmes for support.
Dassault Systèmes promises grads they will experience a “vibrant culture of inclusivity” and enjoy the sense of fulfilment that comes from providing “business and people with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovations” while “nurturing social equilibrium and protecting the balance of the natural world”. The company puts on regular social events and encourages “friendships that cross continents”.