Pros
Junior managers (aka Journal Development Managers) have reasonable freedom to take initiative and experiment with different approaches. With that said, the sales quotas are very ambitious, so JDMs often find themselves instructed to take a conservative approach and use proven but not very exciting approaches. The staff is a smart crowd, with some very interesting approaches and ideas to be discovered if you just take the time to talk to your colleagues. So much potential here. As an aside, there seems to be some widespread confusion on this point, but claims that Frontiers is a so-called predatory publisher are blatantly false. The company offers exactly the service it advertises and displays the cost of publication up front. Publishing decisions are divorced from commercial aspects by the simple fact that the vast majority of editors and reviewers are unpaid volunteers, same as with traditional publishers. The company has its problems, which I have seen firsthand, but dishonest publishing practices are not one of them.
Cons
The turnover in the editorial program (the largest department in terms of staff) is outrageous, due in no small part to the relatively low pay. Journal Development Managers have very high responsibility and performance expectations, and are required to display resilience and skills that can and have secured ex-employees much more lucrative positions (upwards of 50%+ their Frontiers salary) at other Swiss companies. This is not idle speculation but something I saw myself, time and time again.
