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Ballard Power Systems

This is an Upside-Down company, where the newest/youngest and least experienced people are allowed to dominate/control over-top of others with more experience/capability. Middle-Managers appear to be clueless to know/understand the difference between good employees and trouble-makers. There's no policing, follow-through, or accountability; thus the amount of "bad" behaviour, and number of people engaging in such, is growing exponentially. Lets face it, from the perspective of these A-holes, their tactics tend to work well for them! Good workers that dislike high levels of continuous confrontation tend to shy away from that sort of stress, thus the bad behaviour types accomplish exactly what they set out to do: Remove all opposition from their objectives towards self-serving expanded domination/control.

Huge disconnect between Engineering, Production, and Marketing; with the focal point often being at Program Managers.

There's a tipping point in any company, where after enough bad people are hired, existing good people either leave, or also turn "bad"; and where new hires are chosen, because they  tend toward bad behaviours/personalities.  Law of Attraction?  Ballard has long passed that tipping point!

Employees rarely get terminated for poor/lazy performance or disruptive/abusive self-promoting behaviour, yet lay-offs in production during slack times are common.

There are a lot of overly aggressive/disruptive people at Ballard with big egos and big plans to screw-over anyone that stands in their way of domination/control and moving up the ladder.

Despite a lot of recent growth in staff, many incumbents resort to dirty tactics to stay in full control.  There's low career growth opportunity here, so long as inexperienced new hires are brought in over-top of existing highly skilled employees.


This company doesn't yet know what it wants to be when it grows up!

Some think it should be a Fuel Cell stack manufacturer; but let's face it, that makes no sense when labor costs in Vancouver are so high?  Ballard has capabilities and talents to do amazing R&D, Test Stations, and System Integration; but there's no profit in that so long as they under-bid contracts, and carry huge bloat in management/sales/operations.

The majority of employees are recent grads left unsupervised are are given no technical guidance.  Reason: The senior staff are largely incompetent technically, but even worse is their lack of any business savvy.  Nobody here has any real manufacturing or industrial background or experience.

The only salvation is Ballard's CEO, who appears to be absolutely brilliant in his activities and determination to identify target markets, and buy more time for the rest of Ballard to figure itself out.  Perhaps he will soon step in, and do some much needed "house cleaning" of middle management?

Ballard is a perfect example of what happens when a cleantech company runs for decades, without any real focus or direction, other than to perpetuate the "dream" of one day being profitable.  Nothing will change until there's a mass turn-over in middle management and technical leadership. 

A few good people are still left, but their numbers dwindle.  If you are lucky that one of them is your boss, Ballard might provide you a comfy niche, if you can tune-out all of the rest.

The youngest and least experienced people are hired or promoted above senior people with far more years of experience! Many of the senior staff have already left. Lots of hiring based on academics rather than real world work experience related to the company's business and technical field.  Toxic co-workers (or even the odd toxic manager) are not dealt with by HR --so you may be stuck in unpleasantness for a very long time.  Although they give out promotions, these tend to saddle people with more responsibility --yet no added authority to actually execute.  If you are willing to DO more work entirely by yourself (for a tiny raise) then you can get "promoted".

Engineers tend to get pigeon holed.  Career advancement is rare.  Various departments don't cooperate well.  Production staff are looked-down upon, and are treated poorly.  Middle managers think too highly of themselves, and lack "real world" experience with modern Rapid Product Development methods (such as outsourcing) or how to actually turn a profit.

CEO appears to be brilliant, but middle managers are clueless to execute on marching orders given to them.  CEO wants them to be more practical, with exclusive focus on becoming cash flow positive.

Most people at Ballard are still stuck in R&D mode, where they spend much of their time on lofty academic and theoretical tasks.  There's too many long established formal procedures/work-flows making it very cumbersome and slow to get anything done quickly or cheaply.  Lots of resistance to change, new ideas are rejected, and there's no desire/appreciation for any modernization.  Not enough Lean-Agile practices going on.

It's shift work so basically hard to find work-life balance, 2 weeks morning shift 6 am - 3 pm, and 1 week's afternoon shift 2:45 pm - 11 pm.
Mostly, new employees join through the manpower company such as Aerotech, after 6 months working at Ballard maybe they extend your contract to a permanent. During these 6 months, you do not have any benefits. However, end of the year and when they do not have enough tasks to do,  they usually lay off employees immediately, and end of the year (December) and beginning the year (Jan), they send you home without payment.
Generally, they hire people based on their seasonal needs and production force. 
The salary is 18$ to 19$ per hour. 



Working at Ballard Power Systems has its pros and cons. The pay is relatively low, primarily because the job tasks are quite simple and straightforward. This might be a downside for those seeking higher compensation or more challenging work. However, the work environment is generally decent, providing a comfortable and supportive atmosphere. The company culture is friendly, and colleagues are cooperative, making it easy to collaborate and get help when needed. Management is approachable and open to feedback, which fosters a positive workplace dynamic. Despite the lower pay, the simplicity of the job might appeal to those looking for less stress and a good work-life balance. Overall, Ballard Power Systems is a suitable place for individuals who prioritize a stable and pleasant work environment over high wages and career advancement opportunities.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Light environment, good leaders, opportunity to grow and acknowledgement for good work.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Wage is not the best. Judging by the level of technical work we have to perform, Ballard could pay better.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Amazing! People are nice to each other and there is no such pressure for numbers as other companies.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arrive at Ballard, get my designated work station after the meeting and perform my work. In the end, another meeting and them go home.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Almost the only good thing is Ballard being a known company and looks good on resume, and may give you a better chance to get hired at other companies.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
A very toxic environment for technicians, ungrateful and unsupportive team leads. Mandatory rotating and inconvenient shift hours - either starting too early in the morning shift or ending too late in afternoon shift - drain you both physically and mentally. Not a supportive and responsive management. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Blaming, ungrateful, disrespectful

I had a very positive experience working at [Company Name]. The work environment was professional, inclusive, and supportive. Management was approachable and always open to feedback. I felt that my contributions were valued and that there were real opportunities for growth and development.

The team spirit was one of the highlights — colleagues were collaborative, respectful, and genuinely helpful. I also appreciated the company's focus on work-life balance and employee well-being.

Overall, I would highly recommend [Company Name] to anyone looking for a company that invests in its people and provides a solid foundation for career growth.

Ballard offers the chance to work on designing and manufacturing fuel cell systems which I found engaging. Most colleagues are able and willing to teach and mentor which I loved. As I moved up in the company and became a team lead I noticed that there were some issues with decision making and communication. It came to be “do more with less” and there was less and less support because everyone was over worked. I think the company could benefit from a management level overhaul. Things just seemed a bit frantic. Ultimately I did enjoy working for Ballard and gained a lot of valuable experience. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Engineer 4 salaries reported	$91,500 per year
Production technician 8 salaries reported	$19.91 per hour
Manufacturing engineer 3 salaries reported	$71,333 per year
Mechanical engineer 11 salaries reported	$85,220 per year
Technologist 3 salaries reported	$65,667 per year

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