Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a place where you can grow, work and be supported at home. We believe it’s important to not only take care of employees but families as a whole.  

“I don’t have to choose between being a great mom and being great at my work, and I don’t take that for granted,” said Victoria Newcomb, Talent Management Senior Specialist and mom of Owen and Beatrice.

A growing family

We know that building a family is a very personal journey, which sometimes means facing tough decisions about fertility, either due to medical necessity or a desire to keep options open for the future.  

With that in mind, our medical insurance plan covers fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization (IVF) and reciprocal IVF, for employees in the U.S. This includes egg cryopreservation when required, both for medical necessity and to preserve future fertility. And that’s not all — we offer financial assistance for adoption, surrogacy and eligible donor egg and donor sperm expenses. 

Bonding time

To support new and growing families, all U.S.-based parents are eligible for 12 weeks of 100% paid leave to bond with a new child due to birth, adoption or foster care placement. Parents who give birth receive additional time that is also 100% paid. 

“Our bonding leave allowed me to support my wife and kids. One of my children was born via a c-section, so caring for my wife was critical,” said Andrew Cournoyer, Associate Director of Facilities Operations. “The support of my direct team, management and leadership was over the top — which speaks to culture.”

Milk Stork

Traveling can be stressful — especially when figuring out how to properly transport breast milk. “The week after I returned from parental leave, I was offered the opportunity to attend an amazing conference in San Diego the following month. I hesitated to commit at first because of the burden of traveling while breastfeeding full-time,” said Victoria. 

But with the help of Milk Stork, a breast milk shipping service that also assists with the milk surrogate process, parents have increased flexibility and options. "I was able to seamlessly order temperature-controlled shipping kits directly to my hotel and overnight them home free of charge.” 

“The knowledge, tools and connections I gained at the conference are still benefiting me several months later. I was able to embrace the experience because I was confident that my other full-time job — feeding my baby — was not suffering as a result,” added Victoria.

Family care

As children grow and parents head back to work, we connect families with services that offer daycare, babysitting, nannies and educational planning.  

“When I found out that Vertex offers its employees access to Care.com services, I felt so relieved,” said Marcus Kernizan, Business Systems Associate Director. “I have been able to take advantage of so many resources such as childcare if my daycare is closed for the day or even hire a last-minute nanny for a deeply discounted rate.”  

For more information on Vertex benefits both in and outside of the U.S., visit https://www.vrtx.com/careers/benefits/.