By Chief People Officer Amanda Daniel
What if you could help people become healthier?
What if you could make cars safer?
And what if you could turn the “impossible” into reality?
At SkyWater, you can do that — and enjoy coming to work!
Every day, we improve lives around the world — by co-creating new technologies and encouraging courageous innovations in our thriving SkyWater culture
SkyWater Chief People Officer Amanda Daniel joined SkyWater two years ago and has been nurturing a growing, resilient culture where people want to come to work and explore what’s possible. She explains, “Whether in Minnesota, Florida, or working remotely — we want to help our employees find their place as members of our team. Emotional, financial, professional and social wellbeing are very important — so we offer a variety of benefits to provide support in these key areas.”
Join us as we talk with Ms. Daniel about how to find meaningful work with purpose through building resilience and health.
A well-rounded approach to emotional well-being
From the reaches of space to the palms of our hands, our team creates solutions no one else can. Because SkyWater is an innovation-driven, problem-solving business resilience and flexibility are critical to our success. While some people may have a natural disposition toward resilience, resilience can also be learned and practiced over time by engaging in practices such as mindfulness, self-care, social support and positive thinking.
In some cases, seeking professional support can also be helpful. This is why SkyWater recently launched a new program through Lyra Health to provide employees and their family members with a range of resources to support their emotional wellbeing. The program offers a variety of mental health benefits, including 1:1 counseling and coaching on a variety of topics including self-care, parent and caregiver stress, anger management, anxiety and depression, alcohol use, work stress, burnout, relationship challenges and many others.
The program provides access to in-person and virtual counseling sessions throughout the year, ensuring that support is available 24/7. This new benefit reflects SkyWater’s commitment to helping employees build resilience by prioritizing their mental health.
In addition, to this new and innovative mental health benefit, SkyWater also offers employees more traditional wellness benefits, including an employee assistance program, paid time off and holidays, fitness club discounts and competitive medical, dental and vision coverage.
SkyWater supports your financial well-being
Financial well-being programs in the workplace can help employees reduce stress, improving overall well-being. That’s why SkyWater offers a variety of tools, programs and benefits to help people feel stable with their finances including:
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Career pathing to progress in your career with promotional opportunities.
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Employee Stock Purchase Plan – two times per year employees can elect to participate to buy stock at a discount and become an owner!
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401k benefit for retirement savings.
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Financial seminars for current and future financial planning.
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Hitting company financial goals for additional compensation.
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Performing at a high level to earn more – pay for performance culture.
Professional well-being: Join our bold-thinking, world-changing team
“We believe that when people feel that they add value to an organization, they are more likely to be fulfilled, productive and engaged in their work,” states Ms. Daniel. “We are creating technology that’s changing the world! So, our employees are always learning and growing in their current roles — which is supports professional wellbeing. When we all work and grow together as One Team, we have the power to do great things.”
We provide employees with a range of tools and training — including tuition reimbursement, apprenticeships, scholarships, in-house training and mentoring to build your SkyWater career. You set the pace for how fast you want to go!
A strong work community to enhance your social well-being
According to Ms. Daniel, “Building positive relationships and having friends at work is an important part of overall well-being. As humans, we need to feel connected to feel fulfilled in our work and personal lives, so we have created opportunities to build those connections. In addition to having a wonderful lunchroom with views of the Minnesota River Valley where co-workers eat, meet, and play games — we also have paths behind our Minnesota facility where co-workers walk over lunch for a healthy break. Likewise, our Florida facility offers beautiful indoor and outdoor areas, where employees enjoy breaks, meet for picnics and celebrate accomplishments.”
There are many opportunities to participate in team projects and events including:
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Culture Builders sessions — These sessions are designed for all employees to understand what we do at SkyWater and how we do it. This helps employees align to our culture and bond with the team.
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Women’s Networking Committee — This group formed on March 8th which was also International Women’s Day. We encourage all employees to join interest groups (such as the Safety team, BikeMS team, or other interest group) to support you on your work journey.
International Women’s Day was the perfect time to kickoff a SkyWater Women’s Employee Networking group! Over lunch, the women discussed challenges and ideas for recruiting, empowering and recognizing women at SkyWater and beyond. -
Employee Activities Committee – Employees can volunteer for corporate, social and team events to get more involved socially, meet people, and feel connected.
SkyWater’s Employee Activities Committee recently sponsored a Spring Cleaning event to celebrate Earth Day. HR Generalist Brittany Palmer pitched in by moving out old phones. 
Employees enjoyed pizza and socializing in the break room during the 5S Spring Cleaning event. -
Peer-to-peer recognition and manager recognition — Appreciation for accomplishing key milestones and living by our core values is offered through Fond. Recognition reinforces that we are doing what is right for our aligned goals and helps employees feel appreciated. Employees can redeem corporate perks, rewards and send recognitions on Fond, which offers thousands of items and rewards so that employees have the power to choose exactly what they want.
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Giving ongoing feedback – We encourage employees to participate in ongoing feedback with their manager, in small teams, with a new leadership team Sounding Board, in surveys – and more. SkyWater leaders want to understand what’s going right, what needs fixing and to hear employee ideas for change. It’s a problem-solving, solution-finding approach.
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Communication — It boils down to communication — making sure people have the information they need to do their job and feel connected. All communication avenues are important including company meetings, on-site communication screens, 1:1 recurring meetings with managers, department meetings, company intranet and in-person training.
SkyWater’s Employee Activities Committee serves cider, cocoa and other fun treats at our quarterly company meetings. 
SkyWater is working with the State of Indiana and Purdue University to foster a robust microelectronics ecosystem.
SkyWater’s core values guide our behavior
Our core values – Integrity, Excellence, Collaboration, Growth Mindset and Empowerment – influence the way we interact with other employees, customers and stakeholders. Our strong company values help to build a positive, healthy, resilient and productive work environment, foster employee engagement, and inspire trust and loyalty from customers.
