I work in a matrix organization and I definitely think I prefer working in that environment. At my company, there are distinct departments within the product development portion of R&D. These include synthetic chemists, analytical chemists, chemical engineers and formulators, for example. Usually a couple people from each of the functional departments are on any given project team.

As others have mentioned, while I technically report to a manager in the engineering department, I actually interact a LOT more with the project manager of the project I’m assigned to. Sometimes this can be demanding, because I have to frequently update my literal manager on the work I’m doing (in addition to the regular updates that I give the project manager). Its more work but I really enjoy being able to work with people in other scientific disciplines versus just other engineers. Not only is there a wide variety of knowledge on any given project team, but typically people in different groups display different types of skills (both technical and soft skills) so you have a very well rounded group.