Does Ultragenyx pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Ultragenyx employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Ultragenyx. This rating has decreased by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Ultragenyx?

45% of Ultragenyx employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Ultragenyx 3.3 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.4 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Ultragenyx?

Director (23) , Associate Director (14) , Research Associate (9) , Senior Research Associate (9) , Manager (7) , Sr. Director (6) , Contractor (4) , Intern (4) , Scientist (4) , Scientist II (4) , Vice President (4) , Clinical Operations (3) , Patient Diagnosis Liaison (3) , Research Associate II (3) , Senior Scientist (3)

What are the pros of working at Ultragenyx according to real employee reviews?

"Great location and great benefit." ((in 35 reviews)); "Great people to work with" ((in 28 reviews)); "Also very diverse and great culture." ((in 20 reviews)); "Somerville team is friendly and always willing to help" ((in 10 reviews)); "Pay is good." ((in 9 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Ultragenyx according to real employee reviews?

"They leave bad managers." ((in 12 reviews)); "Terrible leadership." ((in 12 reviews)); "Company has yet to fully integrate so communication is poor and there is a lot of duplication of efforts due to the many siloes." ((in 6 reviews)); "Upper management is a meme and like a helicopter parent." ((in 5 reviews)); "No career development or management support (politics)" ((in 3 reviews))

What are employees saying about Ultragenyx layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Ultragenyx layoffs and their outlook for job security at Ultragenyx in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Ultragenyx locations?

Novato , Woburn , Brisbane , San Francisco , Cambridge , Boston , Bedford , South San Francisco , San Rafael , Somerville , Jersey City , Boise , Salt Lake City , Chicago , Rockford , Canada , Biloxi , San Diego , Mill Valley , Santa Rosa , Seattle , California , Orlando , Coconut Creek

Ultragenyx reviews

Great CEO/company mission; terrible upper management - Sr. Contracts Manager Ultragenyx Employee Review

2.0

Dec 18, 2024

Sr. contracts manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I genuinely believe the CEO, Dr. Kakkis, founded Ultragenyx with the best of intentions and his heart is truly in the right place. This isn’t always the case in this industry and I was excited and proud to be part of his endeavors.

Cons

Unfortunately, his values are not being passed down to the individual workers as they are often blocked by upper management who are not aligned with/interested in his vision. I worked for a few years in the legal contracts department and it was truly a shocking and disheartening experience. Management was so disconnected and hands off, staff worked in individual silos with no unity or agreement to terms/procedures. There were individuals barely working while placing all blame on and taking credit for the work of those beneath them. They were consistently self-serving and disingenuous to the point of blatantly lying to cover their incompetencies. HR seems more inclined to ‘smooth over’ issues for management rather than make attempts to solve the problems. This inevitability leaves the workers alone to face angry, vindictive repercussions from management for daring to speak out. I saw a lot of unnecessary and unfortunate turnover during my time at Ultragenyx.

Ultragenyx Response

1y

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. We wholeheartedly agree that Emil is a sincere and inspired leader with a clear vision for our company that is unique in the field. It is very important to us that this cascades through the organization and touches all of our team members. We are disappointed to hear some of your experiences and take this feedback very seriously. We are grateful for your years of service and dedication to the vision. If you would like to provide further detailed feedback, please feel free to reach out to our Employee Relations team at EmployeeRelations@ultragenyx.com. We appreciate your comments and wishing you the best with your future endeavors.

Explore other reviews about Ultragenyx

5.0

May 12, 2026

Director, marketing

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great place with great people who are all pulling toward a common goal of bringing therapies to market that will change people's lives

Cons

For a small company, decisions can take a while to make because everyone wants to be involved, and most people in centralized roles work across all of the different brands within the company.

Ultragenyx Response

1mo

Thank you for your review and thoughtful feedback. We’re proud of the passion our teams bring to advancing therapies for patients, and we appreciate you sharing your perspective on how we work together. We’re glad to have you with us!

3.0

Jul 18, 2026

Principal scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits and generally reasonable work-life balance.

Cons

In my experience, the organization had many layers of leadership (many VPs, Sr Directors and Directors), unclear decision-making authority, and frequently changing priorities, which sometimes slowed progress and weakened accountability. Considerable time was devoted to meetings, presentations, and strategy, but these activities did not always translate into measurable scientific outcomes. Hands-on scientists often appeared to have limited influence over technical decisions. Leadership also seemed to favor established hypotheses, outsourcing, and new biology-focused pilot studies over investing in innovative platform technologies that could address multiple diseases. Alternative perspectives and technical concerns did not always receive sufficient consideration. Career advancement appeared more accessible to highly visible employees with strong networking and presentation skills than to those contributing primarily through laboratory and technical work. While the benefits and work-life balance were positive, I would have valued clearer priorities, greater scientific openness, and stronger support for hands-on contributors.

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Senior Manager, CMC QA

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Executive Director, CMC QA

Ultragenyx

Great CEO/company mission; terrible upper management - Sr. Contracts Manager Ultragenyx Employee Review

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