Does Ginkgo BioWorks pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Ginkgo BioWorks employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Ginkgo BioWorks. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Ginkgo BioWorks?

28% of Ginkgo BioWorks employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Ginkgo BioWorks 3.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.1 for culture and values and 2.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Ginkgo BioWorks?

Test Engineer (10) , Director (9) , Engineer (7) , Organism Engineer (7) , Software Engineer (6) , Associate Director (5) , Medical Technologist (5) , Scientist (5) , Senior Engineer (5) , Automation Engineer (4) , Operations Engineer (4) , Fermentation Engineer (3) , Operations (3) , Organism Engineer III (3) , Program Coordinator (3)

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

"great people to work with" ((in 29 reviews)); "The established culture is great and growing with each month." ((in 29 reviews)); "Amazing colleagues and company mission." ((in 9 reviews)); "Casual and friendly work environment" ((in 8 reviews)); "Hires incredibly smart individual contributors, has nice startup perks (free food, unlimited PTO, etc.), transparency and open discourse" ((in 6 reviews))

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

"Poor management is everywhere and this is not an exception." ((in 10 reviews)); "Lots of insecurity with employment such as frequent layoffs." ((in 8 reviews)); "Work/life balance is challenging." ((in 7 reviews)); "Disorganized, no vision, upper management is terrible" ((in 6 reviews)); "a lot of people have left finding better pay elsewhere." ((in 4 reviews))

What are employees saying about Ginkgo BioWorks layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Ginkgo BioWorks locations?

Boston , West Sacramento , Cambridge , Boise , New York , Tucson , Washington , Sacramento , Emeryville , San Francisco , Seattle , Philadelphia , Worcester

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Ginkgo BioWorks

Ginkgo BioWorks reviews

3.0

28% would recommend to a friend

(189 total reviews)

Jason Kelly

30% approve of CEO

12% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.7

Diversity & inclusion

3.5

Work/Life balance

3.4

Compensation and benefits

3.1

Culture & values

2.6

Career opportunities

2.2

Senior management

Ginkgo BioWorks has an employee rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars, based on 189 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Ginkgo BioWorks employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

189 reviews

5.0

Dec 14, 2016

Exciting place to work

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Really smart and motivated people--I have learned a lot from them. This is a company that questions norms, and doesn't do things just because "that is how everyone else does them," which I find refreshing. Ginkgo is pretty flat and offers a lot of opportunities for initiative. I feel like being here has accelerated my career, both in what I have learned and the network I have built.

Cons

The company is in a rapid growth phase, and so some aspects of the company have not kept up with the growth. You need to be a self-starter to really succeed here. The business model is ambitious, which is a pro and a con.

2.0

Jan 17, 2026

pivot not fun

Scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

smart people (those who are left)

Cons

company pivoting hard to a mission no one believes in.

3.0

Jan 15, 2026

Went downhill

Director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Flexibility and freedom — my immediate team is good

Cons

Company leadership makes mistake after mistake — cash runway is running out

Viewing 40 - 42 of 189 Reviews

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