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 28 reviews)); "The established culture is great and growing with each month." ((in 27 reviews)); "Most wonderful, talented colleagues who make the company." ((in 13 reviews)); "Casual and friendly work environment" ((in 9 reviews)); "Good pay, flexible work schedule at times" ((in 5 reviews))

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

"Leadership is abysmal." ((in 11 reviews)); "Poor management is everywhere and this is not an exception." ((in 10 reviews)); "Not the best job stability// frequent layoffs" ((in 8 reviews)); "Work/life balance is challenging." ((in 7 reviews)); "Disorganized, no vision, upper management is terrible" ((in 5 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

1.0

Feb 6, 2025

Scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good snacks, good events and parties

Cons

Poor Culture, bad work environment

5.0

Feb 6, 2025

Great Culture

Operations engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great culture, lots to learn, quality skills

Cons

Lots of insecurity with employment such as frequent layoffs. Management has too much work on their plates

2.0

Jan 29, 2025

Great humans without direction

Operations

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Colleagues are high really high quality, care about each other, and the company's mission Flexible location is a plus

Cons

Executive management repeating the same mistakes that got Ginkgo into financial distress in the first place

Viewing 46 - 48 of 189 Reviews

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