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      Ginkgo BioWorks

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      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

      Reviews by job title

      189 reviews
      5.0
      May 23, 2022

      Great Place to Work, Period.

      Senior technical writer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      This is a company that values its employees, and its mission to make biology easier to engineer. It cares that its work is done in an ethical way. We do work that matters, and care for each other and the planet. A terrific company to work for.

      Cons

      If you want an environment that is button down, cut and dried, everyone in his silo, don't come here. This place is not for you. If you want to come in every day with your mind fully engaged, ready to evolve your work, and support your colleagues, drop a line. Company is fast-growing.

      5.0
      Aug 8, 2021

      Can't stop talking about work :)

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      The people at Ginkgo are truly passionate about what they do and the mission they serve. We're all total nerds and love talking about this stuff. It's really fun to be working in a job where I'm PROUD to talk to my friends and family about what I do, that hasn't always been the case in my career. Some random specific pros: - Grow as fast as you are able; this is a place where high ceilings are rewarded, you just need to grab the bull by the horns and run with it - Amazing culture, it's about the science and the mission - Generous equity-based compensation; Ginkgo really values employee ownership and wants employees to be incentivized to build lasting long-term value - Dog room! :) - Crazy smart colleagues who are generous with their time and are committed to working together on this mission - Lots of fun benefits - obviously the normal stuff but also lots of cool discounts (BlueBikes, Reebok, ZipCar, etc.)

      Cons

      - As with any mission-driven organization, it can be hard to turn work "off" - it's easy to overwork and the pace at which Ginkgo is growing is relentless; it's a huge growth opportunity, but people need to learn how to pace themselves - Company is still experiencing some growing pains around certain organizational processes - people coming in from very large companies may need some time to get used to how "flat" Ginkgo's organization is - Had to buy my own phone / data plan - first time I didn't have my employer paying for my phone! I feel like a grown up now...

      3.0
      Aug 1, 2025

      Decent place to work, don't drink the koolaid (if there's any left)

      Test engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      - was a good place to work and learn for early career - get to work with mostly nice and smart people - good place to learn lots of different lab automation techniques that came in handy later on - lots of fun science toys to play with - loved it at the beginning, probably stayed too long, ended up getting very burnt out on disorganization/poor support for early career professionals/bad management

      Cons

      - some scientific projects didn't make any sense -disorganized - blitzscaling is a stupid business model - had quite bad luck with direct managers, had several that all kind of sucked in their own unique way, but others had good mangers who supported them and were very smart, was kind of just luck of the draw - not a lot of guidance or support from higher management, raised some concern about certain managers/people and was kinda told to just deal with it - was kinda crazy how there was just a group of mediocre men who kept failing up/getting promoted because they were popular/friends with the founders, guess that happens everywhere though

      Viewing 13 - 15 of 189 Reviews
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      ReviewsGinkgo BioWorks reviews

      Glassdoor has 242 Ginkgo BioWorks reviews submitted anonymously by Ginkgo BioWorks employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Ginkgo BioWorks is right for you.