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

3.4

45% would recommend to a friend

(246 total reviews)

Emil Kakkis

66% approve of CEO

44% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Compensation and benefits

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.4

Culture & values

3.3

Work/Life balance

3.1

Career opportunities

2.9

Senior management

Ultragenyx has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 246 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Ultragenyx 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

246 reviews

2.0

Dec 18, 2024

Great CEO/company mission; terrible upper management

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.

4.0

Dec 17, 2024

Good Company

Director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

People Interesting and promising pipeline Openess to collaborate "Family" feeling Good salary

Cons

heavy workload pressure sometimes unrealistic expectations time zone difference - late night work sometimes lack of clear internal communication

Ultragenyx Response

1y

Thank you for your review and being on the team here at Ultragenyx! We are proud of our culture, as well as our unique and strong pipeline. We are so glad you agree! We hope that if you have any concerns about work-life balance and expectations around your workload you feel comfortable speaking with your manager. You can always reach out to the Employee Relations team as well at EmployeeRelations@ultragenyx.com. We are always here to support you. Thank you again!

5.0

Dec 2, 2024

Excellent Company

Vice president

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Mission Driven Great culture Work life Balance

Cons

Lack of focus in a resource constrained environment

Ultragenyx Response

1y

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience at Ultragenyx and for being one of our leaders. Culture, mission and quality of life for our employees are all of utmost importance. We are so glad you see those as pros of the company. If you have any specifics you would like to share around resources and priorities, we would love to hear from you at EmployeeRelations@ultragenyx.com. Thank you once again!

Viewing 31 - 33 of 246 Reviews

Jobs at Ultragenyx

Director, Patient Access & Reimbursement

Senior Manager, CMC QA

South San Francisco, CA

Manager, QA Product Disposition

Senior Manager, CMC QA

Associate Director, Production and Manufacturing Excellence

Ultragenyx

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Great CEO/company mission; terrible upper management

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