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 31 reviews)); "Great people to work with" ((in 28 reviews)); "Also very diverse and great culture." ((in 20 reviews)); "Pay is good." ((in 11 reviews)); "The CEO is passionate." ((in 10 reviews))

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

"They leave bad managers." ((in 12 reviews)); "Leadership is deceptive and play favorites." ((in 11 reviews)); "Upper management is a meme and like a helicopter parent." ((in 6 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))

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

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

Ultragenyx

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

5.0

May 14, 2016

Room to grow

Director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

A very worthy mission, a lot of opportunity to grow, learn and contribute. Flex hours that meet the needs of myself and my family.

Cons

some would rather just complain and blame others rather than try to do their best and contribute.

1.0

May 3, 2016

Too political and unorganized

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

CEO is passionate and stock options are generous to the early employees

Cons

Too much politics has been brought up from people from either Genentech or Amgen. The company is unorganized in most of the departments. Work load is insane at most departments. Life work balance is horrible. Promotion only goes to the people are favored by upper management. People are suffering and hate their job but choose to stay for stock options. Many people left the company in a short term.

2.0

Apr 21, 2016

Dysfunctional and exhausting

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The CEO is passionate. They provide decent benefits (company shutdown and sick time)

Cons

Decision making is worst I have ever experienced. There are too many layers of management for size and upper level is clueless to the needs of those doing the work. Work life balance is horrible. Promotions are only given to favorites and this results in backstabbing and sabotage. Company has grown fast and is painfully inefficient. Company prides itself on the idea of not following what other pharma/ biotech do, but in every decision and initiative they do exactly what every other company does.

Viewing 223 - 225 of 246 Reviews

Jobs at Ultragenyx

Associate Director, Investigations

Senior Manager, CMC QA

Senior Manager, CMC QA

South San Francisco, CA

$175K - $216K /yr

(Employer provided)

View job

Senior Manager, CMC QA