Is Vertex Pharmaceuticals a good company to work for?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 1,646 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 76% of employees would recommend working at Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a friend and 84% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Vertex Pharmaceuticals have been left by employees working as Intern , Co-Op and Principal Scientist .

Does Vertex Pharmaceuticals pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Vertex Pharmaceuticals employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Vertex Pharmaceuticals?

76% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Vertex Pharmaceuticals 3.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Vertex Pharmaceuticals?

Associate Director (67) , Director (53) , Research Scientist (46) , Manager (36) , Intern (35) , Senior Manager (28) , Research Associate (26) , Senior Scientist (26) , Scientist (24) , Senior Research Associate (18) , Administrative Assistant (17) , Principal Scientist (14) , Senior Research Scientist (14) , Co-Op (11) , Industrial Placement Student (11)

What are the pros of working at Vertex Pharmaceuticals according to real employee reviews?

"And we’ll great benefits" ((in 260 reviews)); "Great people; everyone is very open and willing to help." ((in 128 reviews)); "Good pay and office location" ((in 55 reviews)); "My team and members of the teams I closely work with are supportive and engaging." ((in 44 reviews)); "Good work life balance relatively" ((in 38 reviews))

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

"Fits in with culture of senior leadership disappearing in the middle of the night without a trace" ((in 33 reviews)); "Poor managers at Sr Director and below." ((in 26 reviews)); "You are told your part of the vertex family but then are not invited to company functions because you are a contractor, constantly being let known you are expendable and admins and upper management are allowed to treat you like your are their servant." ((in 15 reviews)); "Senior management can be abusive and default on people working over weekends and holidays." ((in 15 reviews)); "Long hours in the evening." ((in 14 reviews))

What are employees saying about Vertex Pharmaceuticals layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Vertex Pharmaceuticals locations?

Boston , Cambridge , San Diego , Providence , Jersey City , Red Bank , Park City , Brooklyn , New York , Mexico , Newport , Charlotte , Austin , Houston , Fayetteville , Brazil , Los Angeles , Los Altos , Colorado Springs , Pittsburgh , Baltimore , California , Belmont , Brighton , Quincy , Waltham , Watertown , Southborough , Atlanta , Savannah

Vertex Pharmaceuticals reviews

4.0

76% would recommend to a friend

(1,270 total reviews)

Reshma Kewalramani

87% approve of CEO

84% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.5

Compensation and benefits

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

3.9

Culture & values

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.6

Career opportunities

3.5

Senior management

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 1,270 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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

1K reviews

2.0

Feb 6, 2019

No chance of growth no matter how hard you work..

Scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good salary and compensation Good work life balance and beer hour

Cons

No chance of growth unless you are white. The place is full of politics and nepotism. I was surprised in my early days when people would just randomly leave. Soon I discovered that you can get all the awards and appreciation but your career will not advance. If you keep promoting only certain people without any talent while keeping people of color at the same position (no matter how hard and productive they are) than one day you will be left with no talent. I have seen really smart people leave Vertex just because they were tired of politics. This is the reason that Boston site could not produce any molecules in past few years. I really liked the science and the research, but I could not deal with politics and just wait for your shares to vest without any actual growth.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Response

7y

Thank you for your review. We will pass your comments on to the appropriate people.

2.0

Apr 3, 2024

Survival of the Fakest

Executive director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The only thing Vertex has going for it is its science. The company is successful despite itself. Unfortunately the EC can't get out of its own way, nor can the countless senior leaders who all waste time, resources and employees' sanity pandering to them. Longstanding Vertexians, and those who do well managing up to longstanding Vertexians, will do well. It's hands down survival of the fakest.

Cons

The performance review cycle is an absolute joke. Stakeholder feedback is completely anonymous, which is fantastic for a company that operates on talking secrets about its employees behind their backs, and then lets them go for "underperforming" when there was never a word uttered to that employee nor an opportunity to improve ever truly given. Like that? You'll also love that in cases of a 'Building' rating, one where improvement is needed, you are also not guaranteed an actual written performance review that articulates the ways in which you didn't meet your primary work objectives. Even better when the company's own analytic tools provided demonstrate that you met and/or exceeded all but one. From what I have seen and experienced, HR can't even treat their own employees with respect or integrity through this process.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Response

2y

Hello, thank you for your candor. We take current and former employee feedback seriously, and will share your review with HR.

3.0

Mar 15, 2022

Gets worse each year

Manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The only pros are extra vacation days (in which some teams aren't able to even take) and good colleagues.

Cons

Limited flexibility when it comes to working remote, very bad at promoting employees and recognizing when someone has been busting their butt, salary is very sub-par (and since they changed the equity structure that is also below average). Lot of un-needed complexity at Vertex and a poor work life balance. I have found that a lot of my time is spent on non-value add work

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Response

4y

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. We will make sure your feedback is sent to the proper departments.

Viewing 10 - 12 of 1,270 Reviews

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