All work and no play, toxic environment - Associate Research Scientist Tempus AI Employee Review

1.0
Apr 4, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Often hiring, good branding, new office, barista on-site (but really the drinks are just okay)

Cons

Lowest salaries and difficult to get equity. WIth unlimited vacation you end up being afraid to ask and don't get PTO payout. If you complain, then you are made to feel bad like "well this environment is too fast for you, it's a startup, you have to work quicker" and then they question if you even care about the patients. Everything the JDAs say is true. Management was mean to them from the start, making snide remarks and jokes at their expense in front of the entire company. Other teams are also dealing with the same crap of being overworked with the expectation that you work forever with "voluntary" overtime all the time. There's no more work smart mentality, just work until you're burnt out, but you can't burn out because you're so easily replaceable. Sales and Operation teams are treated like Gods, which makes the rest of us undervalued.

Explore other reviews about Tempus AI

5.0
Jul 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good place to work at, very impactful work.

Cons

No cons i can think of tbh.

2.0
Mar 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

As mentioned work is great since it is cancer research and my coworkers are amazing. Immediate leadership managers and Sr. managers are good as well but somewhat unorganised. Work life balance is good also and health insurance as long as you get BCBS PPO with copay otherwise you're screwed paying off deductible.

Cons

Pay is below industry average, and there is essentially no room to negotiate a better raise. Employees are actively discouraged from discussing compensation, and whatever leadership decides is final, there are no exceptions. If you try to escalate concerns or request a conversation with senior leadership, such as a senior director or VP, you’ll quickly find yourself getting the runaround. Leadership prefers to hide behind layers of management rather than engage directly. There is also no clear or transparent path for career advancement. Opportunities technically exist, but they are extremely limited. You can do everything right, receive a top rating of 5 on your annual performance review, and still not be promoted to manager or see any meaningful improvement in compensation. To make matters worse, the billionaire CEO and founder has said things like, “Don’t worry about pay because we’re curing cancer.” Statements like that feel incredibly out of touch when employees are earning $50k–$60k a year and receiving annual raises of only about $2,000. On top of that, equity is almost impossible to obtain. You have to fight for even the possibility of it, because stock or equity compensation is reserved almost exclusively for the C-suite and directors, with virtually nothing available for employees below that level.

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