Does Ginkgo BioWorks pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Ginkgo BioWorks employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Ginkgo BioWorks. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Ginkgo BioWorks?

28% of Ginkgo BioWorks employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Ginkgo BioWorks 3.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.1 for culture and values and 2.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Ginkgo BioWorks?

Test Engineer (10) , Director (9) , Engineer (7) , Organism Engineer (7) , Software Engineer (6) , Associate Director (5) , Medical Technologist (5) , Scientist (5) , Senior Engineer (5) , Automation Engineer (4) , Operations Engineer (4) , Fermentation Engineer (3) , Operations (3) , Organism Engineer III (3) , Program Coordinator (3)

What are the pros of working at Ginkgo BioWorks according to real employee reviews?

"great people to work with" ((in 32 reviews)); "The established culture is great and growing with each month." ((in 26 reviews)); "Most wonderful, talented colleagues who make the company." ((in 10 reviews)); "Casual and friendly work environment" ((in 7 reviews)); "Hires incredibly smart individual contributors, has nice startup perks (free food, unlimited PTO, etc.), transparency and open discourse" ((in 4 reviews))

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

"Almost no real management and no leadership." ((in 13 reviews)); "Poor management is everywhere and this is not an exception." ((in 10 reviews)); "Work/life balance is challenging." ((in 8 reviews)); "The company's existing business model is not sustainable, which is currently resulting in layoffs and additional stress for remaining employees." ((in 8 reviews)); "a lot of people have left finding better pay elsewhere." ((in 6 reviews))

What are employees saying about Ginkgo BioWorks redundancies in 2026?

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

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Ginkgo BioWorks

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 and inclusion

3.5

Work/Life balance

3.4

Compensation and benefits

3.1

Culture and 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 and biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Ethnic group

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

189 reviews

4.0

Jun 6, 2026

Great colleagues and company mission but it wasn't meant to be

Senior product manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Amazing colleagues and company mission. CEO had the right vision but other seniors leadership dropped too many balls.

Cons

Delusional about its capabilities and too arrogant.

2.0

Jun 3, 2026

Smart, driven colleagues but shifting business strategy challenges

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

People are incredibly smart and driven to make biology easier to engineer. Lots of high quality colleagues

Cons

Business strategy changes frequently, it’s hard to find new and meaningful sources of revenue

5.0

Jun 2, 2026

Hands-off management fosters autonomy, with occasional overtime

Senior engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

a hands-off management style and a flexible work environment that promotes autonomy and trust

Cons

Occasional overtime may be required, but that is common in most workplaces

Viewing 1 - 3 of 189 Reviews

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Jobs at Ginkgo BioWorks

Software Intern, Autonomous Lab

Software Graduate Intern, Autonomous Lab

Commercial Operations & Marketing Intern

Director, Government Partnership Development

United States

US$170K - US$274K /yr

(Employer provided)

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Commercial MBA Intern

Massachusetts

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