It all depends on where you land - Individual Contributor Ultragenyx Employee Review

1.0
Apr 21, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- It is a job that when delegated well, could give room for work-life balance -Room to find your role interesting and entertaining, despite of poor high-level organization & heavy politics -Free drinks and coffee -Thursday's lunch on the house (good catered food) -If you you look for, you could find good quality/smart coworkers with great values that are willing to mentor you (BIG PLUS)

Cons

-Many. - Politics and lack of culture makes it hard and unpleasant -Smooth talkers get promoted rapidly, while to others the bar is quite high -No career development or management support (politics) -Lack of transparency -Poor quality issues -High turn over (politics?) -Long commutes to the North Bay. Can be expensive if you don't live locally.

Explore other reviews about Ultragenyx

5.0
May 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great place with great people who are all pulling toward a common goal of bringing therapies to market that will change people's lives

Cons

For a small company, decisions can take a while to make because everyone wants to be involved, and most people in centralized roles work across all of the different brands within the company.

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Ultragenyx Response
1mo
Thank you for your review and thoughtful feedback. We’re proud of the passion our teams bring to advancing therapies for patients, and we appreciate you sharing your perspective on how we work together. We’re glad to have you with us!
3.0
Jul 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits and generally reasonable work-life balance.

Cons

In my experience, the organization had many layers of leadership (many VPs, Sr Directors and Directors), unclear decision-making authority, and frequently changing priorities, which sometimes slowed progress and weakened accountability. Considerable time was devoted to meetings, presentations, and strategy, but these activities did not always translate into measurable scientific outcomes. Hands-on scientists often appeared to have limited influence over technical decisions. Leadership also seemed to favor established hypotheses, outsourcing, and new biology-focused pilot studies over investing in innovative platform technologies that could address multiple diseases. Alternative perspectives and technical concerns did not always receive sufficient consideration. Career advancement appeared more accessible to highly visible employees with strong networking and presentation skills than to those contributing primarily through laboratory and technical work. While the benefits and work-life balance were positive, I would have valued clearer priorities, greater scientific openness, and stronger support for hands-on contributors.

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