Kite Pharma reviews

3.6

62% would recommend to a friend

(505 total reviews)
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Cindy Perettie

67% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

Kite Pharma has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 505 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Kite Pharma employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

505 reviews
2.0
Apr 14, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You are a part of life changing therapies for patients. Good benefits.

Cons

Unfortunately, there are more cons than pros. 1. Bad communication: constant lack of clarity around projects- don’t be surprised about a new ask that’s a rush with no time to prepare. Different employees receiving different messages ( hearing things through the grapevine). Passive aggressive communication from leadership and coworkers. Failure to listen to solutions to problems. Constant “off-hours” communication. 2. Cliques, exclusion, and gossipy behavior: constant feeling of exclusion from groups of people. Projects and promotions are offered to particular groups of people who are “in” with upper management. 3. Poor leadership: the management here is okay with gossiping about lower level employees to lower level employees. Unprofessional behavior in many ways than one. No real direction to a future vision. 4. Stifled growth: no real mobility, learning opportunities, or mentorship. 5. Rapid turnover rate: the greatest sign of a toxic work environment. Lots of disorganization, lack of direction, bad leadership, and little opportunity. 6. Poor work life balance: don’t be surprised if you get emails and messages when you’re off of work because of a new ask that’s now a priority- meaning you have to constantly change your personal schedule to fit the needs of the company’s. 7. You will get burned out here: you will put lots of energy into your work with the hopes that the output will be rewarding but you don’t see positive outcomes. Or you may feel burned out because you feel under challenged and bored because all other opportunities are given to other people. 8. Unmotivated coworkers: you may shoulder a ton of work that they aren’t handling, but after all the cons from above... can you blame them for feeling unmotivated?

2.0
Jul 2, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Able to work tightly with other departments and easy to stay in the loop. 401k and benefits are top tier, starting salary is okay. Depending on which department you work in you are treated very well.

Cons

Management is severely out of touch with staff, this goes all the way from technicians through scientists to director levels. Systems that are so basic to other companies are not implemented causing the same problems to arise multiple times while management looks the other way. Large amounts of overtime (50-60hrs) without additional compensation for salaried employees. Performance reviews are weighted more by your perceived mood rather than output of quality work or dedication to getting things done correctly. Culture is poor and toxic work environment.

2.0
Jan 2, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Extremely great benefits with a competitive pay. They hire great people to work with (associate level). Volunteering opportunities are great if you’re interested, and the facilities are fabulous and kept extremely well.

Cons

Managements a mess, corporate and HR do not care the slightest for CTS department, otherwise considered MFG. Problems are not addressed, good work culture is lacking, and room for growth is nonexistent due to trapping employees with science degrees in a manufacturing department not doing anything science related. The billion dollar company does not compensate the MFG/CTS department for working 365 days a year. Administration gets a full week off in July and a full week off in December for Christmas and NYE and day, while the MFG department works on holiday with NO holiday pay or compensation - nor are the days that are scheduled off for administration comped for MFG employees. MFG works 10 hour shifts but is only given 80 hours for sick time a year, after that they have to use their own PTO time for sick days/any form of time off because it is not offered otherwise. That means 8 days out of 365 are you allowed to be sick. PTO is only accrued biweekly - and low and slow for entry level positions. Leadership does not lead, only bosses employees. Associate CTSs are micromanaged and bossed around/treated like children.

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Kite Pharma Response
3y
Hi, this is Cara Bauer, Kite’s Global Head of Human Resources. First, thank you for the important work you do for patients every day. You’ve shared some comments that I’d like to hear more about – my door is open for a confidential conversation so we can discuss. Please send me an email so we can set up time to connect.
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Glassdoor has 659 Kite Pharma reviews submitted anonymously by Kite Pharma employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Kite Pharma is right for you.