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Synthetic Genomics

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Systematic Gross Incompetence - Anonymous employee Synthetic Genomics Employee Review

1.0
9 Jun 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Those with a passion for teaching will find ample opportunity to educate PhD scientists and engineering mangers on the finer points of high school-level mathematics and basic tenants of the scientific method. The SGI team was able to deliver on the noble goal of aiding the founder with shameless self-promotion in the media.

Cons

If you're looking for a blueprint on how to milk 100s of millions of dollars from investors and collaboative partners without a solid technical foundation or capable leadership, Theranos might be the first company to cross your mind. But, the bait and switch approach employed by SGI was far superior. Continuously jumping from one failed, non-sensical project to the next for 15 years running gives a company the appearance of a 10-ring circus rather than a fraud machine. I can agree with other reviewers on the premise that the management team is completely useless, but suggestions that the company was once great or that a bunch of incompetent leaders somehow managed to assemble a large team of talented scientists and engineers are laughable at best. All things SGI-DNA and Instrumentation & Enigineering were especially frustrating to deal with since the people were unable to grasp the difference between proof of concept and "manufacturing" phases of product development.

Explore other reviews about Synthetic Genomics

5.0
20 Jul 2021
Anonymous intern
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I worked as an intern and enjoyed the collaborative environment

Cons

No cons to report here

3.0
26 Feb 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A company founded by someone with a great vision who brought some of the world's best talent in to run it when it was originally conceived. It is located in a beautiful location and by and large is quite a flexible place to work with opportunities to learn about a wide variety of science, business, management and operations skills if one is so inclined. Fortunately, some of the original talent has stayed on board and they serve as scientific leaders in a field with a potentially enormous upside.

Cons

There is a very steep hierarchy and most of the new senior management is relatively detached from the operational aspects of the company. This causes a disconnect between the vision/strategy and real work (boots on the ground) which can often manifest as ineffective communication, poor motivation and low morale. The steep hierarchy also leads to a highly political climate where employee recognition and feedback is often overlooked until something breaks.

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