Does Ionis Pharmaceuticals pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Ionis Pharmaceuticals employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Ionis Pharmaceuticals. This rating has improved by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Ionis Pharmaceuticals?

81% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Ionis Pharmaceuticals 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Ionis Pharmaceuticals?

Research Associate (10) , Assistant Director (7) , Director (6) , Intern (5) , Senior Research Associate (5) , Senior Scientist (4) , Associate Director (3) , Consultant (3) , Scientist (3) , Associate Scientist (2) , Executive Director (2) , Postdoctoral Fellow (2) , Senior Accountant (2) , Summer Intern (2)

What are the pros of working at Ionis Pharmaceuticals according to real employee reviews?

"The people there are great" ((in 16 reviews)); "Good benefits for families and individuals" ((in 10 reviews)); "The overall culture is good." ((in 7 reviews)); "Nice campus location in Carlsbad" ((in 3 reviews)); "Most big decisions are discussed out in the open to give all scientists an opportunity to give feedback." ((in 3 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Ionis Pharmaceuticals according to real employee reviews?

"CRO employees who complain to their HR, managers were simply ignored." ((in 6 reviews)); "no work life balance, and some people quitting due to extreme deadlines" ((in 5 reviews)); "Lots of nepotism." ((in 4 reviews)); "Low salary and very fast paced company" ((in 4 reviews)); "Long hours, not totally transparent" ((in 4 reviews))

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Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals Reviews

Compare reviews

4.0

81% would recommend to a friend

(126 total reviews)

Brett Monia

95% approve of CEO

78% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Culture and values

4.0

Diversity and inclusion

4.0

Compensation and benefits

3.8

Career opportunities

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.6

Senior management

Ionis Pharmaceuticals has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 126 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Ionis Pharmaceuticals employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

126 reviews

5.0

25 Apr 2026

Great place to work. Highly recommend.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Ionis is a great place to work and has a workplace environment that encourages innovation and professional development. Most decisions are made in a transparent way. The company and its employees are focused on work that benefits patients and their caregivers. I highly recommend this company to anyone who wants to make a difference for patients.

Cons

Company needs a greater sense of urgency to move promising investigational medicines through development and to patients as quickly as possible. There is a lot of focus on doing great science but not enough focus on getting medicines to patients asap.

5.0

18 Mar 2026

Great place to work

Director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Great culture, perks and corporate transparency

Cons

No critical feedback to note

5.0

2 Feb 2026

Best Place I've Ever Worked!!

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

The company culture is fantastic and they seriously take care of their employees! Loads of paid time off (even for new hires) and retention incentives like bonus $ and additional vacation days for those staying at least 5 years. Beautiful campus, friendly team atmosphere, and overall quality employer

Cons

Some individual departments are less than ideal to work in, mostly due to a few bad hires that stick around forever (causing otherwise good employees to leave). But that being said, almost every big company I've worked for has that issue at some point... so not really a red flag, just bad luck if you happen to fall into one of those groups at the wrong time.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 126 Reviews

Jobs at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Associate Director, US Value & Access

Carlsbad, CA

US$190K - US$216K /yr

(Employer provided)

View job

Associate Director/Director, Safety Conventions & Quality Standards

Carlsbad, CA

US$184K - US$269K /yr

(Employer provided)

View job

Research Associate II, Analytical Development & Quality Control (ADQC)

Research Associate, Neurology

Post Doctorate Fellow, Discovering Receptors That Enable Targeted Oligonucleotide Delivery to Immune Cells

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Ionis Pharmaceuticals

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Reviews by job title

Great place to work. Highly recommend.

Great place to work

Best Place I've Ever Worked!!

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