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Genentech Overview
South San Francisco, CA
10000+ employees
1976
Subsidiary or Business Segment
Biotech & Pharmaceuticals
$10+ billion (USD) per year
A member of the Roche Group, Genentech has been at the forefront of the biotechnology industry for more than 40 years, using human genetic information to develop novel medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases.
The little things we do every day add ... Read more
The little things we do every day add ... Read more
Glassdoor Awards
Company Updates
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Bianca Coleman, Senior Accountant never thought she will find herself in a corporate setting. Now 18 years later, she seamlessly balances her passion for dance, devotion as a mother, and commitment to help bring medicines to patients.
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As an HR Business Partner, Marisol Kinoshita is helping people grow in their careers and empowering others to participate, excel, and feel a sense of belonging. Learn why she is driven to do the work she does.
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Genentech Video
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Genentech – Why Work For Us?
The Genentech journey began in the unlikely meeting between a venture capitalist and a scientist. Two men, who may have never met if not for their shared passion for a seemingly crazy idea:
That if we look inside, into the very fabric of our DNA, we might find a way to help people suffering from the world’s worst medical conditions. And while we’ve succeeded again and again, giving rise to an entire industry-- we never forget that millions of patients still suffer.
There is still so much to do. So we do the everyday work. We follow the science.
Passion
We invented biotechnology. And we’re driven to do it again, every day. The passion that drives us is the belief that the science of life — biology — holds the keys to solving life's toughest health challenges. Innovative science is the basis of our existence and the foundation for our future. We approach opportunities and challenges with an open mind and break new ground by breaking with convention. And, while we recognize that failure is a possible outcome, we focus on long-term success and the difference we make in the lives of patients.
Purpose
Doing your job well positively impacts the lives of millions of patients. This is our purpose. Each individual patient inspires our researchers to do groundbreaking science. Their stories motivate us all to continue developing new treatment options for people with serious or life-threatening diseases. It's the tireless mother who gives her kids 100 percent while hiding the pain from rheumatoid arthritis. It's a young boy coming to grips with cystic fibrosis. It's a new grandfather who just learned he has stage IV colon cancer. These are the people who remind us of what we do and why — day after day.
People
Our one-of-a-kind culture is built on diversity, dedication, and celebration. We bring together the most talented employees we can find, and then we give them room to be themselves. By encouraging diversity in all its forms — thought, skill, experience, culture, and style — we arrive at new ways of doing things. Because it’s this type of environment that ensures employees can make their greatest contributions to Genentech and, most importantly, to our patients.
We are bright. We are dedicated. We are geeky. We are human. Each of our employees, regardless of role or title, has the passion and grit needed to work together with the end goal of improving patients’ lives. We pride ourselves on an inclusive atmosphere where diverse ideas, backgrounds and viewpoints are valued. We invest in our employees, providing benefits and resources to help them thrive at work and beyond.
Our professional fields include Research & Early Development, Product Development, Pharma Technical Operations, Commercial Operations, Finance, HR, Legal and more. Find your fit.
Research & Early Development: gRED
gRED aspires to make fundamental scientific discoveries and to develop these discoveries into first or best-in-class medicines made in the best interest of our patients. To reach these goals, we actively encourage creativity, discussion and leadership among our researchers, welcoming the diverse skills and backgrounds each member brings to the gRED team.
Product Development
Product Development determines which potential new medicines have the best prospects for development by testing the formulas against specific diseases in the clinic and then guiding chosen medicine candidates through the many precise phases of clinical testing. We conduct global clinical trials, analyze results, monitor safety, and work with regulatory authorities to provide differentiated medicines to patients.
Pharma Technical North America
PTNA Operations turns cells into the final medicine that is delivered to patients, managing all aspects of manufacturing and supply, including quality, engineering and supply chain. These functions support Genentech's end-to-end process, which consists of two primary operations:
- Substance production — using genetically modified cells to serve as mini-factories that can manufacture the required proteins.
- Product production — creating the final formulation of the medicine into a sterile liquid or powder that is placed in a vial, syringe or device and packaged for worldwide distribution.
Click here for a virtual 360 tour of Making Medicines!
Commercial Operations
Our Commercial, Medical and Government Affairs team plays a crucial role in introducing new treatment options to patients, educating physicians using real world clinical data, engaging lawmakers and patient advocacy groups, and ultimately delivering Genentech's groundbreaking medicines to those who need them.
Learn more about the work we're doing in Hemophilia here.
Corporate Operations
It isn’t just scientists and clinicians who impact the development of new medicines. From HR to Finance and beyond, our corporate teams help Genentech run smoothly while providing the resources and capacity to translate our science into therapies intended to improve and extend people's lives.
Corporate Operations encompasses a number of areas, including:
- Site Services: This team is responsible for enabling workplace productivity and wellbeing. It includes Environmental Sustainability, Health and Safety, Corporate Facilities and Maintenance, Transportation, Security, Real Estate and Workplace Planning.
- Human Resources: Our HR division handles Compensation and Benefits, Employee Relations, Learning and Organization Development, Diversity and Inclusion, as well as Staffing – these teams work together to attract and develop a diverse community and a productive environment.
- Corporate Relations: Members of this team support all external and internal Genentech communication needs through an honest, effective dialogue with various audiences and by promoting a fair representation of Genentech in the media.
- Finance: Our Finance division delivers world-class financial management services and value-based business decision support.
- Pharma Informatics: This is our IT team. It provides Genentech employees with highly efficient and predictable information management services, products and strategies – a necessity in the fast-paced and highly advanced biotech industry.
- Legal: Our legal staff offers sound guidance and expertise in a number of areas such as litigation, contracts, intellectual property and products.
- Healthcare Compliance: This team assists employees by promoting a culture of compliance and maintaining a comprehensive program that enforces relevant policies.
Cross-functional collaborations, business-critical projects, fun activities, welcoming colleagues, and supportive managers — you’ve just found a great place to gain real world experience. Whether you're a current student or a recent graduate, planning a path to a great career is an important step in your future successes.
Discover Diverse People With Common Bonds
Genentech's highly diverse work environment brings together employees from all corners of the globe and from countless employment and educational backgrounds. What is their common link? It's a passion to excel and a deep commitment to our mission of developing drugs that address significant unmet medical needs.
Build a remarkable and rewarding career plus your own unique career path in departments such as:
- Research and Early Development
- Process Development
- Product Development
- Manufacturing
- Sales and Marketing
- Finance
- Global Pharma Procurement
- Corporate Groups
The Next Step is Yours
You can explore your career options through our highly regarded summer internship program, become a part of our flexible student co-op experience or apply directly to Genentech as a recent graduate. If you're an MBA student, you can also apply to our challenging 10 to 12-week internship program, which will expand the limits of your knowledge while you work on projects that will have a real impact.
For more information, visit our University and Early Career Page.
Genentech's diverse work environment brings together employees from around the globe, with an array of backgrounds and skills. The common link? A passion to excel and a deep commitment to our mission of developing medicines that address significant unmet medical needs.
We believe transparency and accountability are key to achieving manufacturing and quality excellence. Our leadership team is committed to enabling a culture of cross-functional collaboration that will foster network thinking and create career pathing across the entire Roche sites.
Explore all Our People stories here - stories of obstacles and opportunities - that celebrate the people who work here.
We Treat You Right
Work with Our Communities
At Genentech, we strive for a collaborative environment and a diverse, inclusive atmosphere. If you’d like to join our team, we encourage you to explore our job offerings and learn more about our hiring process, culture and benefits.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is evidenced in Genentech’s Diversity Network Associations (DNA), a range of employee groups that drive and support professional development, strategic healthcare, educational and community outreach. We are committed to strong relationships with diverse organizations in the places where we work and live.
Moreover, we know that making medicines is just one way we can make a difference. And we’re passionate about applying our skills, time and resources to positively impact the patients we serve, the scientific community, and the communities around us. To learn more about some of the work we are doing in our communities, click here.
Other Perks
Beyond the rewarding work, we have clubs and organizations offered to our employees interested in a specific topic who come together periodically to share interests. Genentech provides a number of benefits to help employees focus on their daily work while maintaining good work-life balance.
- State-of-the-art wellness/health facility and gym
- Employee transportation programs
- Signature volunteer programs including Genentech Gives Back , Genentech Goes to Town , and Future Lab, our STEM education initiative supporting all K-12 students within the community.
- On-site childcare
- Paid sabbaticals
- Full-service cafeterias
- Educational seminars and learning opportunities
- Tuition assistance programs (up to $10,000 per year)
- Adoption and surrogacy reimbursement programs
- Free counseling, financial and legal advice
- Concierge and travel arrangements
- On-site dental van for full service care
- Private rooms for nursing mothers
- Sponsored employee sports teams
- Discounts to area museums and attractions
- On-site amenities including car wash facilities, bicycle repair, haircut services and spa treatments
We also have over 100 clubs where employees can share their interest on a variety of topics and activities ranging from yoga, gardening, photography, sports, to cats. And one of our favorite aspects of our culture is a Genentech tradition: Ho-Hos. These monthly get-togethers give you a chance to unwind and connect with your colleagues.
Genentech Reviews
Genentech1681Approve of CEO
Bill Anderson
170 Ratings
- Featured Review
Helpful (4)
![Genentech Logo]()
"Left Genentech too soon! No company is perfect but this is the best place I've worked in biotech"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookNo opinion of CEOI worked at Genentech full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Very smart, exemplary colleagues - raise your game!
Numerous training opportunities
Encouraged to seek new roles when available
Great benefits - financial and non-monetaryCons
Long commute for those living outside SSF but with many transit options
Lots of work, busy company - work-life balance means something different to everyone
Manager turnover could be distressing for some - depends on group/roleAdvice to Management
Due to manager turnover, I reported to four different people during my <2 yr employment stint. At the time, I was very frustrated with this and made an impulsive decision to chase the "greener grass" at another company. Big mistake. I still work long hours but make less money, have fewer benefits, without any hope of upward mobility (less manager turnover because there are no managers at this place...so no chance of promotion), and no longer get to work with my fabulous GNE colleagues. I believe the management did what they could to smooth the multiple transitions in our leadership team but in these types of situations, it's usually better to proactively ensure teams are functioning okay. Especially when one of the new managers is a first time FLM - extra check-ins with the group can help ease concerns about shifting priorities, esp during very busy forecast cycles. Again, nothing is perfect and having a few years to retrospectively analyze this has convinced me that management did what it could.
Prospective Employees: If you have the chance to work at GNE, make the most of it - this is a place you can learn, grow, and develop towards any biotech career path you want. No company or job is perfect but there are much worse places to work, without the mission or resources of GNE. I really regret leaving and would be happy to re-join, if possible. Learn from my mistakes. ;-)Genentech 2018-02-06 07:36 PST
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Genentech Interviews
Experience
Experience
68%
21%
11%
Getting an Interview
Getting an Interview
40%
22%
16%
7
7
4
4
Difficulty
3.1
Average- Featured Interview
Helpful (43)
No OfferNeutral ExperienceDifficult InterviewGenentech 2016-08-16 10:45 PDTApplication
I applied online. The process took 3+ months. I interviewed at Genentech.
Interview
If you are interviewing for roles at Genentech, buckle up and be prepared for a very lengthy process. There is no hurry on their end and I would chalk that up to the company's reputation for being a top employer in the area. I had several phone interviews before getting to the onsite interview with several weeks of waiting in between.
Phone interviews: First interview was weird because it's a third party interviewer that asks a preset list of questions and you can hear her typing up your answers. It's strange and impersonal. Another phone interview was with someone not even working with the team (former employee) and asking another list of questions but at least this one was more personable. You don't get much value since they don't work on the team and you have no clue who the hiring managers are. It's pretty vague up until this point. Questions focused on your experience and ability with strategy and analysis.
Onsite interviews: Prepare to be there for the full day. It's long,it's grueling and you meet many people. They all ask the same questions, mainly behavioral. They want to know how you are able to work in teams, cope with difficult people/situations, prioritize tasks, etc. I found this to be strange since the only opportunity to showcase your analytical ability is in the case study of which is clearly a graph that only internal people can understand. Case study would have been better if you had a few minutes by yourself to digest it before discussing it. The other interesting component to the interview is the presentation. They ask you to prepare a presentation on a topic of your choice but it should showcase your strategy and analytical abilities. You present to people you interviewed with. The hardest part is that you are presenting at the end of the day when you're dog tired from talking to 10 other people.
Overall I would say the experience was good to have under my belt. With the fight for talent in the area I wonder if they lose people for having such a prolonged process. You'll find yourself having to constantly follow up between rounds. While everyone was very nice and friendly, I questioned their setup while I was there. Like someone else pointed out here on Glassdoor, everyone seems to be in an office which felt very siloed and not team oriented. Yet most questions focused on your ability to work in teams.The atmosphere was also dead quiet and not buzzing with activity as I have seen in other companies. This may work for some but it is something to think about whether this is the type of culture you want to be in. It is clear they have a hard time finding people for these roles (they are constantly reposting the job) and I think it's due to their interview process and style. Maybe it's time to try something new.Interview Questions
- Lots of behavioral questions - every interviewer will ask this. Be prepared with stories (STAR format) to address topics on how you work in teams, handle difficult situations and people, how you handle influence others that don't report to you, etc. There is one case study which you can't prepare for. Most of the interviews is smoke and mirrors - the interview you need to ace is the case study. Having one case study be the major data point is a bit ridiculous. I would say that if this is the most important criteria the team should think about having multiple case studies to give a better picture on a person's ability and focus less on the behavioral questions. Answer Question
Genentech Awards & Accolades
- The 50 Best Places to Work for New Dads, Fatherly.com, 2015
- 100 Best Companies to Work For, Fortune Magazine, 2015
- 44 Healthiest Companies to Work For in America, Greatist.com, 2014
- Top Employer, Science Magazine, 2014
- Top Women in Biotech, FierceBiotech, 2014
Work at Genentech? Share Your Experiences
