AbCellera reviews

Abcellera is desperately trying to market itself as a biotech company, primarily to attract public funding. However, the reality is that it’s steering more towards a CRO model. It has no proprietary drug pipeline, which leaves a lot of confusion within the workforce. Many employees are left wondering why they are in their roles and what the purpose of their work is. This lack of clarity, coupled with a notable level of incompetence at the management level, leads to people performing tasks well below their job titles. The leadership is another issue. Managers are poorly trained and lack the skills needed to guide their teams effectively. There's a glaring absence of proper diversity and inclusion practices, and it often feels like the company is more focused on appearances than actual progress. Team dynamics are toxic, with rampant favoritism and an environment where your input and expertise are undervalued. There’s a heavy emphasis on building social networks rather than delivering results, leading to an overall sense of frustration and lack of professional growth. Additionally, there are very few opportunities for cross-training or learning because the company hasn’t figured out its direction. While it may initially seem like there’s a career path or plan in place, it's just smoke and mirrors. There’s no clear progression or development, and you’ll quickly realize that your growth is being stifled. Overall, with lack of transparency, leadership, and a clear strategy. It’s not a place where you'll thrive or advance your career in a meaningful way.

- Upper management is cult-y and lacking self-awareness (or maybe just honesty). Most workers can see the lack of planning ability by management, but when you go to company meetings everything is just cheery and good. Apparently there are NO problems at this company, but really that means honesty is not one of the cultural traits here. - Inability to communicate and prioritize across teams. Too much ego in management (and keeping established fiefdoms) blocks communal goals, priorities and progress. Everything must be done "my way" or else you are put out to pasture. - Feels very academic rather than industry-based. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if you are from an academic background, but it results in a lack of accountability and very closed off "labs" that generally do not work well together with competing priorities. - Lack of career growth. The levelling is pretty crazy due to some of the hierarchy that is needed for science-based careers. The company does not move fast, so there aren't many opportunities to lead new teams, projects, etc. - Diversity. Overall the company does pretty well, but it's definitely a monoculture on the engineering side.