chemist

quality assurance analyst

sales manager

r&d engineer

quality assurance associate

AmbioPharm, Inc.

This company wants to portray itself as a huge pharma venture, but it's all smoke and mirrors. There is little to no career advancement opportunity, training is ineffective if you even get it at all, and the general morale among employees is low. People are getting fired for making simple mistakes which have zero impact upon product safety or quality, and in some cases people have been let go just because of whim. When the thought of a looming FDA inspection and company audits has the higher ups on edge, then no one is safe from false accusations and rumors. I left shortly after I was targeted by workplace bullying because I dared to express concerns about safety and voice my frustrations from lack of direction and organization which was preventing me from doing the job I was hired to do. This is a company that was founded on a great premise, and has many good attributes and many many awesome, devoted employees who would give everything they have for this company. I just cannot work for a company that does not value the employees in the same way. Turnover is high for a reason. Do NOT accept a position here unless you have been to the site for an on-site interview and have observed the interactions of the employees and overheard breakroom conversations.

This review applies to the QC department. 
This job is a fast-paced heavy work industry position. So expect that if you're coming into this job. The pay isn't great, but it's not horrible. The work load from the higher ups is a bit much at times, but the camaraderie with the workers is strong; additionally, the supervisors work hard and support the chemists. 
Expect to see new faces, there are very few non-contracted (meaning work visa) employees who have made it to the one-year mark. Turnover is a problem aided by pay, workload, and supervision issues. There is also a bit of a constant battle between QA and QC to keep things stirred up. 
Those things being said: APi is not a terrible place to work. 95% of your job will be HPLC, and you will become an expert at running one within a few months. The work is hard, but your compatriots are good people with whom to work. The pay is okay, but the benefits are well above average. 
Honestly, the company is reasonable overall. I would still be there except for the fact that I got a better offer for a government job.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Some of the coworkers (not management) are really nice

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Upper management has no empathy, communication with team, or care about their employees. They only care about getting the product out the door and run the team like sled dogs.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Your fellow chemists are typically super nice and feel the same way as you about the job. The culture of the rest of the company is consistently toxic and unhelpful. Safety is not a top priority (which is why we cannot keep an EHS) and the blame is quickly placed on the chemists when things go wrong rather than the outdated processes and procedures put in place. Most of the management that have a say so and can change things are very out of touch and do not know a lot about what is happening in the lab.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Clock in, do a lot of manual labor (most days, some days are chill), and repeat. Consistently performing purification, column packing/unpacking, or packagings.

The average day really depends on what department you work for and who your supervisors are, but you will be there until your job is done. Many people work overtime to meet the outrageous, often last minute, expectations of this place. They care a lot more about trying to get product out then they do about quality. Supervisors are often incompetent and lazy. If you are part of manufacturing, you can do whatever you want. Cameras are everywhere, yet they can't seem to upkeep the place or notice the issues, despite just having to watch because they won't go in person. Some of the workers are nice, but most of it is drama and headaches. The pay was decent but nothing great for this economy. Would be a good place to gain experience because they will handle the training. Lots of people leave or get randomly laid off. HR tries to manipulate people or gaslight them so that they can get their way. It doesn't seem like the workers matter, even though they do have neat little events, such as International Day. The list really goes on and on. Unless you are struggling to get mandatory lab experiences for other jobs/schooling, I would not work here. Can't trust them.

Good place for Entry Level candidates to get hands on experience. Most are patient and will take the time to teach/train others, but proper time to train and keep up with the day to day demands often makes the training insufficient. Benefits are decent if you're a healthy individual. If you have health concerns, the high deductible does not make it worth it and the salary is not worth the day to day frustrations. The dog eat dog type of atmosphere makes life difficult at times because there's no set way of determining/ranking who should be in what position. Rarely promotes from within the company. Can be volatile at times. Instead of having individual talks with those that are struggling to see how to get the best out of them, we often get a huge lecture as a group that ends with many worried about job security and a defeated attitude.

If you come in as a purification chemist, that is where you are gonna stay for your entire time their unless a supervisor decides to get a better job. Otherwise the company is too small for any meaningful promotions or advancement. The salary is better than retail, but for the hours worked and the amount of work done that is about the only positive thing I can say. Most of the people you work with are pleasant as of writing this, and the current 4, 10 hour day workweek is nice, but rotating between weekdays and weekends involves an 8 day straight work week every other month that is just awful. Also there is a massive communication gap between management and the general workforce, and the safety department is currently a joke.

A lot of  young professionals and excellent compensation for the area. The management is more concerned about profits rather than safety and employee happiness. There was also an environment of intimidation and retaliation when something goes wrong. Not sure if things have improved since I worked there. 

Overall, not a bad place to work if you know how to speak up and stand up for yourself. Don't let yourself get bullied and know your worth.

A typical day at work consisted of being assigned either a release or stability testing for the day along with various raw materials. I have learned to operate many different quality control instruments. Management gives absolutely no room for advancement. Very poor training and poorly written operating procedures. Salaries are bottom of the barrel low and chemists are extremely overworked . Overtime is expected but not compensated for . The most enjoyable part of the job is actually performing tasks such as stability or release assay testing.

High turnover for QC, QA, and manufacturing departments. We’re all highly underpaid and overworked. Zero work-life balance. Lots of petty drama. Only move up the food chain if you’re one of management’s “favorites”. They’ve been pretty sketchy about COVID-19 and have tried to cover things up. Employees have tested positive and there were no shutdowns or thorough cleanings even though we manufacturing drugs that are administered intravenously. 

It may be a good place to start one's endeavors and get a feel what's like to work in a CDMO in the pharmaceutical industry in the various departments or functions.  The experience and network one acquired may be useful for pre-planning or pursuing better or future career(s) in some related industries.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Chemist 3 salaries reported	$47,833 per year
Quality assurance analyst 3 salaries reported	$51,000 per year
Sales manager 2 salaries reported	$75,000 per year
R&d engineer 2 salaries reported	$36,000 per year
Quality assurance associate 2 salaries reported	$35,000 per year

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