I enjoy coming into work - Anonymous employee Helix Employee Review

5.0
23 Mar 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- enticing company mission and vision - for a start-up, company already has a strong reputation and brand - smart, passionate, collaborative colleagues - transparent, open, culture modeled by department heads and leads - good mix of new grads and industry veterans (lots of opportunity for mentorship) - fast-paced, little red tape, support to get things done - backed by respected industry leader Illumina, VCs and partners - unlimited vacations which people take, free lunches, small touches like celebrating birthdays/ new employees/ any reason to eat food - people want you to succeed in your role and celebrate small wins - great health and medical benefits

Cons

depending on your personality these may seem like cons (for others, these are not): - fast-paced, short deadlines - wear lots of hats and projects may change on the fly (need to be flexible) - spot light is on you and your work - typical 9-5 does not exist but rather flexible hours that are driven by individual and workload/deadlines - fast growth and lots of changes every week, month - expected to take ownership and initiative for yourself

Explore other reviews about Helix

5.0
19 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Dynamic fast modern company with lots of opportunities to learn modern tools.

Cons

Modern fast companies often require occasional uncompensated overtime and rapid changing priorities

1.0
2 Nov 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The industry the company is in has potential.

Cons

After a decade, many basic processes are still not standardized. Simple tasks that should be easy elsewhere take unnecessary effort here. Mid-level managers form cliques, handling conflicts by forcing the more reasonable side to back down. Double standards are everywhere. People who don’t do the work tend to oppress those who do. Managers have a shallow understanding of both the work and people, resorting to bullying those who are kind while avoiding confrontations with the strong or rude. There's a constant manpower shortage, and higher-level issues are often dumped on lower-level employees, but salaries and promotions don’t reflect this. Meetings are mostly for show—employees are only allowed to ask trivial questions or praise each other. If you bring up real issues, they’ll either ask you to fix them yourself or tell you to stay quiet. Layoffs have been frequent over the past year, mostly targeting decent employees who won’t cause trouble or those who dare to speak up. The company is rigidly hierarchical, both in title and race. Middle managers give speeches as if they’re important figures, which is laughable. The quality of employees has dropped, and management is full of holes. Issues in old negative Glassdoor reviews remain unresolved to this day. The tolerance for toxic employees and the chaotic management have left good employees discouraged—they either find excuses to leave or simply cut down their productivity. As one one-star review said, this company needs a complete overhaul, not just minor tweaks.

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