
What are the best pharma companies to work for? (according to their employees)
There are several metrics you can use to decide the “best” company. But what employees say should definitely be considered.
So we’ve taken employee submitted scores from across three different websites and combined them to create a star rating system for Ireland’s pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies.
To be included in this list, a company had to have a review score on at least two of the websites.
To simplify this article, we’ve listed out the companies in groupings. No company scored above 4.5, so our highest ranked group is the 4-star group, who all scored 4.0 – 4.49 out of 5.

4-Star Companies (scoring 4.00 – 4.49)
- MSD – approx 2000 employees across Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Meath and Tipperary (see current MSD job vacancies)
- Pfizer – approx 3100 employees across Cork, Dublin and Kildare (see current Pfizer job vacancies)
- Merck – approx 800 employees across Cork and Wicklow (see current Merck job vacancies)
- Johnson & Johnson Vision – approx 2100 employees in Limerick (see current Johnson & Johnson Vision job vacancies)
- Janssen – approx 1200 employees in Cork (see current Janssen job vacancies)
- Stryker – approx 3200 employees across Antrim, Cork and Limerick (see current Stryker job vacancies)
- GE Healthcare – approx 600 employees in Cork (see current GE Healthcare job vacancies)
- Boston Scientific – approx 6000 employees across Cork, Galway and Tipperary (see current Boston Scientific job vacancies)
- BioMarin – approx 450 employees in Cork (see current BioMarin job vacancies)
- Siemens Healthineers – approx 450 employees in Dublin (see current Siemens Healthineers job vacancies)
- GSK – approx 750 employees in Waterford (see current GSK job vacancies)
- Edwards Lifesciences – approx 800 employees across Clare and Limerick (see current Edwards job vacancies)

3.5-Star Companies (scoring 3.5 – 3.99)
- Takeda – approx 500 employees across Dublin and Wicklow (see current Takeda job vacancies)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) – approx 650 employees in Dublin (see current BMS job vacancies)
- Medtronic – approx 2500 employees in Galway and Westmeath (see current Medtronic job vacancies)
- Regeneron – approx 1400 employees in Limerick (see current Regeneron job vacancies)
- Ipsen – approx 165 employees in Dublin (see current Ipsen job vacancies)
- Amgen – approx 670 employees in Dublin (see current Amgen job vacancies)
- Zoetis – approx 250 employees across Dublin, Offaly and Wicklow (see current Zoetis job vacancies)
- Servier – approx 450 employees in Wicklow (see current Servier job vacancies)
- Alkermes – approx 450 employees in Roscommon (see current Alkermes job vacancies)
- BD Medical – approx 1020 employees across Dublin, Louth and Wexford (see current BD Medical job vacancies)
- Teleflex – approx 300 employees in Limerick (see current Teleflex job vacancies)
- Jabil – approx 450 employees in Dublin and Waterford (see current Jabil job vacancies)
- Lilly – approx 2500 employees in Cork (see current Lilly job vacancies)
- Alexion – approx 500 employees across Dublin and Roscommon (see current Alexion job vacancies)
- Gilead Sciences – approx 550 employees in Cork (see current Gilead Sciences job vacancies)
- Aerogen – approx 410 employees across Clare and Galway (see current Aerogen job vacancies)
- DePuy Synthes – approx 1000 employees in Cork (see current DePuy Synthes job vacancies)
- Baxter – over 1000 employees across Dublin and Mayo (see current Baxter job vacancies)
- Alcon – approx 400 employees in Cork (see current Alcon job vacancies)
- Astellas – approx 330 employees in Dublin and Kerry (see current Astellas job vacancies)
- Cook Medical – approx 980 employees in Limerick (see current Cook Medical job vacancies)
- Creganna Medical (TE Connectivity) – approx 1000 employees in Galway (see current Creganna Medical job vacancies)
- Bausch & Lomb – approx 1500 employees in Waterford (see current Bausch & Lomb job vacancies)
- B.Braun – approx 100 employees across Dublin and Sligo (see current B.Braun job vacancies)
- Teva – approx 850 employees across Antrim and Waterford (see current Teva job vacancies)
- Viatris – approx 1100 employees across Dublin, Cork and Galway (see current Viatris job vacancies)
- Almac – approx 4000 employees across Armagh, Louth and Westmeath (see current Almac job vacancies)
- Zimmer Biomet – approx 550 employees across Clare and Galway (see current Zimmer Biomet job vacancies)
- West Pharma – approx 900 employees across Dublin and Waterford (see current West Pharma job vacancies)
- Abbott – approx 5000 employees across Cavan, Dublin, Donegal, Longford, Sligo and Tipperary (see current Abbott job vacancies)
- Leo Pharma – approx 700 employees in Cork and Dublin (see current Leo Pharma job vacancies)
- Sanmina – approx 200 employees in Cork (see current Sanmina job vacancies)
- Sanofi – approx 740 employees in Waterford (see current Sanofi job vacancies)
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals – approx 50 employees in Roscommon (see current Jazz Pharma job vacancies)

3-Star Companies (scoring 3.0 – 3.49)
- Bimeda – approx 80 employees in Dublin (see current Bimeda job vacancies)
- AbbVie – approx 1900 employees across Cork, Dublin, Mayo and Sligo (see current AbbVie job vacancies)
- Integer – approx 1250 employees across Galway and Wexford (see current Integer job vacancies)
- Charles River Laboratories – approx 150 employees in Mayo (see current Charles River job vacancies)
- Chanelle Group – approx 350 employees in Galway (see current Chanelle Group job vacancies)
- Merit Medical – approx 1000 employees in Galway (see current Merit Medical job vacancies)
References
Scores were taken from Glassdoor, Irishjobs.ie and Indeed in January 2023
BTW, if you are interested in upskilling for a better job or a promotion in the Pharmaceutical or Medtech industries, or are considering a career change into this sector, check out our range of pharmaceutical courses.
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