Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. application questions — all 8, word for word
Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. hires through Greenhouse. Beyond name, email and CV, its application form asks 8 questions, 5 of them required. 1 of them is a required, fixed-choice question about your eligibility to work. A cover letter is optional.
25 roles were open when this was last checked, mostly in engineering and sales. The questions below are the form's own wording, not a paraphrase.
What Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. has open
These are the roles the form was read from, as Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. titles them, in Boston, Massachusetts, Emeryville, California, California, United States, Remote, US:
- Associate Director, Environmental Health and Safety
- Automation Scientist Graduate Intern, RAC Operations
- Automation Scientist Intern, RAC Operations
- Cheminformatics & Synthesis Prediction
- Computational Synthetic Chemist
- Corporate Counsel
- Director, Government Partnership Development
- Scientist, AI/ML — Antibody Developability
- Senior Director, Multiomics
- Senior Engineer III, ADME
- Senior Mechatronics Engineer
- Senior Product Manager, Reagents
5 of the questions below are ones at most two of the 213 employers measured ask (median: 18), the least standard being “Do you have any relatives that are currently employed by the Federal Government, a contractor (including subsidiaries, parents, and affiliates) that performs work for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (or any of its sub-agencies, including CDC, for example) or the U.S. Department of Defense (or any of its sub-agencies), serves in the Military, and/or is a Political Appointee?”.
The eligibility questions
These are required, and answered from a fixed list rather than in your own words: work authorisation, visa sponsorship or security clearance. Employers often use questions like these to filter applications automatically, but Greenhouse's public data does not say whether Ginkgo Bioworks Inc. does — so treat them as the answers most likely to matter, not as a verdict. Answer them honestly either way.
| Question | Answers accepted |
|---|---|
| Do you now or will you in the future need employer sponsorship for a visa to work in the country where the job is open? required, fixed choice | Yes, I will need sponsorship support now, Yes, but not until the future, No |
Every question on the form
| Question | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Do you now or will you in the future need employer sponsorship for a visa to work in the country where the job is open? Yes, I will need sponsorship support now, Yes, but not until the future, No |
select | Yes |
| First Name | text | Yes |
| Last Name | text | Yes |
| Preferred First Name | text | No |
| text | Yes | |
| Phone | text | No |
| Resume/CV | file | No |
| Cover Letter | file | No |
| LinkedIn Profile | text | No |
| Website | text | No |
| How did you hear about us? Industry Conference, College / University Fair, Through my network, Through a referral, Other |
select | No |
| Do you reside in the location for this job posting or within commutable distance? Yes, Yes, if I am offered relocation., No, I am not willing or able to relocate. |
select | Yes |
| Have you ever been employed by or performed services for Ginkgo Bioworks Inc., a current subsidiary of Ginkgo Bioworks or a company acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks? Yes, No |
select | Yes |
| Including your current position, have you ever been employed by the U.S. Federal Government, a contractor (including subsidiaries, parents, and affiliates) that performed work for the U.S. Federal Government, served in the Military, and/or were a Political Appointee? No, Yes, Employed by the U.S. Federal Government, Yes, Served in the Military, Yes, Political Appointee, Yes, Performed work for the U.S. Federal Government |
multiselect | Yes |
| Do you have any relatives that are currently employed by the Federal Government, a contractor (including subsidiaries, parents, and affiliates) that performs work for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (or any of its sub-agencies, including CDC, for example) or the U.S. Department of Defense (or any of its sub-agencies), serves in the Military, and/or is a Political Appointee? No, Yes, Employed by the Federal Government, Yes, Performs work for the US Dept of Health and Human Services (or sub-agencies), Yes, Performs work for the US Dept of Defense, Yes, Serves in the Military, Yes, Political Appointee |
multiselect | Yes |
| Salary Expectations | text | No |
What it's really asking about
Grouped by what each question is for, so you can prepare the answers that repeat across employers.
| Topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| How you heard of them | 2 |
| Security clearance | 2 |
| Other | 1 |
| Remote or on-site | 1 |
| Salary expectations | 1 |
| Visa sponsorship | 1 |
What other employers ask
The same question rarely comes out the same way twice. These employers' forms are measured the same way, from their own job boards:
Bringg · Bybit · C3 Ai Ascend Internship Program Summer 2027 · Calendly · Carbon Direct · Carbonchain
Before you apply
Have the answers to the required questions ready before you open the form — Ginkgo Bioworks Inc.'s asks for 5 of them, and Greenhouse does not save a partial application by default. Settle the eligibility questions first — they are the ones with no room to elaborate, so knowing your answer before you start tells you whether the rest of the form is worth your time.