Is SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory a good company to work for?

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 404 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 71% of employees would recommend working at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to a friend and 68% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have been left by employees working as Research Associate , Intern and Staff Scientist .

Does SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. This rating has decreased by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory?

71% of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 4.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory?

Intern (16) , Research Associate (12) , Summer Intern (11) , Staff Scientist (10) , Staff Engineer (9) , Associate Staff Scientist (7) , Mechanical Engineer (7) , Postdoctoral Research Associate (7) , Engineer (6) , Manager (5) , Project Manager (5) , Research Assistant (5) , Software Engineer (5) , (4) , Engineering Physicist (4)

What are the pros of working at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory according to real employee reviews?

"great for people who can take initiative" ((in 61 reviews)); "It has several good benefits" ((in 30 reviews)); "work life balance is good" ((in 16 reviews)); "Friendly coworkers." ((in 10 reviews)); "As part of Stanford University, the benefits are good but the pay is on the low side." ((in 10 reviews))

What are the cons of working at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory according to real employee reviews?

"short of budget; politics, bad management" ((in 23 reviews)); "This can be due in part to the low salary offered for these non" ((in 9 reviews)); "But the leadership of the lab are a disorganized mess." ((in 7 reviews)); "capable executive managers who surround themselves with incompetent people in order to support personal agendas, and not the customer." ((in 6 reviews)); "based layoffs." ((in 6 reviews))

What are employees saying about SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory layoffs and their outlook for job security at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in 2026.

What are the top reviewed SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory locations?

Menlo Park , Palo Alto , Stanford , San Francisco , San Jose , New York , Oxford , Los Angeles , Carlsbad , Livermore , Pleasanton , San Mateo , Los Altos , Sunnyvale , Santa Rosa , Menlo , West Menlo Park

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory reviews

4.0

71% would recommend to a friend

(317 total reviews)

John Sarrao

71% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (317 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 317 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government & Public Administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

317 reviews

4.0

Nov 28, 2012

Great Lab, but need better management

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great work/life balance. Interesting research.

Cons

Bloating managment personnel. The managment in the Lab was uncapable to bring down the cost for doing science. Instead they kept increasing the overhead to hire more non scientific staffs. The missed the core value of the Lab. This problem was becoming very severe during the term of the past director, Drell. Hopefully, it would be changed with the new director. High living cost in the surrounding area. When this is taken into consideration, the pay is a bit low.

3.0

Oct 26, 2012

Good and Bad Place to Work

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good projects and science. Generally good people to work with and for. You're doing something interesting and worthwhile. Good benefits and retirement plan make up for lower salaries.

Cons

Management is horrible right now, very amateurish and generally doesn't run their own show. Not just my opinion but something I've heard from other quality former employees. Focus is always on the bureaucratic processes and not on the scientific results. A number of non-scientific departments are allowed to be arbitrary, heavy handed and dictatorial. Non-PhD employees have limited advancement opportunities.

2.0

Oct 5, 2012

You are replaceable

Engineering physicist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Utterly professional. Operates at the highest level, does amazing science.

Cons

Draconian HR practices. If you're not a Scientist, you're a second-class citizen. No real sense of community; lab is very isolated.

Viewing 298 - 300 of 317 Reviews

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Jobs at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Entry-Level Scientist (Q-NEXT)

Intern - Microelectronics Algorithms, Software Scaling

Intern - Transmission X-ray Microscopy, SSRL

Intern - Microelectronics Architecture/Hardware Energy Efficiency

Venture Operations Associate