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 59 reviews)); "It has several good benefits" ((in 30 reviews)); "Friendly coworkers." ((in 10 reviews)); "A nice place to work using the cutting edge synchrontron techniques; smart colleagues; relative good work" ((in 9 reviews)); "Very good mentorship and research exposure" ((in 5 reviews))

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

"short of budget; politics, bad management" ((in 22 reviews)); "Low pay for software developers." ((in 10 reviews)); "This can be due in part to the low salary offered for these non" ((in 10 reviews)); "But the leadership of the lab are a disorganized mess." ((in 8 reviews)); "capable executive managers who surround themselves with incompetent people in order to support personal agendas, and not the customer." ((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

Jul 20, 2023

Great environment to work

Systems safety engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-Intelligent coworkers -Great work/life balance -Flexible work schedule -Lots of vacation and holidays -Great insurance benefits and 401k -Great benefits in general -Affiliation with Stanford University

Cons

-Pay is on the lower side

5.0

Jul 5, 2023

Best place to work in the US

Research associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing Science, unique instruments, Collaborative international environment, grand challenges, and professional growth.

Cons

Living in the Bay Area is very expensive and affordable housing under current salaries at this level housing is a huge challenge.

5.0

Jun 10, 2023

A great place to work

Postdoctoral researcher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

A great team to work with. Everyone is passionate about what they do and truly collaborative.

Cons

Work can take longer than it should due to competing project priorities.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Response

3y

Thank you so much for your review. SLAC attracts curious minds and people who are passionate about advancing knowledge through science. Our employees love to work together to solve problems and advance the lab’s mission - we are so glad that your team also fosters those values. It can be a challenge when there are so many interesting and diverse projects to work on - we hope you are having conversations with your supervisor to help prioritize your work and adjust timeline expectations.

Viewing 52 - 54 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