Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Reviews
90% would recommend to a friend
(1394 total reviews)
Kimberly S. Budil
95% approve of CEO
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Found 1,394 of over 2K reviews
Updated Nov 21, 2023
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What people are saying about Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "Great people on my team who loved being in each other's company (even played board games together during breaks)." (in 165 reviews)
- "As with other reviews, it does seem like there are too many managers to just mange a few." (in 21 reviews)
- "Facilities and infrastructure are old and aging; Support systems aren't resources appropriately to support the needs of a growing laboratory; technology in non" (in 15 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and is not affected by filters.
- 5.0Nov 20, 2023Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 8 yearsLivermore, CA
Pros
Work/LIFE balance is possible as a mother of 3 and a professional I struggle to find a balance but my job here helps me to be there for my kids and contribute to the Lab's mission.
Cons
Telecommuting is still somewhat normal in a post-covid environment, however, there isn't total buy in from every department across the Lab
- 5.0Oct 28, 2023Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee
Pros
Genuinely nice people. Everywhere. It will take you a long long time to meet a genuine jerk there. In fact, I have yet to meet one at all. Low key but mission driven. Everyone has a sense of purpose, but an abundant sense of work life balance while pursuing it. The healthiest and most positive working environment I have had in my professional life. People come here for the reputation of the lab and stay because they’re just… happy.
Cons
Pays less than other tech firms in the area. But this is balanced out by better job stability and much less stress in the corporate environment. Maybe you won’t get the new Tesla with your salary, but you’ll be spiritually and physically much happier driving to your sensible working hours at the lab in your Prius. I promise.
- 3.0Nov 21, 2023ESH ProfessionalCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearLivermore, CA
Pros
The biggest pro of working here is the people (your coworkers). Interesting projects and work too. Opportunities to learn often.
Cons
Management is out of touch. No accountability.
- 5.0Oct 15, 2023Staff Scientist IICurrent Employee, more than 3 yearsLivermore, CA
Pros
When projects, vision and mission are led by those with PhDs in physics, math and engineering, it makes life as a scientist better. Without the burden of quarterly earning calls, I felt like the work done at Livermore was very high quality.
Cons
My personal preference is for a faster pace, more progressive (technologically) environment. I completely understand why the working environment is siloed from the rest of the world (for good reason), but sometimes I felt like colleagues and staff in general were oblivious to new and upcoming methods. I felt like I was suffocating in a bubble.
- 1.0Oct 11, 2023Postdoctoral ResearcherCurrent Employee, more than 1 year
Pros
The 9/80 schedule is fantastic. The 401k matching and healthcare benefits are good.
Cons
- The vast majority of the work at LLNL is related to weapons, and the projects are honestly pretty mundane. Management misleads potential hires to believe that they could work on cutting edge fundamental science, but nearly all of the funding is for weapons. - Publishing is extremely difficult because you can't really publish on on nuclear-related projects, plus lots of red tape. It's clear that management does not care about publishing. As a postdoc, that is unfair when the sole requirement to get promoted to a staff scientist is publishing two papers. - The culture, or lack thereof, is terrible. LLNL is not a collaborative place to work at all! Most employees are mediocre and try to get other people to do their work for them while taking credit. - There is too much reliance on WebEx calls. Nobody uses cameras on WebEx, and there are very few in person meetings. In two years, I barely met any of my coworkers in person, which is depressing.
- 5.0Nov 14, 2023Computer ProgrammerFormer Employee, more than 10 yearsLivermore, CA
Pros
Work on projects that matter to the nation and the world.
Cons
Cost of housing in Livermore requires many to have to commute.
- 5.0Nov 14, 2023Administrative AssistantCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearOakbrook Terrace, IL
Pros
Great team Nice environment Courteous workers
Cons
Work alone A lot of hands on tasks
- 4.0Nov 13, 2023ESH TechnicianCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsLivermore, CA
Pros
The people are good and really helpful. Almost everyone only want to help you succeed and advance in your career.
Cons
Pay is higher than average but cost of living takes away all benefits of high pay.
- 5.0Nov 3, 2023Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, less than 1 year
Pros
Good wlb and nice/understanding employees.
Cons
Some offices can be on the older side.
- 4.0Oct 13, 2023Computer ScientistCurrent Employee, more than 10 yearsLivermore, CA
Pros
Exiting projects that make an impact, opportunities to work in cutting-edge fields.
Cons
* Fully remote work requires many approvals, there is a supposed space shortage so why require us to come onsite if we can do our work remotely? * Line management organizations don't find you new projects when you need them, poor communication between them and "program organizations" that fund the work * IT could use help, deployed systems can be glitchy due to images loaded with security features, expect time you can't work due to IT issues
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Reviews FAQs
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5, based on over 1,651 reviews left anonymously by employees. 90% of employees would recommend working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to a friend and 87% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.
90% of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 4.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.3 for culture and values and 4.4 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to be benefits, coworkers, career development and the cons to be culture, management.
