Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Reviews

Pros

Although the onboarding process can be overwhelming due to the sheer volume of information to digest, the process is streamlined and easy to navigate.

Cons

A lot of trainings to go through

Pros

- The technology is fascinating you are truly working on the bleeding edge of hardware and technology within the HPC space. - The teams are world class my managers are great to work with and co workers are some of the most knowledgeable and expert in their respective field. - Very flexible work schedule, I set my own hours and have every other Friday off. - A research based environment. If you want to become an expert in your field this is a great place to get some truly incredible experience.

Cons

- Lower overall compensation to the rest of the bay area. The lab continually has issues getting approval from the government to increase pay to the appropriate levels. - They claim to match industry compensation but that only accounts for base salary. Other forms of compensation / equity are not accounted for in these compensation packages. - Compensation increases across the whole workforce to match inflation lag behind a year because it takes a full year for inflation / market analysis to be conducted. - The lower compensation makes it hard for the lab to retain talent, especially early career talent. It seems like most people have either worked at the lab for 15-20+ years or less than 4-5. Very little in-between. - Not all work can be remote there is a lot of work the requires you to be on site even is you are in a software development position. - Slow promotion process. You can be working at the skill level of the next major promotion level for several years before being reclassified into that new level.

Pros

The safety culture is very impressive. The general culture at the lab is also very welcoming and friendly. The lab encourages learning and provides opportunities for continued education (both formal and technical).

Cons

The pay needs to increase to reflect the high cost of living in the area. Additionally there is no hazard pay unlike other DOE labs (LANL for example). There is no pension plan at this laboratory unlike other DOE sites (NNSS for example).

Pros

I wanted to work at LLNL for years as I believe in the work being done at the Lab is vitally important to science, technology, energy and national security. It's basically a diverse University environment with a feel of family and community. The campus is beautiful and offers walking trails and plenty of wildlife. Great people, plenty of training and development, and significant improvements being made in infrastructure (new buildings). I felt welcomed from the start and continue to enjoy working with the many talented people at the Lab. Management is very supportive and embraces a strong work-life balance in a hybrid environment.

Cons

Being a government entity, there's a bit of bureaucracy to deal with. You'll need to have patience as some things tend to move slowly compared to companies on the outside. Salaries are highly competitive with the local area, but there are no bonuses. The relocation package has room for improvement.

Pros

- Flexible work schedule that many people take advantage of

Cons

-Bureaucracy and red tape, practically need approval to breath. Things move very slowly here and timelines are rarely met. -No room for advancement if you don't have a PhD. You basically get blocked after SES2 unless you spent ~10 years at the lab. -Confusing management system that is not well explained to employees -Inaccurate job descriptions in their postings in order to get people to apply. Was hired in as an engineer, which required a masters degree, and basically have become a glorified part chaser. Majority of my day is spent doing mindless activities like emails asking for status updates. -It is clear most people come here to basically retire but still get paid. No one ever gets fired so performance is subpar.

Pros

This is a great place to work at. I have been here for the last five years. It has well managed system, great stability, and very high flexibility. Workload may differ by jobs and project specifics, but people are in general not under noticeable stress. Project leaders often provide much flexibility within budget. They would be happy to invest in your growth, and will be impressed if you take the initiative and yield a nice result. Lots of internal funding opportunities, with supporting coursework in place, though it may be pretty competitive. They care about employee engagement, encouraging out-of-box thinking infused into their program. The management system makes sense to me. The director and higher rank managers in general, are considerate over what other employees think.

Cons

There are some practical challenges. If you plan to buy a house in this Bay Area as a single income breadwinner, that will probably face some challenges. Other neighbors in silicon valley companies occasionally receive stock compensation, which help them to save seed money for downpayment, but this lab does not offer such one time bonuses. Still, I find it nice to keep it predictable. If you are a manager of a project, lacking of financial incentives can be a challenge as well, because you can not offer strong financial motivation to your team member.

Pros

This is the best job I've ever had. There are a couple of minor issues, but nothing that would keep me from applying again. They offer financial assistance for getting degrees, I've never had vacation turned down, and there hasn't been any screaming at coworkers. I've seen my bosses be as fair as they can be. I appreciate the opportunities I've had here.

Cons

You cannot live nearby in a house on the salary they offer for this position. Most people live in Tracy or farther, so expect a long commute. Employees frequently leave for other employers for pay, even with the great quality of life. In my particular area of the lab, there isn't much room for advancement. You have to wait for someone to retire. Pay is based on your position, not so much on your performance.

Pros

I've been working here for about three years know and it has been a good experience. I started out as an intern and lucky enough to move to a full time position. For my field, my managers have been great. I've been able to learn a lot, and although fairly new to my field, I've been treated as an equal in knowledge with my team. Everyone I've met at the lab have also been friendly. Very much get the feeling that once you land a position here, it's one you want to keep. The salary is good and the 401k and other benefits have been good compared to other places to work.

Cons

Because it's a government related business, bureaucracy obviously is a part of a lot of decisions that get made and how the lab operates. It can be frustrating at times, but it hasn't been a major con for me here. As with other reviews, it does seem like there are too many managers to just mange a few. Doesn't make much sense there.

Pros

Consistent schedule and pay, will pay for education if it applies to your job

Cons

In short: racism, sexism, and a lack of general compassion lead the ranks here. In my time, these are things I have experienced: - Lack of communication from HR to supervisors - Lack of understanding of knowledge of jobs and required duties - Lack of direction - Lack of support with tools to complete duties as assigned - Lack of policy knowledge - Little to no teamwork - it's all about who can put the best work performance bullets on their appraisals as raises are directly against your coworkers - Incompetency with paperwork - Lack of compassion for subordinates with medical issues, disabilities, etc. - If you are a minority, do not expect leadership to have your back. Even if your immediate leadership does, there are more middle managers looking to micromanage and push you out. Prepare to be rudely spoken to or being treated in a condescending manner even if you have more experience in the field. - If you are hourly, you will be expected to work like you make salary money but won't be able to live near work comfortably. - Remote work is barely supported unless you are upper management or in IT - Human Resources will do the bare minimum to help or support you - Nepotism runs rampant: Friends and family will take priority over people with qualifications - There is always extra work for hourly workers that salary people expect to be excluded from - Salaried jobs are higher in respect and ranking despite equal if not more contributions to the overall mission success by hourly workers - If you work in Environmental Safety and Health expect to be in the same job position/title for the duration of your career. There are few chances to move up or horizontally especially if you don't make friends with the right people. - Demographics are very telling.

Pros

My team is great; easy going and dedicated to getting the work done. I've never felt strife on the team or within my chain of command. All employees and managers have a life outside of work and treat you with equal respect. I own my work products and am given latitude to accomplish the work in accordance with my expertise.

Cons

No performance bonuses. Several health insurance options that are okay, but none are great. Time off (PTO and sick) is very low for late career hires which is unattractive for recruiting and retaining experienced hires.