Is Brookhaven National Laboratory a good company to work for?

Brookhaven National Laboratory has an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5, based on over 418 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has increased by 3% over the last 12 months. 76% of employees would recommend working at Brookhaven National Laboratory to a friend and 61% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Brookhaven National Laboratory have been left by employees working as Intern , Research Assistant and Postdoctoral Research Associate .

Does Brookhaven National Laboratory pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Brookhaven National Laboratory employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Brookhaven National Laboratory?

76% of Brookhaven National Laboratory employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Brookhaven National Laboratory 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Brookhaven National Laboratory?

Research Associate (34) , Postdoctoral Research Associate (20) , Research Assistant (17) , Intern (14) , SULI Intern (8) , Summer Intern (7) , Engineer (6) , Research Intern (5) , Research Scientist (5) , Scientist (5) , Advanced Applications Engineer (4) , Graduate Research Assistant (4) , Internship (4) , Physicist (4) , Post Doc (4)

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

"Great people to work with" ((in 45 reviews)); "Very easy going atmosphere and good benefits" ((in 19 reviews)); "Good work life balance and have a lot of nice people." ((in 15 reviews)); "good research environment and colleagues" ((in 10 reviews)); "Flexible hours" ((in 7 reviews))

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

"Pay is low for SULI interns" ((in 15 reviews)); "low salary and many requirement" ((in 9 reviews)); "I had a bad manager and it took away from the research and made the experience more stressful then it needed to be." ((in 8 reviews)); "Morale has declined terribly from historically quite positive levels, as emphasis on work for others and programmatic 'facilities management' have overrun encouragement for (historically, quite successful) independent research." ((in 4 reviews)); "Not many training programs related to the work you do." ((in 3 reviews))

What are employees saying about Brookhaven National Laboratory layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Brookhaven National Laboratory locations?

Upton , New York , Brookhaven , Ridge , Stony Brook , Middle Island , Yaphank , Troy , Bayport , Brooklyn , Farmingville , Howard Beach , Islip , Long Island City , Mastic , Mastic Beach , North Babylon , Shirley , Southport , Richmond , Cambridge , Upton , Millsboro , Branchburg , Mountain Brook , Setauket , Long Island-Queens

Brookhaven National Laboratory reviews

3.9

76% would recommend to a friend

(319 total reviews)

JoAnne Hewett

93% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (319 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Brookhaven National Laboratory has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 319 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Brookhaven National 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

319 reviews

5.0

Dec 10, 2013

Positive work environment, appreciative management, and exciting science happening all the time.

Administrative

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Important mission with profound global impacts; colleagues are some of the smartest people on the planet; large campus filled with wildlife; responsive management

Cons

The biggest con is the Lab's location: in the middle of Long Island. Very little culture or amenities in the surrounding area.

5.0

Dec 4, 2013

Great!

Research assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

great learning experience - lots of amazing faculty

Cons

only one dining area with unusual hours. cafeteria in medical department only has a fridge, microwave and vending machine...

3.0

Nov 29, 2013

Brookhaven (BNL) is great workplace - employment reliability is a challenge

Physics associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

relaxed workplace where people are working on projects they enjoy. Most employees are happy to share information to support a coworker and will take time out of their busiest day to help out. The pay is reasonable for the cost of living.

Cons

Everyone is attached to decisions in Washington D.C. Lab employees are contractors to the federal government and don't collect back pay when the government shuts down. Furloughs and permanent terminations are in progress. No one can predict who will have a job in January or March 2014.

Viewing 283 - 285 of 319 Reviews

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Jobs at Brookhaven National Laboratory

Postdoctoral Research Associate - Embodied AI Lab Automation: Vision-Guided Real Time Robotic Manipulation

Engineer– Embodied AI Lab Automation: Vision-Guided Real Time Robotic Manipulation

Group Manager - Enterprise Applications

Research Specialist - Artificial Intelligence