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      MIT Lincoln Laboratory

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      MIT Lincoln Laboratory reviews

      Great if you're a patriotic engineer that values stability and family time over pure career advancement - Assistant Technical Staff MIT Lincoln Laboratory Employee Review

      4.0
      Nov 20, 2016
      Assistant technical staff
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      - A lot smart, talented people work here. - There are some very exciting projects to work on. - Good benefits. - Excellent work-life balance. Very few other tech companies respect your time as much. - Job security. People work here for decades, unusual in tech. - You get the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing your work is helping your nation and your world.

      Cons

      - Advancement is largely determined by what degree you have. If you have a bachelor's degree, don't expect to be promoted even if you work here for years. - Pay is less than at other tech companies. It's a government contractor, so that's to be expected. - Relying on government funding is very frustrating. Great projects die because the government is afraid to invest. - Security is important and necessary, but it can put up frustrating barriers at times. For example, a software tool we use happens to be developed in a foreign country. When we invited one of the developers to give us training, he wasn't able to touch any computers while he was here.

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      MIT Lincoln Laboratory Response
      9y
      Thank you for taking the time to comment. We actively review compensation and continue to seek improvement. As a Federally Funded Research and Development Center we are able to pay competitively but we do have to meet guidelines that are not common in industry. Overall, we find that our most successful employees are motivated more by the ability to contribute to national security than compensation. That being said, our employees enjoy a competitive salary structure and a strong total compensation package.

      Explore other reviews about MIT Lincoln Laboratory

      5.0
      Jun 3, 2026
      Member of technical staff
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      It can vary a lot from group to group, but in general, wonderful place with wonderful people and lots of interesting work going on. Excellent benefits and lots of flexibility to explore different projects.

      Cons

      Little opportunity for advancement in terms of rank and compensation once you reach technical staff. Additionally (again varies from group to group) expectations of what a staff member does can be unclear and there can be a light sink-or-swim nature to the work, again depending on the group you're in.

      4.0
      Jun 17, 2026
      Member of technical staff
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Worked with some of the smartest people I’ve ever known. Great opportunities to learn from your coworkers and an atmosphere that encourages learning, including a well-run technical education program. Fabulous support staff and technicians that can get seemingly impossible things done quickly. Great resources and lab spaces (if a bit dated). The nature of the work encourages good work/life balance. Fantastic benefits (though the pay is low).

      Cons

      No/limited opportunities for advancement makes this a hard place to work mid-career. Good engineers are promoted to be mediocre managers. Every program is under-funded, under-staffed, and over schedule. Bad managers are shuffled around but rarely fired.

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