Is Institute for Defense Analyses a good company to work for?

Institute for Defense Analyses has an overall rating of 3.6 out of 5, based on over 230 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 10% over the last 12 months. 59% of employees would recommend working at Institute for Defense Analyses to a friend and 44% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Institute for Defense Analyses have been left by employees working as Summer Associate , Research Associate and Research Staff Member .

Does Institute for Defense Analyses pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Institute for Defense Analyses employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Institute for Defense Analyses. This rating has decreased by 9% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Institute for Defense Analyses?

59% of Institute for Defense Analyses employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Institute for Defense Analyses 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.2 for culture and values and 2.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Institute for Defense Analyses?

Research Staff Member (44) , Research Associate (21) , Summer Associate (14) , Research Assistant (7) , Research Analyst (4) , Researcher (4) , Senior Research Manager (4) , Computer Systems Administrator (3) , Intern (3) , Science Policy Fellow (3) , Security (3) , Analyst (2) , Data Science Fellow (2) , Data Scientist (2) , Personnel Security Specialist (2)

What are the pros of working at Institute for Defense Analyses according to real employee reviews?

"Great Benefits and PTO" ((in 28 reviews)); "I've got smart colleagues to work with." ((in 15 reviews)); "Nice people throughout the company." ((in 15 reviews)); "Great work life balance at work" ((in 11 reviews)); "Smart people, wonderful coworkers" ((in 6 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Institute for Defense Analyses according to real employee reviews?

"Pay is low." ((in 10 reviews)); "Poor management" ((in 9 reviews)); "Cons are pay scales are not transparent and upward mobility is mainly driven by educational degree." ((in 5 reviews)); "Not too many cons in my view; fairly flat management structure" ((in 3 reviews)); "Your immediate supervisor will often try to hold you back from taking on roles that help you advance." ((in 2 reviews))

What are employees saying about Institute for Defense Analyses layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Institute for Defense Analyses locations?

Alexandria , Washington , Princeton , Arlington , Bowie , New Alexandria

Institute for Defense Analyses reviews

3.6

59% would recommend to a friend

(205 total reviews)

Adm. Charles A. Richard, USN (Ret.)

100% approve of CEO

44% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

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Institute for Defense Analyses has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 205 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Institute for Defense Analyses 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

205 reviews

4.0

Jul 7, 2026

Smart colleagues and interesting projects with few downsides

Research staff member

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very smart people across a range of STEM disciplines Freedom on what you get to work on Relative lack of office politics Interesting exciting projects available

Cons

Hard to think of a con. Every place has its own flavour and IDA CCS Bowie like anywhere else, isn't for anyone. I'm not positive either way about IDA's budget/hiring situation these days, with all the stuff going on in this general space. It also can be easy to find yourself getting lost when it comes to finding a good project if you are not careful. But even that is a bit of a reach.

4.0

Jun 19, 2026

Supportive coworkers, but management misaligned with staff

Research associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Coworkers and good hr benefits

Cons

Management not in line with research staff

2.0

Apr 24, 2026

Good benefits and coworkers, but management issues persist

Research staff member

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good initial benefits package, nice coworkers.

Cons

The biggest department went through big layoff a year ago, the atmosphere changed a lot. Management kind of sucks, performance reviews are meaningless and although they are supposed to influence your pay raises, that is not true. Several of us have gotten glowing reviews but lower than average raises. If you have been here for a long time, your pay won't increase very much relative to the increase in how much they offer new employees (Unless you are one of the people cozying to management). Some long timers make just barely more than people hiring within the year.

Institute for Defense Analyses Response

2mo

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Staff feedback helps IDA continually improve as an organization. We’re happy to hear your positive feedback regarding our competitive benefits package, which includes a 10% employer contribution towards retirement, for qualifying employees. Unfortunately, we did undergo a targeted reduction in force in direct response to shifts in government priorities. We also implemented a number of difficult indirect cost reduction actions to ensure the critical analyses our sponsors demand are affordable. This resulted in merit increases that were lower than previous years during the most recent performance review cycle. Staff with questions on IDA’s compensation can find a list of frequently asked compensation questions as well as a video describing our compensation process on the Human Resources page of IDA’s intranet. Additional resources specifically regarding the performance review process are also on the intranet. We also encourage any staff with specific feedback to bring these questions and concerns to their Director or HR Business Partner so they can be addressed in a timely and productive manner.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 205 Reviews

Jobs at Institute for Defense Analyses

CCS - Security Officer (1st Shift)

Summer Associate SCAMP 2027-28 CCRP

Security Guard -- (SAN DIEGO, CA)

Senior Executive Assistant to EVP