Is MIT Lincoln Laboratory a good company to work for?

MIT Lincoln Laboratory has an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5, based on over 766 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 4% over the last 12 months. 96% of employees would recommend working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory to a friend and 86% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about MIT Lincoln Laboratory have been left by employees working as Summer Research Intern , Research Intern and Summer Intern .

Does MIT Lincoln Laboratory pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, MIT Lincoln Laboratory employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. This rating has decreased by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory?

96% of MIT Lincoln Laboratory employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated MIT Lincoln Laboratory 4.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.1 for culture and values and 3.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at MIT Lincoln Laboratory?

Member Of Technical Staff (37) , Technical Staff (35) , Assistant Staff (32) , Intern (31) , Associate Staff (26) , Summer Research Intern (25) , Software Engineer (23) , Summer Intern (19) , Associate Technical Staff (18) , Research Intern (14) , Assistant Technical Staff (11) , Engineer (11) , Subcontractor (9) , Administrative Assistant (8) , Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) (8)

What are the pros of working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory according to real employee reviews?

"People that I worked with were great except for some individual from my own team." ((in 100 reviews)); "Great benefits and overall great time as an intern!" ((in 84 reviews)); "Great benefits and culture." ((in 19 reviews)); "Overall really great staff to work with." ((in 15 reviews)); "My experience there was phenomenal, I got to work with so many great students along with my great colleagues." ((in 15 reviews))

What are the cons of working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory according to real employee reviews?

"i.e. pay was low." ((in 28 reviews)); "Salaries are not competitive with industry and raise structure does not provide monetary incentives for performance." ((in 23 reviews)); "Possibilities of managers who aren't great at running projects leading to alot of frustrating days" ((in 8 reviews)); "Flat management structure so promotions are few and far in between" ((in 7 reviews)); "Compensation is ~20% below market (including no equity nor bonuses)." ((in 7 reviews))

What are employees saying about MIT Lincoln Laboratory layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed MIT Lincoln Laboratory locations?

Lexington , Boston , Cambridge , Bedford , Hanscom AFB , Lincoln , Westford , Huntsville , Chicago , Rochester , La Porte , Minneapolis , West Hollywood , Mont Vernon , Colorado Springs , Beverly , Burlington , Lowell , Medford , Tewksbury , Waltham

MIT Lincoln Laboratory reviews

4.4

96% would recommend to a friend

(512 total reviews)

Eric Evans

98% approve of CEO

86% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (512 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

MIT Lincoln Laboratory has an employee rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 512 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The MIT Lincoln Laboratory employee rating is 21% above average for employers within the Aerospace & Defense industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

512 reviews

4.0

Aug 13, 2016

Assistant Technical Staff

Assistant technical staff

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Lincoln is truly invested in the happiness of its employees. The culture varies a lot group to group, but overall is good for work-life balance. Lincoln is particularly invested in helping its employees with long-term career goals, especially furthering their education. Lincoln is a great opportunity to do academic-style research, with group leaders dealing with funding and sponsors so you don't have to so much.

Cons

Working for the government, and especially defense, can mean wading through a lot of bureaucracy and protocols for things that seem like they should be quick.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Response

9y

Thank you for taking the time to review your experience at Lincoln Laboratory. It hope that you have benefited from the focus on education. As you have seen, the funding mechanism at an FFRDC is is somewhat different but is also advantageous to most employees. Working for the DOD can create a layer of extra considerations but overall it is well documented and readily navigable. For those instances where you get stuck, we have plenty of experts available for guidance. Thank you again.

4.0

Jul 18, 2016

The good, the bad and the ugly

Technical staff

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

THE GOOD: Most of the technical staff are very bright and extremely approachable. The projects are challenging and you will seldom do the same thing twice. There are many ways to get innovative work funded, internally and externally. Overall, the place is a meritocracy - not a perfect one (there is some luck involved) but the leadership is there because they earned it.

Cons

THE BAD: there is a lot of "Mother may I?" CYA bureaucracy at Lincoln. You will have far more responsibility than authority - expect to run a gauntlet of purchasing people more concerned about audits than schedule, ITAR police convinced that every university is a hotbed for the KGB, Mission Assurance (known locally as Mission Deterrence) and IT paranoia - Hillary wouldn't last a day here. No, wait - she would. She has Other People's Money (OPM). THE UGLY - three words: "OPM data breach". Lincoln protects THEIR information, not YOURS. And this refers to the other OPM in Washington - the Office of Personnel Management.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Response

9y

We are pleased that you have seen the good in Lincoln Laboratory. As you have said, we are not perfect- we continue to try to improve. The OPM breach has been an unfortunate experience for the Lab and many other organizations in the DOD world. As in other aspects of the enterprise, we continue to work on improvement. As OPM is independent of Lincoln Laboratory, we cannot speak for them but it is certain that they take security seriously. We appreciate the overall positive nature of your comments.

4.0

Jun 14, 2016

Great place

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

All depends on the group. Travel, ot, and great people

Cons

No benefits. Restrictions even for student who work as much as full time.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Response

9y

It is true that student employees do not participate in the full benefits program but it should be clarified that the benefits program that is offered is quite robust. The vast majority of student employees are here for a finite amount of time. Overall, we attempt to provide students with a real life experience to supplement their academics. We do provide subsidized housing and transportation during the summer. Our plans are consistent with industry and we continue to review options. Thank you for your insights.

Viewing 379 - 381 of 512 Reviews

Jobs at MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Business/Systems Analyst

Business/Systems Analyst

Summer Office Assistant | Financial Services Dept. | Summer 2026