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 3.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. This rating has decreased by 5% 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 4.4 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.1 for culture and values and 4.0 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 105 reviews)); "Great Benefits and I love contributing to what the Laboratory does" ((in 84 reviews)); "Great team and culture." ((in 21 reviews)); "Excellent opportunities to learn on impactful projects." ((in 16 reviews)); "Great coworkers and staff who are mostly generous with their time and talent" ((in 15 reviews))

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

"i.e. pay was low." ((in 27 reviews)); "5%) Annual Salary." ((in 21 reviews)); "Possibilities of managers who aren't great at running projects leading to alot of frustrating days" ((in 8 reviews)); "Extra time commitments (extra hours and travel) are demanded without any compensation or warning." ((in 7 reviews)); "Flat management structure so promotions are few and far in between" ((in 6 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

3.0

Mar 10, 2015

This review applies to careers in the service departments that support the technical staff.

Analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits, work-life balance. Most jobs will allow you to make use of the tuition reimbursement ($5250/year). Defined benefit plan in addition to 401K. Formal mentoring programs, generally genuinely good-natured people to work with, however, talent level can greatly vary. Good job security.

Cons

Minimal yearly raises, minimal opportunities for bonuses and minimal opportunities for growth. You need to take career development into your own hands. Slow work pace - takes two weeks to accomplish a task that would take two days in the business world. Oversight and governance can be suffocating at times.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Response

10y

Your comments are appreciated. We do have to work within a sometimes complex framework of governance that serves a good purpose but can add effort to some aspects of the workday. When possible, we work to streamline as much as possible while still meeting requirements. There are aspects that apply to working on government projects that may not apply to industry.

5.0

Mar 2, 2015

Everyone is very laid back and will help you through whatever you need to get done.

Systems administrator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You will learn while you get work done Not too many hardcore deadlines

Cons

If you don't know how to communicate or ask questions, you may not do too well.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Response

11y

We are pleased that you are finding the Lab to be a supportive environment. Communication skills are highly valued here and will definitely help. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

1.0

Feb 20, 2015

Great Image Associated with MIT, but...

Technical staff member

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I chose MIT LL over various other opportunities due to the misleading shining image of MIT. I regretted about my selection at the first day of my job. (1) Great image, employees can say, "I work at MIT ... LL" with some inner but false pride. The fact is who cares:-), (2) Well, cannot think of anything else.

Cons

A lot, let me enumerate: (1) Poor management who enjoy criticizing/ranking people for their own ego, (2) Looks down upon other similar FFRDC like MITRE, who is doing much better than MIT LL financially, (3) Bears name of research, in fact, doing the same acquisition job as other defense companies, (4) Generates superficial ego within each employees that they are better than others, (5) Group Leaders have too much power/authority to judge an employee, for some cases, employees were treated with abuse and intimidation, with nobody to turn to, (6) It is only a good place to "have been" for normal people. Note: This was just my real experience, and the experience of many of my colleagues at the time.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Response

11y

Thank you for taking the time to comment. We are sorry that you did not have a positive experience. Your insights will be taken under advisement.

Viewing 433 - 435 of 512 Reviews

Jobs at MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Business/Systems Analyst

Business/Systems Analyst