Is SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory a good company to work for?

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 405 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 76% of employees would recommend working at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to a friend and 74% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have been left by employees working as Research Associate , Intern and Staff Scientist .

Does SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory?

76% of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory?

Intern (16) , Research Associate (12) , Summer Intern (11) , Staff Scientist (10) , Staff Engineer (9) , Associate Staff Scientist (7) , Mechanical Engineer (7) , Postdoctoral Research Associate (7) , Engineer (6) , Manager (5) , Project Manager (5) , Research Assistant (5) , Software Engineer (5) , (4) , Engineering Physicist (4)

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

"great for people who can take initiative" ((in 61 reviews)); "It has several good benefits" ((in 32 reviews)); "work life balance is good" ((in 19 reviews)); "Friendly coworkers." ((in 10 reviews)); "A nice place to work using the cutting edge synchrontron techniques; smart colleagues; relative good work" ((in 9 reviews))

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

"short of budget; politics, bad management" ((in 22 reviews)); "This can be due in part to the low salary offered for these non" ((in 11 reviews)); "Low pay for software developers." ((in 10 reviews)); "based layoffs." ((in 7 reviews)); "capable executive managers who surround themselves with incompetent people in order to support personal agendas, and not the customer." ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory locations?

Menlo Park , Palo Alto , Stanford , San Francisco , San Jose , New York , Oxford , Los Angeles , Carlsbad , Livermore , Pleasanton , San Mateo , Los Altos , Sunnyvale , Santa Rosa , Menlo , West Menlo Park

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory reviews

4.0

76% would recommend to a friend

(318 total reviews)

John Sarrao

77% approve of CEO

74% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (318 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 318 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The SLAC National Accelerator 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

318 reviews

4.0

Mar 17, 2017

Facilities and Operations

Facilities technician

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great location and surroundings, excellent benefits including children's tuition grant (50% of Stanford University's tuition), great training programs & opportunities. Clear vision and goals from Directors.

Cons

Funded by DOE which can be stressful at times regarding Government budgets, every few years new management comes in and tries to reinvent the wheel.

2.0

Mar 12, 2017

SLAC Cowboys still rule here

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great location. Solid benefits. Good job security. Interesting work. You can do some cutting edge science here. Technical execution and experimental support are world class.

Cons

Management has generally been promoted from hard driving scientists, engineers and technicians who have close to zero people skill. A macho, bullying, cowboy attitude still prevails. Slim advancement opportunities since many here are lifetime SLACers. A friend once told me that SLAC is a place careers go to die, so don't stay too long.

4.0

Feb 28, 2017

Engineer

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Most meaningful engineering work I've ever done

Cons

management could be more effective

Viewing 205 - 207 of 318 Reviews

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Jobs at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Entry-Level Scientist (Q-NEXT)

Intern - Transmission X-ray Microscopy, SSRL

X-ray Spectroscopy Support Engineer

Intern - Microelectronics Algorithms, Software Scaling

Venture Operations Associate