Los Alamos National Laboratory Employer Reviews

Management inconsistent with employee development, job expectations, working hours, constantly changing organizational structure and job duties, mainly in response to crisis situations arising from audit findings and/or budget cuts. Many unpaid overtime hours required of salaried staff.

Security and safety mandates sometimes at cross-purposes with – more... each other and always with project goals and budget constraints. High level security requirements mean extensive background checks and daily commitment to clean living, attention to detail, dedication to nation's welfare and constantly at beck and call at all hours. Sacrifices are expected and made.

Audits and budgets are problematic because many facilities here are antique and well past their lifetime, especially any building associated with nuclear materials. No facility has been successfully built for substantial quantities of nuclear material for the past 35 years, largely due to Congress' gross inability to recognize this need and fund one, but also due to poor planning and ever-escalating estimates. This place is highly political.

I worked at the group with the highest level of disablity-retired employees due to stress-related illnesses. Our positions were so critical, we were denied any of the voluntary RIF separation packages when downsizing. Yet we were understaffed, overworked, underpaid, under-appreciated and badly used. Upper level management's not interested in exit interviews. A lot of lip service paid here.

Work achievements sometimes recognized but politically backfire in regards to co-worker interactions and/or loss of job position.

Just be sure to get a Scientist or R&D position, nothing lower, and stay away from engineering, project management, quality assurance, nuclear safeguards, or accounting divisions. If you're in any kind of supporting position, you feel the crunch - constantly. Support positions are all about taking care of problems behind the scenes, letting the technical folks shine and be unbothered by trivia.

Also be sure to negotiate highest salary upon job offer as raises are inconsistent over time and across employee/division/job position lines. And it's difficult to ascertain salaries to assure equitable distributions are made. The Lab has lost 2 past court cases where they were found to pay women lower across the board as compared to men. The gender gap is alive and well here.

Work/life issues/parental leave/part-time hours with respect to family are regarded as women's issue only and is expected and supported, as long as you're female. For males, such career limitations are not tolerated and have led to job loss. And although grievance process is fair and equitable, in the event of the Lab proven to be in the wrong, no power may reinstate an unfairly fired employee. (And black-balling said employees from re-hire is alive and well, in many more than our case in point.)

Some managers great, others not. Your job security and overall satisfaction depend on them. Recognize that and suck up accordingly.

Also be sure any FMLA leave is accurate - HR has miscalculated employee hours, wrongly denying FMLA requests, whereupon managers have immediately demoted employees while they're proven to be, and supposedly protected under, legal FMLA. Of course job security at that point is nil. This is a separate employee from above case. Again, all depends on who your manager is and how well they think of you, regardless of your performance or how highly it was last rated (even by them!)

Good luck and happy job hunting! – less

I worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory for ten years. I enjoyed the majority of the people I worked with during my time at the Laboratory. My only issue with the Laboratory was the nepotism was beyond control.
There were many hard workers, but there were many others who lied, and cheated on their time and stole personal property and nothing – more... was ever done. – less

If you are into science, research and development, this place has plenty of resources and opportunity. Do not work here if you are working on developing your leadership and management skills. The pay is generous, the facilities might not be what you had in mind, in terms of a nice cozy office, and fancy lobby areas. Nope. Not here.

Lots of reading and research. There were some calculations. The working environment is calm and relaxing.

The research atmosphere here is good, but management sometimes puts too much obstacles and slows down the progress.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is a premier national security research institution, delivering scientific and engineering solutions for the nation's most crucial and complex problems. Our primary responsibility is ensuring the safety, security, and reliability of the nation's nuclear deterrent.

The Los Alamos of today emphasizes worker safety, effective – more... operational safeguards & security, and environmental stewardship, while outstanding science remains the foundation of the Laboratory.

In addition to supporting the Lab's core national security mission, our work advances bioscience, chemistry, computer science, earth and environmental sciences, materials science, and physics disciplines.

Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel play leading roles worldwide in basic and applied scientific research and technology. Whether it's conducting crucial experiments in space and at our linear accelerator in Northern New Mexico or developing breakthroughs in nanotechnology and determining how best to prevent the spread of
HIV and avian flu, the men and women of Los Alamos help lead the way.

Lab R&D helps curb a wide variety of threats to U.S. interests—whether it's the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the spread of deadly diseases, inadequate supplies of energy, or the effects of climate change. – less

The Lab is a great place to work. The pay and benefits are better than average. The work is challenging and fun. There are some chiefdom's among the long-term staff; which can be bureaucratic at times and frustrating. Job security is varied based upon the type of position hired on to perform. The advancement is not as good as it used to be. There is – more... no life and no young people; not a place for singles. The lack of restaurants and culture is depressing. – less

A typical work day starts with a 7:15 am plan of the day meeting, followed by another 8:00 am Construction Management Meeting. Extensive Calendar Management, and assisting Program Managers throughout the day.

I had a great time working at LANL. The people you meet and work with make the entire experience unforgettable. Everyone is willing to help you gain knowledge and insight to problems and help you find solutions to solving them. FANTASTIC work environment with very hard working, helpful, and smart people.

Over the past thirty (30) years I have conducted quality assurance audits, surveillances, assessments and oversight of safety-related and risk managed practices and developed quality assurance plans and procedures. I have been certified as Lead Auditor since 1989 in accordance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) N45.2.23 and American Society – more... of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) NQA-1. – less

Great attention is taken for each employee regardless of rank. Superb environment.

Typical work day is fast paced with ever changing demands. I could not write all the things that I have learned but an example would be how to write parallel programs. Most mangers are awesome. I work with some of the most brilliant minds in the world. Hardest part of the job is staying on top of technology while remaining grounded with still in production – more... technology. The ability to challenge myself to greatness. – less

I get great satisfaction cleaning up and reclaiming land that was of no use to the general public and returning the land to the people of that cty, state.

Very relaxed atmosphere which encourages collaborative free-thinking work.

Perfect place if you want to do independent research and it is a heaven for outdoor activity lover.

Loved all of my assignments and various co-workers. Each assignment added new and exciting abilities for me.

I really enjoyed the Lab. It is a great work environment, but it is hard to become staff if you come in as a student.

Great atsmsophere, friendly staff, the weather and location was the hardest to adapt too.