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MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Part of MIT

Engaged employer

Incompetent Group Management & Old Boy Network; Good Technical Staff - Technical Staff MIT Lincoln Laboratory Employee Review

2.0
4 Feb 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The Technical Staff Members are a good group of people; smart, hard-working, dedicated. The work can also be interesting. It's also good to have close ties with MIT campus

Cons

Group Leaders are pretty ineffective and lack any real knowledge of what the Technical Staff in their group are doing, how hard the staff work or who is really making the main contributions. The problem is that Group Leaders evaluate the technical staff without trying to understand what the staff have accomplished & all the effort staff put in. And if you get an undeserved sub-par evaluation from an Assistant Group Leader, don't expect the (full) Group Leader to do anything to rectify the situation even if he/she knows the evaluation you've received isn't a fair assessment of contributions. Group Leaders seem to protect other Group Leaders but don't look out or the Staff.

Explore other reviews about MIT Lincoln Laboratory

5.0
3 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It can vary a lot from group to group, but in general, wonderful place with wonderful people and lots of interesting work going on. Excellent benefits and lots of flexibility to explore different projects.

Cons

Little opportunity for advancement in terms of rank and compensation once you reach technical staff. Additionally (again varies from group to group) expectations of what a staff member does can be unclear and there can be a light sink-or-swim nature to the work, again depending on the group you're in.

4.0
17 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Worked with some of the smartest people I’ve ever known. Great opportunities to learn from your coworkers and an atmosphere that encourages learning, including a well-run technical education program. Fabulous support staff and technicians that can get seemingly impossible things done quickly. Great resources and lab spaces (if a bit dated). The nature of the work encourages good work/life balance. Fantastic benefits (though the pay is low).

Cons

No/limited opportunities for advancement makes this a hard place to work mid-career. Good engineers are promoted to be mediocre managers. Every program is under-funded, under-staffed, and over schedule. Bad managers are shuffled around but rarely fired.

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