Sandia National Laboratories

"The owners treat women like it is the 1960s. When they do have a woman who excels, they sabotage the work to allow them to "save the day" and act like a hero. It is a very dysfunctional environment."

"There is a culture of respect. There are some people there subscribing to old values, but the population is largely accepting and encouraging of flexibility."

"Find a position where a woman is the manager. Otherwise, talk to a woman on the team you're considering before accepting the position."

"I love working at Sandia, and I feel fulfilled by the mission and purpose of the work. Sandia offers a flexible schedule, a variety of career development opportunities, competitive pay, great benefits, and support/networking groups for women and parents, among others. Most of the people at the Labs are kind, incredibly intelligent, and dedicated to their work. It is a great organization to be a part of. "

"Sandia is a great place to work. It’s flexible and the culture is very supportive of work life balance. Sandia has made a big effort to include women in management, and there are lots of opportunities for women. The only downside is that we are still in the minority, and in some technical areas there are many more men than women. I have always felt comfortable working with my teams (and haven’t noticed any negative behavior toward women), but I hope that Sandia moves toward more balance in the technical workforce. "

"Sandia National Labs is a great place to work! Great Opportunities!"

"Lab leadership values women employees and has begun to directly confront gender bias across the company. Many areas of Sandia strive to recognize the contributions of women and reward good performance. However, there are lingering issues in individual departments where gender bias is overlooked and women are forced find roles in other parts of Sandia to progress or recieve equal treatment. Sandia also working to make sponsorship of women for leadership roles more common place across the company."

"Work life balance is not only promoted here but it’s part of the culture. You will see many women in leadership positions here. "

"You will be a minority by far if you're on the technical ladder. You also won't have many senior women role models, as the majority of technical leadership positions are held by men. There are great men and allies, for sure, but you'll inevitably deal with instances of not being taken seriously by some older white man who's been at the labs for decades. "

"Management is severely disconnected with staff. People are leaving in droves even with the decent benefits, reasonable work culture (on average), and exciting work. This comes down to poor management treatment across the board."

"I never feel like my contributions are minimized or maximized as a woman at Sandia. I believe my work is valued on its merit. Even though the engineering field and Sandia are still male-dominated, Sandia does care about supporting its female engineers as well as inspiring young females to work here or elsewhere as an engineer. I also have many female mentors to look up to in my current organization. One is a more senior engineer in my group, and at one point both my Level 2 manager and center director were women!"

"Great teamwork among women here. Flexible work schedules are a plus."

"Sandia is flexible with work hours and provides services to support the family."

"It's a company that values their employees and understands you have a life outside of work. "

"There are options to move around to different positions here."

"Finally - a place of work where everyone is in-tuned with the mission, highly professional to one another, and leadership actually cares about your success and growth. This is the least stressful position I've ever held, mainly because of flexible work week schedules, supportive leadership, a culture of understanding and empathy, and teaming for mission success. I can't imagine working anywhere else at this stage in my career. I have no plans to move on, out of fear that it wouldn't be nearly as positive an experience as working for Sandia. "

"Sandia is a great place to work. I feel valued and respected."

"It is a great place overall to work. Women are treated equally and are given equal opportunities to get promoted into leadership positions. "

"Work-life balance is embedded into our culture and I have seen and experience a lot of respect surrounding childcare and home life duties. Leadership is certainly lacking in female representation, but the current leaders make a huge effort to support women focused groups/events as well as overall Diversity and Inclusion efforts."

"Colleague's are very supportive if you want to learn more. However I would like to see more women in management and other diverse roles across the labs."

"The work-life balance provided for working parents is very nice. Anything having to do with my kid, is always accommodated, no questions asked. There's a wide flexibility with schedules so that you can continue to do your job as a parent, as well as an employee. Health benefits are great as well."

"Great opportunities to develop and grow your career. Staff can move around within the company to gain experience is a variety of technical and business areas. There is great work/life balance, and the company is supportive of flexible work arrangements to suit working parents, people with disabilities, etc. "

"I was in the high performance computing field. If you're in computing at all, you may have come across places dismiss women or their ideas and will be familiar with the techbro. I haven't met any at Sandia and have always felt fully a part of my team. I can't even begin to say what a change it is from my usual experience; I was worried going in and it proved to be groundless. These are supposed to be anonymous so I can't shout out my people, but HPC at Sandia is doing a stellar job."

"Flexible schedule for working moms with the ability to request vacation donation for those who need to stay home with their kiddos during COVID. 9/80 or 4/20 schedules available depending on department."

"Sandia is one of the best places to work if you are looking for diversity, inclusion and an overall great work-life balance. Not only is their mission great, but the people you work with are as well. "

"Great inclusive workplace and fulfilling career with Sandia National Labs"

"Sandia has been my work home for over 20 years and I have never wanted to leave due to the professional and friendly professionals I interact with daily. Sandia's flexibility in work schedules and the ability to work from home makes the Labs a premier company. "

"Sandia is an institution that supports working mothers as exhibited by the way the executive leadership team has handled the demands of working from home during this very challenging pandemic. Policies were changed and managers were asked to work with their employees to ensure stress was reduced and families were able to function as normal as possible during this time. "

"SNL is very conscious about workplace bias and regularly demonstrates an inclusive culture and workplace"

"Sandia is a great employer. After many years of working in non profits, public, and private sector, Sandia has exceeded my expectations when it comes to work/life balance. More specifically, I have opted to work 10 hour days, which has made a huge difference for me and my family. It is an engineering lab, which means there are lots of men. However, there are more and more women in leadership positions. Lots of great role models. The culture also fosters mentorship and there are good opportunities for career and professional development."

"Great place to work, supporting very important national security initiatives makes you proud to work here. "

"Work/Life Balance is something that we strive for. Flexibility in getting work done, particularly what hours are worked helps many find that balance. Strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion and having every voice heard. Strong women in roles to help mentor and coach others."

"Sandia is a great place to work. You get the opportunity to do meaningful work, and have a variety of projects to work on. Yet the people are a big factor of why people stay at Sandia. Sandia cares about it's employees. Work life balance isn't a slogan, it's embraced in the culture at all levels. "

"Sandia National Laboratories is actively working to increase diversity, which includes hiring more women. I've found it to be an encouraging and welcoming place to work. This is not to say that I haven't run into any issues with implicit bias regarding my gender as a female. I have. However, my coworkers have been open to discussing these issues and making changes to remedy them."

"The work-life balance at Sandia is unbeatable. Sandia's culture and flexible work schedules ensure that employees have a great balance between personal and professional life. "

"Sandia supports work-life balance and diversity. They are actively engaged in recruiting women in technical fields. "

"Women are definitely a minority still, but I have not felt discriminated against or any sexism for being a woman. The culture is very good and all people are listened to, whether it's an idea for improving a project or department process or a concern about how something is being done."

"The leave policies and work flexibility can't be beat. Gender bias is still and issue in parts of Sandia."

"This employer allows for a true work-life balance. I am able to unfold my role as a professional and a working mother. "

"The environment is very much collaborative and team oriented. They promote work-life balance and take the health and safety of the workforce serious. I'm a single, working mom and there is flexibility in the work along with the work schedules."

"Sandia helps empower women to grow and learn professionally and personally. I am beyond thankful to work for an employer that values me and views me as an asset to the company. "

"This is a great work-environment where women and men are treated equally. "

"A hidden gem! A place to thrive and become your best!"

"The culture at Sandia feels remarkably supportive of women. Two managers in my org are women including my direct manager, and three of my customers are Level 1 or Level 2 managers. I have only ever witnessed all of these incredible women being treated with the utmost respect. As a women, I have had the same experience myself. We have a focus on recruiting for diversity here at the lab, and we believe that different perspectives bring strength to the critical programs we all support. All voices are heard and valued! "

"Sandia is a great place to improve your work/life integration. The Labs has an employee resource group for parents and women. "

"good culture and technical challenges and opportunities exist at sandia "

"Since this is an organization that is very engineering focused, diversity and inclusion is top priority given that the diversity in engineering isn't always strong."

"There are more men than women in the engineering and science departments, but I do not feel treated differently by anyone. "

"Work-life balance is valued by all members of the workforce here at Sandia! Our culture is very much respectful of each individual's lifestyle outside of work and management will do their best to accommodate the needs of employees. Sandia offers flexible work schedules, generous vacation, personal and sick time. There is also an abundance of resources on campus to keep health in check, like an onsite exercise facility, medical clinic, outdoor recreation, massage therapy and energy hubs!"

"At Sandia, we value the work and contributions of women in all areas including Engineering, Science & Technology, Project Management, Operations, Human Resources and Business Development (just to name a few). We understand that many members of our workforce have family and obligations outside of work and Sandia does its best to make reasonable accommodations for everyone's lifestyle. In order for us to continue having a diverse and inclusive working culture, women are encouraged to apply and find out for themselves what a great place it is to work here! "

"Overall great place to work, but there are not many women in leadership roles. It still has a mentality focus on men but they are working to change that in the culture and industry of STEM. Since it is a government contractor you still have the "military" influence in the day to day working structure and that men dominate leadership. They work to change it but it can be harder to speak up and influence peers in meetings especially if you are a women leading the meeting with all men. "

"Make sure your manager supports you. If s/he doesn't, find someone who will and move to that department, or figure out how to make peace with the fact that you will make zero professional progress."

"I worked here a number of years ago, was gone for quite a while, now back for about 12 years. Much progress has been made since my first experience, especially with work schedule flexibility and the number of women in management positions. A lot of women work in science and engineering positions. The number of women in management is improving as women work their way up (the current President and Lab Director is a technical woman promoted from within, a first for a national lab). In the day to day work environment women in my area seem to be treated equally. There are some lab-wide programs to give women networking and mentoring opportunities."

"Sandia is very big and your experience depends mostly on which department you are in. There are many women at Sandia, mostly in managerial roles and support roles. Only 20% of technical positions are held by women. The work is novel and interesting. Collaboration, mentoring, and learning are valued. Employees have flexible work hours, sick leave, maternity leave, and a medical clinic onsite. Scientists and engineers have to conform a certain stereotype to fit in. It's a boys club. You can succeed if you work harder than then men around you. At the corporate level, they say they want to hire more women, but there are no policies to make it happen. Sandia is a much better place for women in business, HR, and management than it is for women in technical fields."

"I have worked here for six years and have never felt gender was an issue in my advancement. The workforce is very family-oriented - maternity, and paternity leaves are well-supported by management. There are individuals who are sexist, but in general the company culture is very supportive of both men and women."

"I've worked here for 5 years and it is my first position out of graduate school. Overall happy with the company and the career progression so far. I'm happy we have the first woman president for the DOE labs and I think women are treated fairly and with respect. The work is often stressful and politically driven but the people are enjoyable to work with."

"I've worked here for 3 years and there are a lot of women working here, both in management and in professional roles. There are more women than men in my field. Women are treated fairly and the work and schedules are flexible which is a benefit for parents. I have never taken a long leave of absence so I am not sure how this affects employees or what the benefits are. Our annual raises and bonuses are better than most other companies located nearby. I am not sure how the company compares nationally. It can be very bureaucratic but overall, a great place tot work."

"I've been at SNL for 4 years and I see lots of opportunities for women at all levels. My management has been extremely supportive of my career advancement and is willing to go to bat for me."

"I think women have to make an effort to be treated fairly - but the organization is listening and making positive efforts."

"It has improved over the years, mostly due to grass roots efforts. It is a highly competitive environment and difficult for technical women be accepted and considered for teams, more as a result of implicit than explicit bias."

"Some within the company seem to truly be dedicated to the recent corporate diversity and inclusion efforts. However, the majority seem to have little interest in these initiatives and/or don't have reason to take them seriously. Support from and seeing women at the highest levels of leadership is a plus, however the nature of 'the culture of STEM' is such that it can sometimes be difficult. Including a lack of diversity in interviews and hiring in my division."

"While my management is great and seems very female friendly particular in their flexible scheduling policies, my coworkers (lab techs/engineers) have a lot to learn in how to work with females. I would put it as above average for an engineering environment (read: mostly old, mostly white, mostly male). Much of the older infrastructure was never meant for women (for instance, some buildings don't have female bathrooms), but things seem to be improving even in the short time I have been here."