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Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

Is this your company?

Pretty great place to work - SEL Employee Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Employee Review

5.0
Feb 21, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Interesting work, good people, serious focus on quality. I love the weekly Friday Lunch. The facilities are really nice. SEL is employee owned (an ESOP), which for people who stay for many years becomes an excellent retirement plan. Some of the projects that SEL is involved in are the kind that are incredibly cool from a humanitarian perspective.

Cons

Because we have a badged entry system, you can't have visitors very easily. If my mom wants to bring me a sandwich for lunch, she can't get in.

Explore other reviews about Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

5.0
Jul 2, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work culture and benefits

Cons

Less other location options other than Pullman

4.0
Apr 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Right job for some people. If you buy into the koolaid and are passionate about the power industry this can be an incredible job for you. The benefits are pretty great. I really enjoyed my coworkers, all of them feel human and are earnest. You can live quite cheaply in Pullman. There is an incredible amount of job security. SEL boasts they've never done a layoff. Additionally their ESOP distribution is generous - though it takes 6 years to fully vest. There is a lot of things I really admire about the company and the culture.

Cons

Comp is lower side. A lot of people are hired out of college and have only ever worked at SEL so sometimes I feel like there is a bit of an echo chamber. Small town. I really struggled with the initial allocation of 12 days PTO. 17 after 2 years is much easier. As a SWE, the company feels very catered to their power engineers. Company is very traditional in its values, people wear suits to work. Seems like the timeline for promotion is quite slow for SWE compared to other companies. I see a lot of friction when lower level engineers trying to advocate for changes; though I do think that the conversations with leadership happen in good faith.

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