Is CERN a good company to work for as a Software Developer?

Software Developer professionals working at CERN have rated their employer with 4.4 out of 5 stars in 81 Glassdoor reviews. This is an average score with the overall rating of CERN employees being 4.4 out of 5 stars. Search open Software Developer Jobs at CERN now and start preparing for your job interview by browsing frequently asked Software Developer interview questions at CERN .

Does CERN pay Software Developer employees well?

Software Developer professionals rate their compensation and benefits at CERN with 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 81 anonymously submitted employee reviews. This is 4.5% better than the company average rating for salary and benefits. Find out more about Software Developer salaries and benefits at CERN .

How happy are Software Developer professionals working at CERN?

92% of Software Developer employees at CERN would recommend their employer to a friend. This rating has decreased by 4% in the past 12 months. Software Developer professionals have also rated CERN with a 4.7 rating for work-life-balance, 4.7 rating for diversity and inclusion, 4.5 rating for culture and values and 3.8 rating for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at CERN?

Technical Student (125) , Software Engineer (112) , Fellow (61) , PhD Student (35) , Senior Fellow (24) , Doctoral Student (23) , Research Fellow (23) , Internship (22) , Junior Fellow (19) , Mechanical Engineer (19) , Postdoctoral Fellow (19) , Engineer (18) , Project Associate (18) , Intern (16) , Administrative Student (15)

What are the pros of working at CERN according to real employee reviews?

"Good salary and tons of benefits." ((in 132 reviews)); "Best experience ever Great people" ((in 80 reviews)); "Amazing environment and great colleagues." ((in 58 reviews)); "good benefits and health insurance" ((in 42 reviews)); "Good work/life balance" ((in 35 reviews))

What are the cons of working at CERN according to real employee reviews?

"Bad management, nothing else fdgdfgdf" ((in 38 reviews)); "Slow career progression" ((in 17 reviews)); "Almost no Career Opportunities" ((in 12 reviews)); "Had 5 supervisors, overall)" ((in 12 reviews)); "Incredible nepotism everywhere." ((in 8 reviews))

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

CERN

CERN Software Developer reviews

4.4

92% would recommend to a friend

(81 total reviews)

Fabiola Gianotti

99% approve of CEO

45% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.7

Diversity & inclusion

4.7

Work/Life balance

4.5

Culture & values

4.5

Compensation and benefits

3.8

Senior management

3.8

Career opportunities

Software Developer employees have rated CERN with 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 81 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Software Developer professionals have an excellent working experience there. CERN is rated 21% above average by Software Developer professionals compared to other employers within the Regierung & öffentliche Verwaltung industry (3.6 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

81 reviews

2.0

Nov 11, 2017

Mixed feelings

Software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Incredible environment. Excellent salaries and health insurance. Additionally, it's like working in the heart of Europe.

Cons

Permanent contract could arrive, basically based on a lottery (quota, luck, and finally merit), only after 8 years! E.g. After having been a technical student, a fellow, then a staff for 5 years and then a second time staff for three years (for a total of 11 years serving), my group wasn't able to open a permanent position for me, and I was therefore forced to leave.

5.0

Oct 9, 2017

Software Engineer

Software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good working environment, flexible hours, cutting edge technologies, 30 days of holidays, diversity

Cons

Not really have to report any negatives. Actually depends on the section, because it is a huge organisation

3.0

Aug 16, 2017

Great people, lots of outdated bureaucracy.

Software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great pay if you don't live in switzerland. Beautiful and interesting place to work, lot of history was written there. Restaurant in-place with good and cheap menu. Very smart and diverse people around. Good work/life balance.

Cons

Lots of bureaucracy for anything. Career path is restricted if you did not have the right diplomas when signing the contract (does not matter if you got them after). There's lots of internal political games, sometimes they overrule common sense. Very small raises, and not often. Make sure you are paid the amount you are willing to earn for the rest of your contract, when signing the contract. Unfair salary scales, no matter what you do, you get paid by the number of diplomas.

Viewing 58 - 60 of 81 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

UNDP

3.7★Compensation & Benefits

United Nations

3.9★Compensation & Benefits

U.S. Department of State

3.8★Compensation & Benefits

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

3.8★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at CERN

Full-Stack Web Developer (SY-EPC-CCS-2026-155-GRAE)

Backend Software Developer (Java/Python) (BE-CSS-DSP-2026-151-GRAE)

Software Developer for Control Systems (BE-ICS-STF-2026-105-GRAP)

Python Software Engineer (BE-CSS-IDE-2026-114-LD)

Genf

View job

Embedded Software Engineer (BE-CEM-EDL-2026-102-GRAP)

CERN reviews FAQs

CERN reviews CERN Software Developer reviews

CERN

CERN Software Developer reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Mixed feelings

Software Engineer

Great people, lots of outdated bureaucracy.

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at CERN

CERN reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

CERN reviews FAQs

Jobs at CERN