Leonardo reviews

3.8

75% would recommend to a friend

(1,331 total reviews)

Roberto Cingolani

89% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

Leonardo has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 1,331 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Leonardo employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Aeroespacial y defensa industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews
2.0
May 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Flexi-time working is good. - Technical research can be novel and interesting. - Most people are supportive and kind.

Cons

- Low salaries for teams consisting of many highly qualified individuals (PhD graduates). - Career progression is not made clear when first joining. - Career progression is gated behind a “Systems Engineering” competency framework. - Career progression is not based on merit but on how long an individual has been at the company. - Lack of roadmapping leading to poorly planned work. - Technical-leadership not communicating properly to people-leadership. - Research Scientists are not trusted to complete their work by people-leaders. - Work is micro-managed and still not finished. - No accountability for constant right-shifting of deadlines. - Novel techniques and approaches are met with resistance - “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” mentality. - Work carried out is closer to Software Engineering, but under System Engineering title, Research Scientists are given poor resourcing. - E.g. Office terminals and laptops do not have enough compute (lag when using a standard IDE). - Lack of on-site facilities planning - E.g. expedited hiring leading to lack of parking. Inappropriate security-safe floor plating.

avatar
Leonardo Response
1w
Thank you for taking the time to provide such detailed feedback and for sharing your experiences as part of our Research Science community at Leonardo. We are pleased to hear that you have valued the flexibility offered through flexi-time working, found elements of the technical research interesting and innovative, and experienced support from colleagues across the business. We also appreciate your candid feedback regarding career progression, communication, resourcing and ways of working within the research environment. We recognise how important clear development pathways, effective leadership communication and access to the right tools and infrastructure are to enabling our people to succeed and feel supported in their roles. As a business operating in complex engineering and defence programmes, balancing technical delivery, governance and long-term capability development can present challenges. However, we recognise the importance of continually evolving how we support specialist technical communities, particularly in highly skilled research and engineering disciplines. Your feedback around progression visibility, technical empowerment, planning and resourcing is valuable and contributes to the ongoing discussions around how we continue improving the employee experience across our teams. Thank you again for taking the time to share your perspective and for the contribution you continue to make at Leonardo.
1.0
May 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Potentially interesting work in the future * It is possible to move to different teams (but there is only one research team) * There are some good people in the business * Canteen on site with reasonable (but not very healthy) food, school dinners style

Cons

* There are limited promotion prospects from research * I was constantly told that interesting work is around the corner, but it never comes * Hybrid working is not possible (despite being advertised as a perk) * I have witnessed bullying and discrimination openly both from colleagues on the same level and from managers * It is quite an old boys club in which managers pick a favourite and disregard everybody else * There is no structure or willingness to listen to or absorb feedback * Those with a PhD or from academia are ostracised and treated negatively, I would not recommend joining this business for a research position with a PhD, you will not be appreciated or well-utilised * Benefits package is very lacking compared to similar companies * Parking on site is terrible and they keep hiring more people * I was told about travel opportunities when interviewing but this was a total lie and no such opportunities exist

avatar
Leonardo Response
1w
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and experiences during your time at Leonardo. We are sorry to hear that your experience did not meet expectations. At Leonardo, we are committed to creating an inclusive, respectful and supportive working environment where all employees feel valued and able to contribute fully. We take any concerns relating to bullying, discrimination or management behaviour extremely seriously, and feedback such as yours is important in helping us identify where improvements are needed. We recognise that career development, meaningful work and open communication are all critical to the employee experience. As our business continues to evolve and grow, we are actively working to strengthen employee engagement, leadership visibility and opportunities for development across our teams. We also appreciate your comments regarding hybrid working, benefits and facilities. We pride ourselves on offering flexibility wherever possible, however due to the nature of some of our work, certain roles do require a greater on-site presence. We understand that, given the length of your time with the business, you may not have had the opportunity to experience some of the longer-term project work, development pathways or broader opportunities available across Leonardo. Many of our research and engineering programmes operate over extended time frames, with opportunities often developing as projects progress and teams evolve. While we are disappointed to hear that your experience in a research role did not reflect the environment we aim to provide, we thank you for acknowledging the colleagues and future potential you saw within the business. We wish you every success in your future career.
1.0
Nov 30, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good amount of PTO after several years of service. Cheap insurance plans.

Cons

This is a small offshoot of Leonardo, a large Italian conglomerate. Small footprint in the US, but they are trying (and failing) to compete with the big boys - Boeing, Lockheed, etc. Very chaotic and disorganized environment, incompetent management, both local and overseas. Poor to non-existent coordination between departments. Pay is significantly below market for aerospace industry. The company is discriminatory against American workers as many top and mid-level jobs go to H1B visa holders from main office in Italy. The company is also in a perpetual DEI and re-structuring modes. Archaic business practices, outdated software and hardware. Offices are filthy and overcrowded, with broken chairs and monitors. Very shady HR department, which is also astonishingly incompetent and unresponsive.

Viewing 46 - 48 of 1,331 Reviews

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