research scientist

technologist

electrical engineer

utility worker

mechanical engineer

Canadian-Nuclear-Laboratories

Work is oriented around projects. With many levels of management that focuse on the paperwork end of projects, more than focusing  on the implementation of the actual project work.  Many people find this frustrating as they would like to have more time  to be in the field.  


The governing body, the  PMO has implemented many changes  in the policies, procedures and software for project controls without testing that they work or without providing the proper training.  Many times a change is sent out to projects without checking how it impacts their other procedures or if the software works.  

 There is also testing that project control coordinators are required to take  by the PMO that is very generic and not streamlined to CNL expectations, policies or procedures. 

The tight reporting deadlines,  strict PMO guidelines, the unclear expectations and constant change  generates a very toxic environment.  This toxic environment creates a high turn over in the project management staff .   

Full time workers are also held to higher expectations than staff that are contract workers.   The plus side area is great if you would like to live in a rural area,  or you have the option to work remotely.  The people are great resulting in many great freindships outside of work.  If you want to work in projects consider a contract position that would allow high pay and lower work expectations.    The key is to make sure you get clear expectations of what you are responsible for and what your co workers are responsible. 

The PMO recently have been conducting meetings asking for input, but these meetings feel like just a meeting to pacify the projects, instead of getting and using the valuable input from individuals doing the work.

 This company can become a great employer and should be soon, considering the PMO for the last 3 years have been working on improvements.  These improvements/changes have to come to an end soon which should reduce the stress brought on by the constant change.    

Wide range of work environments, as organization is very compartmentalized. Lots of corporate noise about ethics, transformation, safety and respect. Actual behaviour does not align with messaging. 
The site operating company exists to milk as much from their 10 year contract as they can, and don't seem to have any qualms about misrepresenting the success of their projects and initiatives. 
The key to a advancement is being willing to repeat any corporate spin without shame. "High Performing Organization" means layoffs. "Environmental Remediation" means creating rubble piles by tearing down buildings. "Safety Culture" means lots of paperwork and no ownership. I could go on.
If you are a performer, be prepared to be obstructed at every turn. The place is still a bureaucracy. 
How you are treated will depend on who you work for. Some groups have managers that should never be put in charge of people. Bullies. Others have genuinely good people and competent leaders in charge. Management direction is schizophrenic as there seems to be a revolving door at the director level. The more junior you are, and the less you know, the better this place gets. 
Good pay for the area, adequate benefits, untested pension plans (cut off from government pension plans in 2018). 
If you have to take medical time off, be prepared for daily calls and demands to return to work from Morneau Shepell agents. They have a contract to harass employees back to work.
DO NOT recommend for positions with IT, Supply Chain, Project Management, Health and Safety, Trades, Environmental Sciences. Most of the engineers and other scientists seem to like it though.

Very good pay and great great benefits.  The pension is changing all the time I would say it's better then some industries but isn't the best.  One major pension issue is if you move from union to supervision or management you have to change pensions again.  The site is driven by milestones which the executive recieved bonuses for.  The staff is given very little direction on how to achieve these milestones as well as unrealistic timelines.  There are a lot of disgruntled employees and a huge distrust for the management.  Executive needs to get rid of lots of managers and start promoting people within who can lead in a collaborative way and help their employees achieve these milestones.  Managers now just bully and look for updates but don't jump in and say what can I help you to be successful in this project?  This company is at the points where it should contract out all its projects because they have made an absolute mess of whom they have promoted.  There is 0 accountability of leadership and no one to turn to when you believe management is doing something unethical.  Ethics doesn't seem to care and will not investigate any complaint against management you will experience gaslighting by the designated recipient if you do.

Typical government atmosphere with typical incompetent leadership. This was kosher when it was run by the government. But the place has been "privatized" in 2015 and all that did was add another layer of incompetent leaders from down south. These new leaders seem to have come here for a taxpayer paid fishing vacation. And there is obvious conflicts of interest, with who is married to who and by all the buddy buddy amongst upper management.

When WL was run by the government, it was an OK place to work and collect a pension. The results of privatization is now an even more bloated incompetent leadership team trying to make things more efficient by spewing out more hot air.

Everyone here knows that they will lose their job in the next 8 years but are not being told when they will be let go and with no incentive to stay. New hires have been let go after a few months of working here due to restructuring, not a good environment to be in. Combine this with management's incompetence just avoid avoid avoid.

In my current role I have developed a five-day onboarding program for new employees. I am responsible for coordinating/facilitating their onboarding on a bi-weekly basis. As part of the onboarding I also facilitate a one-hour presentation on HR services, forms and entitlement/compensation. I have also conducted a Training Validation report to ensure the program increases employee engagement and retention. 

I am also the facilitator for Conflict Resolution training and Communication Basics Training.

This position requires a large degree of responsibility, organization, and social agility. The encumberment must be confident, knowledgeable about all aspects of the company, comfortable communicating with all levels of the organization and being the "face" of the company.

Unfortunately, my experience has been an overall negative one.   I was hired along with another person for a 1-year term to be part of an overall CNL growth plan at the time. However ironically after only nine (9) months into our contracts, my coworker and I were both called in and told that due to budget cuts our positions at CNL would not be renewed.

CNL is a great place to work, and  I believe they offer a  lot of interesting jobs and opportunities, In my case, however, I believe budget cuts hijacked our department growth plans and have negated the reasons why we were first hired.

Definitely, in my opinion, this has been a step backwards for the CNL department I worked.in. They will now have to revert back to their previous staffing arrangments. and roles, and face the same challenges that were there when we were first hired. 

Very disappointing!

CNL is a great place to work.  The staff are knowledgeable and friendly.  The environment inside and outside is peaceful and refreshing and the location is beautiful on the banks of the Ottawa river.

CNL is a growing company that was previously a crown corporation.  After privatizing about five years ago, many transformations are occurring including new infrastructure, more commercial focus and strategic focus on exciting new technologies that solve challenges in energy, the environment, security and health including nuclear medicine and the effects of low dose radiation.  CNL's focus on the future is evident in their work in clean energy solutions such as hydrogen technologies and research in areas like cyber security and machine learning.

The benefits are great.  There is a lot of room to growth.  Science is fun and the world is investing into it.  A nice place to be.

Current management at the WL site (i.e. CNEA/CNL) is unfamiliar with Canadian Environmental and Safety regulation as entire senior management team is from the United States.  Senior management is directly responsible for cost overruns and lack of productions.  Site has sustained 3 Safety Stand downs in the past 3 years due to significant cuts in safety and training programs.  The work environment is toxic and only employees that adhere to senior management directives are rewarded with advancement  and those with "Questioning Attitudes" are demoted or disregarded as trouble makers.  I would not recommend this organization to anyone until the current senior management (under contract until Set. 2025) are replaced.

Working in R&D, if you can handle bureaucracy, procedures and approvals involving multiple personnel, then you will enjoy working here.  There doesn't seem to be a clear mission right now due to the shift from a public to a private corporation.  There is an attempt to provide a goals and meet milestones, but most of that work is being performed by contractors and temporary workers.

Most upper managers have not had any personal experience in working in the private sector and are having a hard time trying to adjust and provide work and funding for most of their employees.  It makes for long days when you can't find any work to be done.

I appreciated the opportunity to work at the prestigious site at Chalk River. I met and worked with many very talented individuals and learned many items in my field of interest. Although it was not initially clear as to my role at this site, I was given many roles during my nine years working there.  I served as trainer, coordinator, research scientist, work permit authorizer, safety officer, decommissioning specialist, document writer for preliminary decommissioning document, emergency preparedness procedures, equipment commissioning, decommissioning readiness preparedness document and form.  Every item was a unique experience.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Research scientist 3 salaries reported	$105,000 per year
Technologist 4 salaries reported	$82,750 per year
Electrical engineer 4 salaries reported	$136,250 per year
Utility worker 2 salaries reported	$59,800 per year
Mechanical engineer 4 salaries reported	$136,250 per year

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