About Carnegie Mellon University
What is Carnegie Mellon University?
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh. Its history page says that "In 1900, Andrew Carnegie donated $1 million to the city of Pittsburgh, envisioning a school where working-class men and women of Pittsburgh could learn practical skills, trades and crafts", and its About page calls it "a university without borders, with campuses in Pittsburgh, Miami, Silicon Valley, Qatar and Africa". This profile covers the university's own staff postings on its Workday careers site, not faculty, Temporary Employment Services (TES) or Software Engineering Institute (SEI) roles.
Where will I work?
The staff site listed 189 postings on 2026-10-20. 134 were regular full-time staff roles, and this page lists the 77 of them based only in Pittsburgh, leaving out 42 SEI roles, three TES postings, the Miami and Rwanda campuses, and six trades, driver and police roles. Titles include "Sponsored Research Accountant - Finance Division", "Data Engineer - School of Computer Science - MLD", "Assistant Director of Student Financial Aid – Enrollment Management", "Senior Director, Creative - University Communications & Marketing" and "Project Manager - NREC". The postings state a pay basis, hourly or salaried, but no pay range. The careers page says "We offer flexible work arrangements as appropriate to your specific role and team needs", and one posting records its work posture as a hybrid schedule with "an on campus/in-office presence 3 days a week through December 31, 2026".
What is the Carnegie Mellon team like?
Human Resources lists a "free subscription to Headspace", "Scottie Sound Baths" "offered at convenient times throughout the workweek", "on-site fitness facilities and free group exercise classes", and an Employee Assistance Program with "Confidential, 24/7 support and counseling resources for you and your household members". The postings add "a free Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus pass, access to our Family Concierge Team to help navigate childcare needs, fitness center access". Most staff can take "up to 15 hours (2 days) of paid volunteer time per year" during working hours for a non-profit or a non-partisan government agency, and the CareBenefits program gives a "free premium membership to Care.com" with subsidised backup care for children and adults.
Work-Life Balance
The Paid Time Off page says "The university provides regular, full-time staff members with Paid Time Off (PTO)" and "You may use PTO to take days off for vacation, illness, personal time or to care for dependents." The accrual table gives "1.42 days" a month, 17 a year, up to and including year 3, then 20 days from year 4, 25 from year 8 and 30 from year 16; unused PTO above the annual allowance moves to a reserve sick bank for short-term disability. The Holidays page says "Carnegie Mellon's U.S. campuses observe 11 official holidays" and "Regular, full-time staff members may also take up to three floating holidays per calendar year". The Winter Break page says "In 2026, Winter Break will occur on Dec. 28, 29 and 30" and that the university will be "closed from Dec. 24, 2026, through Jan. 1, 2027", with full-time staff "paid for the Winter Break days as if they had reported to work". A new full-time staff member therefore has 17 PTO days, 11 holidays and three winter-break days: 31 before the three floating holidays, 34 with them, and the careers page itself lists "30+ : Paid days off (including holidays) for eligible staff". PTO also covers illness, so there is no separate sick allowance. Paid maternity leave is "up to six or eight consecutive weeks of 100% paid leave" and paid parental leave is "six consecutive weeks of 100% paid leave".
Perks and Benefits
Medical plans are "offered through UPMC and Highmark", and the careers page says "CMU invests in your well-being by covering 70% of your insurance premiums." "Carnegie Mellon contributes an amount equal to 8% of your eligible base salary" to a TIAA retirement plan, and staff can add their own contributions of "up to 100% of your pay", pre-tax or Roth. Full-time staff who have completed six months of employment get "100% tuition remission" for courses taken at CMU, "two courses at any one time per term". The Cyert Center for Early Education sliding-scale benefit is "up to a maximum total annual benefit of $5,000", and CareBenefits adds "15 Backup Care days" a year across child and adult care.