Kimley-Horn is an engineering consulting firm that provides services in multiple disciplines including planning, roadway design, traffic engineering, aviation, water resources, environmental services, land development, surveying and mapping, structural engineering, transportation, and municipal services. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina with over 100 offices across the United States. Kimley-Horn is routinely ranked among the best firms to work for due to its excellent benefits, culture, career growth opportunities, and work-life balance.
Benefits
Kimley-Horn offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:
- Health insurance (medical, dental, vision)
- 401k retirement plan with company match
- Profit sharing
- Stock purchase plan
- Health savings account
- Flexible spending account
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Wellness programs
- Tuition assistance
- Professional development funding
The health insurance plans provide robust coverage with low deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. Employees have access to several plan options to best fit their needs and budget.
The 401k retirement plan includes an employer match to help employees save for retirement. Employees can contribute 1-60% of their salary and Kimley-Horn will match 50% of contributions up to 6% of salary. This vesting schedule helps employees steadily accumulate retirement savings.
In addition to the 401k match, Kimley-Horn also provides profit sharing contributions to eligible employees. This allows employees to earn additional retirement funds beyond their own 401k contributions. The amount varies year-to-year based on company profitability.
The stock purchase plan gives employees the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount through payroll deductions. Purchasing company stock helps employees have ownership in the firm’s success.
For medical expenses, employees can contribute pre-tax dollars to a health savings account and flexible spending account. This helps employees pay for healthcare costs tax-free.
Employees receive generous paid time off based on years of service. New hires start with 15 days of PTO plus another 5 days of sick leave. The amount increases every few years up to a maximum of 25 PTO days. Employees can use PTO for any purpose such as vacation, illness, or mental health days.
New parents can take advantage of 8 weeks of paid parental leave. This policy covers birth mothers, spouses, and adoptive parents. Parental leave provides important bonding time and helps employees maintain income while caring for a new child.
Kimley-Horn demonstrates a commitment to employee wellness through various programs. Employees have access to mental health benefits, gym membership reimbursement, employee assistance programs, and on-site flu shots. The emphasis on holistic wellbeing promotes a happy and healthy workforce.
Ongoing learning is encouraged through tuition reimbursement and professional development funding. Employees can pursue advanced degrees, certifications, training programs, and conferences that help them grow their skills. Investing in employee development enables a more knowledgeable and qualified staff.
Overall, the outstanding benefits package provides financial security, work-life balance, and peace of mind for employees. The comprehensive offerings are a key factor that makes Kimley-Horn an attractive place to work.
Culture
Kimley-Horn is well-regarded for its excellent culture rooted in collaboration, mentorship, and professional growth. The firm prides itself on values such as integrity, relationships, stewardship, and commitment to excellence.
Leaders emphasize the “one-firm firm” mentality where employees across geographies and disciplines work together to solve clients’ needs. People are willing to help co-workers and share expertise. There is a sense of camaraderie and desire to see everyone succeed.
More experienced employees serve as mentors to help guide newer hires in their career journeys. Mentorships provide invaluable advice and support networks. Mentors take an interest in mentees’ success and advocate for their advancement.
Kimley-Horn provides a wide variety of training, development programs, and learning opportunities. Employees are encouraged to continue growing their skills rather than remain stagnant. Ongoing learning fosters engaged and stimulated employees.
The culture promotes work-life balance and flexibility. Employees feel comfortable taking time off when needed. Leaders care about employees as people first beyond just getting work done. There is minimal overtime required outside of busy project periods.
Kimley-Horn trusts employees to get work done responsibly in a way that fits their work styles and lives. The autonomy and flexibility further augment the excellent culture.
The firm consistently receives recognition for its outstanding culture and engagement:
- Ranked #11 on Fortune Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services
- Awarded “Best Firm to Work For” by CE News
- Recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Excellence in Workplace Flexibility
- Listed as a Top Workplace by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
These accolades demonstrate that the culture resonates across the organization and creates an energizing employee experience. The positive workplace culture makes Kimley-Horn a great environment for employees to thrive and enjoy their jobs.
Career Growth
With over 100 offices across the country, Kimley-Horn provides excellent career growth opportunities. Employees can progress into expanded roles, transfer to new offices and locations, or rise into leadership positions.
The firm has a track record for hiring and developing talent from within. Open positions are posted on the company intranet to allow current employees to apply first before outside hiring. Employees appreciate the transparency into new opportunities.
There are clearly defined career paths and progression milestones within each discipline. Employees can meet with their managers or mentors to create development plans tailored to their goals. Leaders want to see their people advance.
Kimley-Horn supports career growth through training programs, leadership academies, professional development resources, tuition reimbursement, and certifications. Investing in employee capabilities directly translates to more career opportunities.
The company provides rotational programs such as having junior staff rotate through different teams or work on a variety of project types. This cross-training builds well-rounded experience and skills. Rotations give exposure to different business aspects beyond an employee’s core role.
With a rapidly growing company, there is plenty of room for upward mobility into new positions of greater responsibility, scope, and impact. Employees have autonomy to shape the direction of their careers in alignment with personal interests and talents.
The firm advocates for internal mobility and growth:
- Over 500 employees were promoted last year
- Around 25% of new hires are internal candidates
- Average tenure of principals is 22 years demonstrating career longevity
The ability to continuously advance one’s career within the same company is a key factor that retains talented employees. Kimley-Horn’s merit-based promotion system enables fulfilling careers.
Work-Life Balance
Kimley-Horn strives to promote work-life balance for employees through flexible schedules, generous time off, remote work arrangements, and family-friendly policies. Work-life balance is ingrained in the culture.
Many employees work hybrid schedules with a mix of office and remote work. Employees have flexibility to adjust their hours as needed to accommodate personal obligations. Core collaboration time is maintained while offering flexibility before and after.
Even before the pandemic, Kimley-Horn supported remote work arrangements for certain roles or situations like caring for family members. The pandemic accelerated remote work adoption that will carry forward in the future. Remote work enables employees to have more control over their schedules.
Unlimited paid time off removes restrictions on how employees spend their time off. Employees can take vacation, stay home with sick children, attend appointments, and more without tracking discrete days. Unlimited PTO promotes greater work-life balance.
Parental leave policies offer up to 16 weeks paid leave for new parents. Other family supports include childcare stipends, elder care resources, flexible schedules for mothers returning from maternity leave, and more. Kimley-Horn aims to help employees navigate their family responsibilities.
The ability to occasionally work remotely, adjust hours as needed, and take time off ultimately allows employees greater freedom to attend to personal matters. Employees can more easily achieve harmony between work and home life. The firm’s commitment to work-life balance maximizes employee satisfaction.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Kimley-Horn understands the value of bringing together employees with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. The firm is committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
There are 10 DEI committees representing different ethnicities, women, LGBTQ employees, veterans, and early career staff. These committees give employees a voice and lead DEI strategies.
Leadership annually sets representation targets for hiring and promotions to ensure diversity at all levels. Representation rates are tracked and reported. Recruiting practices are evaluated to reduce biases and barriers.
The firm offers over 20 employee resource groups based on shared identities, experiences, and interests. ERGs build community and provide professional development and mentoring.
All employees complete unconscious bias and anti-harassment training. Additional learning resources, speaker series, mentoring programs, and events create ongoing dialogues around DEI.
Openness to flexible work arrangements and career paths accommodates employees from all backgrounds. judgement-free “Bring your whole self to work” environment. The focus on DEI creates a more welcoming culture.
Kimley-Horn’s commitment has led to notable recognition:
- Scored 100% on Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for LGBTQ equality
- Named a top firm for women by Engineering News-Record
- Recognized for disability inclusion practices and outreach by the American Association of People with Disabilities
The emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion makes Kimley-Horn a more enriching and supportive workplace. Employees feel valued and empowered to contribute as their authentic selves.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Kimley-Horn believes in giving back and upholding responsible business practices. Employees are encouraged to volunteer and make a difference.
The firm provides paid time off for volunteer activities such as building homes with Habitat for Humanity or serving meals at local shelters. Employees can volunteer individually or join company-organized group events.
There is a matching gift program where Kimley-Horn matches employees’ charitable donations up to $2500 per year. The firm also contributes 1% of net profits each year to provide grants to employee-sponsored community organizations.
The company partners with schools to provide scholarships, fund STEM education programs, host career fairs, and offer mentoring. These initiatives help develop future talent.
Kimley-Horn operations follow environmental sustainability practices around energy, water, materials, and waste. Many offices have achieved LEED green building certification.
The firm works to source from diverse suppliers and contractors such as minority-owned, woman-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQ-owned businesses. Inclusive sourcing expands economic opportunities.
Ethics and integrity are core values instilled at all levels. Employees complete annual Code of Conduct training and can report concerns safely and anonymously.
The corporate citizenship programs give employees opportunities to have meaningful social impact. Kimley-Horn aims to be an ethical and conscientious member of every community they operate in.
Challenging, Impactful Work
Employees find the work at Kimley-Horn to be challenging yet highly rewarding. Staff work on a variety of complex projects that solve problems and shape communities.
Engineers design critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, rail systems, airports, water treatment plants, hospitals, and commercial developments. They see the tangible impacts of bringing their designs to life.
Planners help clients and communities create visions for the future through services like downtown revitalization, bike path planning, zoning policy, and sustainability strategies. Their work drives economic growth.
Designers use tools like GIS and 3D visualization to develop creative design concepts and solutions. They innovate new approaches and technologies.
Technical experts research the latest science around transportation modeling, environmental issues, and more to create forward-thinking deliverables. Their expertise advances industry practices.
Surveyors use high-tech equipment to map land and infrastructure down to precise measurements. Accurate surveying is fundamental to successful construction and development.
Construction managers oversee the building process to deliver projects on-time and on-budget. They enable complex designs to become reality.
Consultants advise clients on specialized needs like rate studies, impact analyses, strategic planning, and more. Their guidance informs data-driven decisions.
The variety and complexity of projects provides endless learning and growth opportunities. Employees feel energized by doing meaningful work that improves communities and changes lives.
Kimley-Horn’s talented multidisciplinary teams collaborate to solve multifaceted problems. Being able to apply expertise makes for challenging yet deeply rewarding careers.
Entrepreneurial Spirit
Kimley-Horn retains a small company, entrepreneurial feel despite its large size. Employees are empowered to share ideas, take initiative, and advance innovative solutions.
The firm often hires directly from college so employees can shape their skills and careers in tandem with the company’s growth. There is a sense of building something special together.
The organization structure is decentralized so local offices have authority over their operations, hiring, and business development. This allows offices to stay attuned to local community needs versus top-down mandates.
Employees are not micromanaged. Teams are trusted to manage projects and client relationships collaboratively without excessive oversight. Autonomy and trust foster innovation.
Leaders welcome input from all levels. Employees can make suggestions directly to senior management during open office hours or through internal messaging platforms.
The company navigates change and ambiguity well. Employees are adaptable and willing to explore new technologies, processes, and ideas. Forward-thinking solutions are embraced.
Passionate employees start discussion groups, committees, special interest groups and new traditions. The firm celebrates fresh thinking.
Kimley-Horn feels like a tight-knit company where everyone’s contributions are valued. The ability to shape the firm’s future direction creates a dynamic professional home.
Stability
Kimley-Horn offers tremendous job and financial stability uncommon among consulting firms. The company has grown profitably every single year since being founded in 1967.
Through recessions, market fluctuations, and business cycles, Kimley-Horn maintains steady growth and resilient performance. Employees don’t experience the hiring freezes or mass layoffs that plague some competitors.
The company is also fiscally conservative with low debt. Kimley-Horn has never had a layoff in its 50+ year history which is nearly unheard of in the AEC industry.
Long-tenured employees are the norm. The firm inspires loyalty with retained employees across their entire careers. Average tenure among the leadership team exceeds 22 years.
There is low voluntary turnover with 95%+ retention rates. High retention minimizes disruptive churn and preserves institutional knowledge. It also signifies that employees enjoy working here long-term.
Annual revenues have grown from $67 million in 2001 to $559 million in 2021. The company has ample financial resources to keep investing in its future. New acquisitions further expand capabilities and geographies.
By broadening services, nurturing long-term client relationships, and entering new markets, Kimley-Horn has built recession-proof diversity. The firm has many different areas to generate revenue which minimizes risk.
With over 100 office locations, employees have flexibility regarding where they live and work. If personal or family reasons necessitate moving, transferring to a new office is facilitated.
The financial growth, history of stability, loyal customers, and expanding services provide tremendous job security. Employees derive comfort knowing Kimley-Horn is built to last.
Summary
In summary, Kimley-Horn offers a phenomenal work experience through:
- Excellent benefits
- Outstanding culture rooted in collaboration and growth
- Abundant career development opportunities
- Focus on work-life balance
- Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
- Social responsibility programs
- Challenging, impactful projects
- Entrepreneurial environment
- Unparalleled stability
These strengths make Kimley-Horn an employer of choice for top talent across engineering, planning, design, consulting, and more. Employees find purpose in improving communities while advancing within a supportive organization. With competitive compensation and benefits, collaborative culture, career growth, work-life balance, and leadership opportunities, Kimley-Horn offers a complete package that enables fulfilling careers.
