Talented staff but management is a hindrance - Anonymous employee CDM Smith Employee Review

2.0
Sep 21, 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Smart people, a number of national experts

Cons

East Coast upper management out of touch with issues outside their home territory Focus on preserving stock price for upper management Too ready to cut staff as short-term money saver to detriment of long-term growth Engineering tools and attention to detail lower than at some other firms Friction between client service groups and production groups

Explore other reviews about CDM Smith

5.0
Apr 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Lots of training and opportunities

Cons

Company structure can be confusing

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CDM Smith Response
2w
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a 5-star review! It was great to have you as an employee and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
2.0
Jun 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible hybrid schedule is very nice and starting salary is high for early career engineers.

Cons

The main people running the company are not engineers and you can tell. They are all focused on utilization with rates often set at 97% or higher. This had led to my supervisor asking/telling me to not charge company required trainings. As an early engineer it really feels like they don't want to invest in me and only care about their bottom line. If you are an early career structural engineer you will also not get any meaningful work until you've been with the company for at least 5 years. The senior engineers do not trust you and will only give you grunt work.

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