Average ESOP - Engineer HDR Employee Review

2.0
Dec 22, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

An ESOP company offering you the ability to buy shares. Decent healthcare benefits and 2 week paid maternity/paternity leave.

Cons

They do not spend the time and resources to mentor and grow employees; instead, they poach experienced people from local firms. New section managers will most likely be an outside hire, so they avoid backfilling the grunt roles. Their officer program is a good ole boy system where you can only be nominated when kissing the ring of a current officer. There are some younger people in the company that have an officer title when their direct supervisor does not have one or is of lesser title. If you want to play the game, you might be able to get ahead. If you are looking to work here, be sure to ask about their employee retention rate (in a nice way of course because it is not good.).

Explore other reviews about HDR

5.0
Jun 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible hours. Hybrid office model. Employee owned. Encourage trying and learning new things.

Cons

Hard to figure out a path for promotions

1.0
May 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent benefits and that was about it.

Cons

This was one of the most challenging management experiences of my career. The manager had spent her entire career at HDR and lacked both external perspective and experience in learning and development, which was critical for our team. There was a clear pattern of favoritism, and feedback tended to focus more on mistakes than recognizing contributions. Work-life balance was minimal, and expectations often extended beyond reasonable limits. I was consistently seeking growth and development opportunities, but these were not supported unless I was willing to fund them myself. Compensation and recognition also felt uneven. Outside of engineering and architecture roles, bonuses were not offered, and raises were infrequent—I received only two raises over four years. Although I’ve since moved on, the experience had a lasting impact on me. I would encourage the organization to invest more in leadership development, employee growth, and a more balanced and supportive workplace culture.

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