engineer

developer ii

project engineer

associate architect

cad technician

HNTB Corporation

I did not feel fulfilled as a graphic designer at HNTB. The first 3 months I was in training and they had little to no work for me, I basically stared at the screen. The lack of training in other key areas was also apparently my fault. When I did ask questions I was given short-snarky answers so I started getting nervous to ask more. I was constantly blamed for literally doing what they asked of me but because something didn't get communicated to me and was missed, it somehow became my fault and got sat down in an office talk. I felt more like my job was a marketing communications specialist and not a graphic designer. In fact, I barely did any graphic design work. Most of my time is spent putting text in InDesign and editing technical text and last minute comments. When I did go the extra mile to make a nice graphic cover for a proposal I got ridiculed for spending "too much time". I literally could not win here. I never received any praise either. If you want to do real graphic design and to be in a team building/project based environment this is not the place. You will work on fast paced proposals with technical icons and you will be on hours of calls with technical teams listening to engineering jargon the entire call. You will be reusing old proposals that other graphic designers made and get ridiculed when something is wrong with the proposal.  You will be traveling early mornings to different states with equipment and be expected to set up and take down equipment, tape cords, lift and carry extremely heavy TVs. 

I was belittled and spoken down to instead of being talked to as a fellow teammate. Phrases like "I see you did this" "This is not your job" "Next time don't do this" "You need to communicate more" "I already told you this" "You're expected to do this (even though we didn't tell you)" "You should focus on this characteristic out of this employee book". 

I woke up one morning to 10 emails from different people emailing at odd hours of the night. Very alarming. It seems the work-life balance is way off. 

I am truly sad this position did not work out, overall the company seems like a good one, but I just personally did not like my line of work there and the way UM spoke to me. HNTB does offer lots of breakfast and lunch options on pay days and they are great about noticing birthdays and anniversaries. Holidays are well planned and fun in the office with games and activities. I'm sure if I was doing graphic design for the main corporate office and not proposal based, I would still be working there and would have loved that a lot more. Their corporate designers seem more of a work at your own pace and truly get to do real nice graphics. I hope in the future management will not make assumptions and will listen to both sides of stories. I also hope fellow marketers will give feedback DIRECTLY to the graphic designer instead of just complaining to UM.

Overall, HNTB is a decent company to work for—provided your position isn’t within the Human Resources department. For those considering any HR-related role, including operations, it’s important to understand the environment you may encounter.

Despite working hard, being loyal, dependable, meeting all expectations, and even sacrificing personal and family time for the company, such efforts are often overlooked unless you happen to be a favorite of certain leadership figures — namely, the Chief People Officer, who is an attorney by trade, or the Director of Total Rewards, Operations, and Technology. Unfortunately, these managers seem to lack a true understanding and appreciation for the critical work performed by behind-the-scenes employees. As a result, recognizing and rewarding contributions in these areas appears inconsistent and largely subjective.  If you happen to align with the specific ideals of what these two managers consider an HR employee should embody, you may be among the select few who are consistently recognized and rewarded. However, for others, despite fulfilling all duties and going above and beyond, acknowledgment and advancement may remain elusive. You would think that your good work should speak for itself, but here it does not. The high turnover rate in HR over the past several years is an indicator of the indecisive and erratic executive management style. It is ironic that Human Resources, whose primary role is to foster employee growth and invest in personnel as valuable company assets, often fails to support some of its own team members.

I see other reviews here that are similar to my experience, which only confirms that you should be beware of HR at HNTB.


If you're a marketing professional looking for growth, mentorship, or even basic respect for your time and expertise—this company may not be the place for you.
Management is a frustrating mix of inexperience and passive-aggressive behavior. Despite lacking leadership skills, they regularly micromanage the team, creating an environment of distrust and inefficiency. There’s little to no recognition of individual expertise or autonomy, and any appearance of "support" from leadership is often just lip service. You're left to navigate challenges alone, especially when facing difficult personalities or unreasonable demands from senior staff.

The New York department's Marketing Director is a prime example of the broader issues—having spent her entire career within the company, they lack external perspective and leadership maturity. Their "open door" approach feels more like a performance than genuine support. Decisions are often made in a vacuum, and accountability is notably absent.

During the interview process, the role is presented as one with variety, strategic input, and autonomy—but in reality, everyone across all levels is doing essentially the same task: copyediting and writing technical proposals. Strategic thinking is rarely welcomed, and your day-to-day will largely consist of reacting to endless revisions, many of which continue until the very last minute with little warning or justification. Don't expect much support managing the workload either.

Work-life balance is non-existent. Plan to work late hours regularly and sacrifice personal time. Creativity and career growth are stifled, leaving many employees uninspired and stuck. Unsurprisingly, turnover in the department is high—and for good reason.

In short: this is a high-stress, low-support environment where leadership is more concerned with control than collaboration. Approach with caution.

I just retired from HNTB after 18 years with the company. Miss it already and the friendly and professional people. The projects that HNTB acquires are always exciting and some of the largest in the nation. I read some of the negative comments, and would like to say that in my 18 years with the company, I never ran across any employees or supervisors that were not part of the team. Some employees work harder than others and have a different outlook in the workplace. This is true with any company, and yes it is a big company and growing bigger all the time. I never felt lost. HNTB is an employee owned company, and that factor alone says a lot for the attitude of the employees. 

The stock value has always been way above the average company of this type. With any job, if in your heart you desire to perform in another position, you have to coordinate this with you supervisor and convince him/her that you really do want a different position.  Be sure you research the position and be prepared to tell management what you plan on doing and why you want the position.  I have seen structural engineers become Project Managers and take on 15-20 projects for the first time, Inspectors become Project Engineers, and Project Managers become division leaders.  This is all because they wanted to be successful, they wanted a challenge, and of course being there at the right time and place, (normal in life for any job).

I personally was in the CE&I division and was a Project Administrator and Office Engineer on a number of construction projects. I wanted more, so I transferred to Production/Design and ended up my career as an Estimator with HNTB at the Florida Turnpike. I took the position because I knew I could do it, and HNTB always had my back. If you want to have a career with an excellent company, HNTB is one that will take you far and the company benefits are some of the best in the industry.

What is the best part of working at the company?
HNTB is comprised of the industry's best!  I was based in Los Angeles but professionals who worked out of various locations across the country came to our office and the company's excellence extends across the country. Leadership is serious  and well respected  and amazing.  Lifelong professionals.  HNTB's pursuit of potential team members as well as their pursuits to win contracts is no joke.  These people do NOT PLAY! 
 EVERYONE here is top notch and I was so impressed on the daily to witness how each process was strategically developed, perfected, implemented and followed by all.  This team's proven success record speaks for itself.  The sky was always the limit and it was a true privilege to work with the best.!!!  Having HNTB on your resume definitely sets you apart from the rest.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
HNTB has various areas of expertise.  They're fast paced, efficient and are in demand!  Keeping up with all of that was an exciting challenge!!   I was inspired by the best!

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Extremely professional, personal, fast paced with zero room for error.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arriving in the early morning and leaving at night with a million things that still need to be done.  Fast paced all day, everyday without a moment to spare. There is no other way to becoming the best.

Overall, there are certain people that can do whatever they please.  I also believe that submitting a credibel complaint makes you a target.  In my particular case, I worked very hard for this company - I found some things very disturbing, and reported them.  Once this happened, I felt that I was being retaliated against.  I had some medical issues that were well documented that they fought me every step of the way.  I had flexible working hours to be able to work from home that I stated during my job interview due to my mother's medcial condition..this was stated that never happened.  When I filed any complaints, they came after me - I filed charges against a person who touched me in a more intimate may against my will, the company said that there was a full investigation...there was never an account by me - they never got a detailed account from me.  There was a statement that I supposedly said, I got in trouble for it, I officially did NOT say it, I know who said it, the people that were involved were never spoken to.  I loved my job for a long time, even when I was verbally and physically intimated within the first couple of weeks of starting my job...there are some serious issues at HNTB.

The current NYC office seems to care more about hiring then developing their current staff. It was absolutely impossible to get promoted there; people work for 3-5 years without being given credit for their added responsibilities or licenses. And as they don't promoted from within, and yet they hire people. This has completely affected moral in multiple departments and is creating tension.

Very top heavy with all of the senior level staff being from the same background (former AECOM rail engineers) and no diversity or influence from multiple departments or people who have been with the company for a long time. The focus - only focus - is rail and all other departments get the short end of the stick with project pursues and support. 

The people who work there are great, and the work architecture use to get (like 2 years ago) was interesting, but the absorption into one office has done more harm then good. They no longer pursue buildings or stations and have created a department that just supports engineering projects. As a result the architecture department has become a revolving door, with over 10 people leaving in the last 2 years.

I worked here for 6 months. Management involvement was minimal, training was subpar and the team I was a part of wasn't open to outsiders joining their group.  The Momma hen mentality needs to go, and every voice matters.  The organization needs to set up a training program for new employees that is quality and is mission and organization oriented. The training I was given was definitely grade school quality and there were no tools or resources that helped me perform better.  

The salary for a contract specialist is well below the industry standard and there are no certifications that are necessary.  This is no way to develop a CS specialist cadre with quality and certified credentials.  

I would never go back because I felt like an outsider the entire time I worked there. There was no cohesion unless you were one of the old timers or a backside kisser.  Management needs to get involved instead of sitting in their office all week and only showing up on a Friday at 3

During a typical day I would answer and return phone calls, greet customers, schedule meetings, book travel arrangements, work on I-Expense reports and also update or refine the data sheet for the expense reports. Made sure that the break room and conference room stayed clean, and also made sure that there was fresh coffee available through out the day. During my free time I would work on the to-do list for the Human Resource Manager calendar, and help schedule meetings and appointments for other co-workers through the office that didn't have time to manger their calendar. I would also order office supplies, send or pay bills, check and prepare incoming and outgoing mailing. If there were conference meetings going on I would prepare all documents that were needed, order lunch for the meetings, and check periodically to see if they needed anything.

The team staff and management were always very professional and kind. I enjoyed working for the wonderful company, there was nothing that I didn't like about it.

The push to return to the office feels excessive and out of touch with the realities many employees face—especially working parents. As a working mother, this shift has significantly impacted my ability to maintain any real work-life balance. It limits my ability to pick up my children, attend their activities, and manage family responsibilities, despite consistently meeting performance expectations.

If flexibility is truly supported, those conversations should be proactively initiated by managers rather than left ambiguous or inconsistently applied. Research consistently shows that flexible work arrangements are critical for retaining working mothers, improving engagement, and reducing burnout—yet current policies feel misaligned with those realities.

This approach has taken a toll on my well-being, and unfortunately, it has led me to actively consider other opportunities where flexibility and trust are genuinely valued.

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