CannonDesign reviews

4.1

86% would recommend to a friend

(334 total reviews)
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Brad Lukanic, AIA

94% approve of CEO

79% positive business outlook

CannonDesign has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 334 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The CannonDesign employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Construction, Repair & Maintenance Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

334 reviews
1.0
Feb 1, 2025

Toxic Company

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It depends on your position and specific work setting

Cons

I highly advise against working at this company. The culture is beyond toxic and management operates in a way that leaves you unsupported and set up to fail. They have a rule that every project must have a licensed architect, yet once projects are assigned, you’re left to figure everything out on your own. Employees who’ve been there longer offer nothing but cold shoulders, and there’s no BIM support at all, which makes the work extremely difficult and frustrating. Despite having an office in India, the company doesn’t have BIM managers to oversee projects—this is mind-blowing for projects of this scale. The expectation is that U.S.-based architects will shoulder the blame for poorly executed and coordinated drawings, regardless of the lack of resources or support. You’ll be overloaded with assignments that are way beyond your pay grade and there’s a culture of peer pressure to just smile and keep going—underpaid, overworked, and unappreciated. To make things worse, some senior leaders in key positions are simply insecure placeholders, and many aren’t even licensed architects. This makes it incredibly difficult to have any respect for them, especially when they treat you like you’re nothing. And while the company works with some of the largest contractors and engineering firms, a bad manager and/or lack of resources can tarnish your reputation for the rest of your career. If you work here, you’ll always be looking over your shoulder, and if you stand up to the way things are handled, your future could be destroyed. They have connections everywhere and crossing them could ruin your career. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this company—there are plenty of other places where you’ll be treated with the respect and support you deserve. New York, NY Office.

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CannonDesign Response
1y
As the leader of the NYC office, I want to sincerely apologize. Your review has been weighing on me because it means you didn’t feel comfortable sharing your concerns with me or another leader — and that’s something I never want anyone to feel. More than anything, I want you to know that we hear you. It’s not easy to bring up concerns like this, but I hope you’ll reach out so we can have a conversation. What you mentioned seems to stem from miscommunication and a lack of clarity around how we manage projects — things we can work through together. If that doesn’t feel like the right path for you, please reach out to HR or any member of our executive Core Team. We’re all here to listen and figure this out. I’ve shared this review with our full leadership team in NYC, and we’re already talking about the changes we need to make. -Rich Kahn, New York City Office Practice Leader
4.0
Jan 19, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

good people to work with

Cons

hard to move up at times

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CannonDesign Response
1y
We really appreciate you leaving us a review. If you haven’t already, it might be worth having a conversation with your supervisor about our firm’s career workbook and how it applies to your role. There are a number of factors that play into promotions, but having an open conversation about your goals and where you’d like to grow is always a great place to start.
3.0
Nov 25, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you want to start a corporate initiative, there will be nothing stopping you. Semi-pointless endeavors will be funded, overhead is crazy high because corporate dollars are spent hiring talent for too much money from tech firms, but if you have a special interest they will back you. Software and resources, they spend money on tools so if you want to use Revit with 6 layers of add ons they have it.

Cons

Mid to low pay. Below AIA salary survey for their region, their levels, their firm size. They run on charging fees based on a level above your title, but paying you for less than you are worth. Capped bonuses? For some reason they have decided that even if you burn yourself out during the year you're not entitled to more than $1400 a year in bonuses. This is in their handbook. Long hours. There is no mandatory overtime but they staff their projects so lean that it will inevitably fall on you to do the work. 60-80 hour weeks during deadlines are regular, when you ask for assistance, you'll get it 2 months later due to behemoth of corporate leadership. Burn out. See above, lean projects means they run you into the ground until you're exhausted, then just outsource. Business culture is dominant, design culture springs up occasionally only to be entirely squashed by the business leaders. Massive slow corporation. Too big for its own good. Money is wasted hiring 6 or 7 figure employees from other companies in silicon valley, or doctors. Leadership only cares about corporate welfare, bonuses for themselves. This corporation is eroding regional design culture through acquisitions. Hardly the only firm doing this but they have swallowed up a number of solid design firms in their lowest moment and erased them after 5 years.

Viewing 28 - 30 of 334 Reviews

Glassdoor has 376 CannonDesign reviews submitted anonymously by CannonDesign employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if CannonDesign is right for you.