Great at First but the momentum slowed real fast - Design Engineer BKF Engineers Employee Review

4.0
Aug 31, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great people work here, very smart and friendly individuals. Lots of opportunities for professional development and involvement in ERG’s and committees. Provide support for joining organizations and conferences. Interesting projects and a lot of exposure to CAD and Civil 3D.

Cons

Some teams are very to themselves and distant from other departments/groups. Misleading salary when onboarding, HR gave you a “compensation calculator” of your pay (overtime, bonus, profit sharing..) which can be confusing and false expectations especially for those new to industry. While I understand it is an industry norm to take the days between Christmas and New Year’s off, make it clear to employees early on that they can’t work and must take PTO or unpaid time off (not everyone wants to take those days off). No formal CAD training till 8 months in. Starts heavy with production work. Never get involved in coordination or planning (would be nice to get even a taste) as a design engineer. Management doesn’t really encourage Engineers to be involved in professional organizations or ERGs. They provide some hours to bill towards but it also affects your utilization rate which in turn affects your rating and potential to move upwards.

Explore other reviews about BKF Engineers

5.0
Jun 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great staff, great learning experience, cool variety of projects

Cons

A lot of work, kept me extra busy

2.0
Jan 26, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of great engineers and exciting projects. Numerous opportunities to grow if you have the motivation and a supportive manager. You can have a healthy work life balance if that is a priority. One of the prominent land development and survey firms on the west coast.

Cons

Under the previous CEO, BKF fostered a fun, close-knit, and forward thinking environment. There was palpable excitement for the future of BKF. In less than 5 years under the current CEO, the company has made countless decisions that favor upper management, exploit and penny pinch the engineering core of the company, and disregard the values and integrity that BKF built over 100+ years in the industry. It saddens me because I used to call BKF the best in the business and thought I'd finish my career here. However, the current CEO is uncharismatic and not a natural-born leader. The company recently partnered with private equity. Shortly after, policies and benefits that made BKF stand out in a crowded industry have been rewritten to reduce pay, paid leave, and opportunities throughout. And through all the changes, the CEO has hidden behind a guise of transparency. Positive news is dispersed during company wide meetings while impactful policy changes trickle down through word of mouth without any formal announcement. Critical questions from colleagues are blatantly ignored by HR if the answer/response would be unfavorable to the employees.

7
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