About CannonDesign
What is CannonDesign?
CannonDesign is a design firm that calls itself "a design practice where strategy, experience, architecture, engineering, and social impact converge". LinkedIn lists it as privately held, founded in 1945 and headquartered in New York, NY, and its own site says it has "more than 1,700 teammates across 21 offices". Alongside the main architecture and engineering practice, the group includes Blue Cottage (a consultancy), Cityfi (a strategy and innovation firm focused on the future of cities), Ennead, Facility Optimization Solutions, The Clarient Group, Yazdani Studio and Yellow Brick. Its guiding idea is what it calls Living-Centered Design.
Where will I work?
CannonDesign lists offices in Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Irvine, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Mumbai, New York City, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, Shanghai, St. Louis, Toronto and Washington, D.C. Its careers page lists well over a hundred openings across architecture, engineering, technology, consulting and facility services. Most are in the United States, with a handful in Mumbai and Pune in India and one in Toronto, and a good number are tagged "United States - Remote". The benefits page says the firm's Work/Life program "offers many options for employees to create a work experience that best fits their lives", which, depending on the position, can mean working fully in an office, fully remote, or in a hybrid office/remote model.
What is the CannonDesign team like?
The benefits page describes a "100% employee-owned company" that provides "pathways to becoming an owner of our firm". Openings span architecture and interiors, engineering, technology, consulting, facility optimization, human resources and administration, from student interns to experienced leaders. Learning is a stated priority: a firm-wide mentorship program, the CannonDesign Academy, a program to help pay off eligible student loans, and reimbursement of eligible expenses for people who go back to school or become licensed. The job ads also point to a DEI Council and Employee Resource Groups "which are open to everyone".
Work-Life Balance
The hours wording sits in the benefits paragraph of CannonDesign's job ads: "We have paid time off, flex-time schedules, remote work options and a 401k plan and employee perk programs." The same flex-time wording appears in 86 of the 141 live ads, across architecture and interiors, engineering, technology, consulting, facility optimization, HR and administration roles. Some ads vary it to "flex-time summer hours" or "hybrid work options". No core hours or weekly-hours figure is published, so how flex-time works day to day depends on the team and role. The benefits page adds that the firm subscribes to a "no meeting Friday" philosophy and tries "to avoid in-person or virtual meetings at the end of the week", and that it offers "ample paid time off for all employees".
Perks and Benefits
- Flex-time schedules, with remote or hybrid work options depending on the role
- A "no meeting Friday" philosophy
- Employee ownership: a 100% employee-owned firm with pathways to becoming an owner
- Discretionary bonuses (eligibility depends on the position)
- Medical, dental and vision coverage as part of a full benefit package, plus flexible spending account options and voluntary insurances
- 401(k) plan and paid time off
- Three weeks of paid parental leave on top of Family and Medical Leave or state or local leave
- Payroll tax savings on up to $5,000 a year of eligible dependent care expenses
- Well-being program and an employee assistance program
- CannonDesign Academy, firm-wide mentoring, reimbursement of eligible school or licensing expenses, and a student-loan repayment program