As an engineering consultancy firm with over 3,000 employees spread across 90 offices nationwide, a supreme focus on people and clients is a non-negotiable.
For their work in delivering purpose-driven projects and empowering employee growth through ownership, LJA Engineering is the Orlando Sentinel’s 2026 Top Workplaces in Central Florida winner in the large business category.
While LJA has offices in 12 different states, employees in the Orlando area recently moved into a new office space at the Keller Center in Maitland.
LJA offers an array of services, primarily across eight areas of expertise ranging from land development, public works and surveying to transportation, rail and energy.
As employees complete the necessary work of building relationships with clients and contributing to various engineering projects, LJA fosters its relationship with its employees by offering enrollment in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP.
Federally governed, an ESOP is a retirement benefit plan that allows employees to invest in shares of stocks issued by their employer.
LJA Engineering colleagues discuss a project at the engineering consulting firm’s Maitland office on Monday, September 21, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
“As employees, we do have the opportunity to invest and we also help employees in getting their professional registration as an engineer,” Robin Mitchell, LJA Employee Engagement Specialist, said. “We invest in surveying and we help pay for school, so we try to help our employees grow throughout their tenure here.”
Mitchell has worked at LJA for just over three years and is tasked with ensuring employees have all the necessary tools to succeed and grow within the company.
“We have a whole leadership in development and learning team dedicated just to the employees,” she said. “As soon as you get hired, we have a communication class, we have a mentorship program, and we have all these different research tools that most companies do not invest in.”
To keep employees motivated and engaged throughout the year, Mitchell said LJA has monthly celebrations for different events and holidays that could range from a Thanksgiving potluck or holiday party to Star Wars Day or Pi Day.
“We also just completed our anniversary lunch where we celebrate our employees hitting five, ten or 15 years,” she said. “They’re responsible for keeping the culture and environment alive throughout the year as well; they’ll bring in different dishes from their families or do holiday events.”
Engineers with LJA Engineering meet to discuss a project at the engineering consulting firm’s Maitland office on Monday, September 21, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
‘Have Fun’ is one of the Core Four within LJA, a collection of four foundational pillars that serve as the company’s unifying cultural values.
The other three — Make Money and Make a Difference, Grow or Die, Freedom and Responsibility — serve as the guiding force for the day-to-day operations of the company.
In an effort to make a difference, LJA offers an employee resource group called LJA Cares, which focuses on charity efforts in the communities LJA works within.
Within the Orlando office, Mitchell said the team does Toys for Tots each year, participates in local volunteer clean-up days and supports breast cancer awareness campaigns.
LJA Senior Vice President of Land Development Bob Schanck said the company’s focus on ‘freedom and responsibility’ is one of the biggest draws in attracting talented employees.
The ability for employees to invest has been both a recruiting tool and invaluable in retaining a solid employee base.
“We’re an ESOP company, so you can really spend your entire career with LJA because it’s a financial tool that makes us all employee-owners as soon as you join,” he said. “It’s really huge for us.”
The working relationships between employees and the ability to get involved through ownership sets LJA above the rest as one of the top workplaces in Central Florida.
“You’ll see in other companies where they say the culture is there, but they’re really like these siloed offices throughout the country that aren’t working together,” Schanck said. “We understand that we can thrive if we are truly working together and pulling together to increase the stock in our company for our employees.”