Engineers build the world around us — and as long as that’s the case, the profession is a relatively safe bet.
As the Bureau of Labor Statistics has it, engineering jobs are expected to grow by 4 percent through 2031, resulting in 91,300 new jobs and an additional 200,900 vacancies as employees age out. Exactly what the day-to-day of these future roles look like is yet to be determined as rapid tech innovations in both hardware and software continue to shape the field at large.
Top Engineering Companies to Know
- Siemens
- ABB
- Hitachi
- China State Construction Engineering
- Emerson Electric
- WSP Global
- Larson & Toubro
- Quanta Services
- Neste
What we do know: the multi-billion dollar global engineering industry depends on top talent to help build the future, whether that’s inventing sustainable decarbonization strategies, designing smarter modes of living or saving crumbling infrastructure. The following engineering companies are leading this charge.
20 Top Engineering Companies to Know
Headquarters: New York, New York
Company size: 1,001 - 5,000 employees
Cloud monitoring company Datadog is proudly “designed by engineers, for engineers,” and employs a wide range of specialty engineers who work on building and testing solutions for everything from infrastructure monitoring to serverless computing and cybersecurity. The company keeps its client code and instrumentation libraries open source and is committed to sharing tech libraries across the industry.
Headquarters: San Diego, California
Company size: 900 employees
Altium makes design automation software that electronics engineers use to assist in making printed circuit boards. The company offers a design editor for schematics, a schematics and layout program for PCB design and other electronic design tools. These tools are used to create PCB elements for products like robot vacuums and other industrial and consumer goods.
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Company size: 300,000 employees
Siemens defines itself as a tech company that merges software and hardware. Operating out of 190 countries, its coverage areas span industry, energy, infrastructure, transport and healthcare. Backed by a 175-year legacy, Europe’s largest industrial manufacturing conglomerate is known for balancing cutting-edge innovation with a strong sense of social responsibility and sustainability; its production facilities and buildings are projected to achieve net zero carbon emissions. By market capitalization, Siemens outperforms all other engineering companies, earning $127 billion at the time of writing.
Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland
Company size: 100,000 employees
This engineering firm specializes in electrification and automation technologies and, ultimately, wants to create a more sustainable future by providing access to low-carbon, energy-efficient electricity. Operating in more than 100 countries, ABB employs more than 100,000 industry professionals across four different business areas: electrification, process automation, motion and robotics and discrete automation. Universum named ABB as one of the world’s most attractive employers in 2021.
Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
Company size: 13,000 employees
This infrastructure consulting firm has a wide portfolio ranging from civil construction projects to energy and industrial solutions. AECOM’s team has engineered power plants, mass transit terminals, refineries, water treatment centers, concert halls and stadiums as well as skyscrapers from start to finish. A Fortune 500 company, AECOM has acquired 50 companies since its founding in 1990.
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Company size: 300,000 employees
The multinational conglomerate is known for launching the country’s first general electric machinery manufacturing business in 1910, building Japan’s first induction motor. Today, the company has since expanded from building heavy electrical equipment and industrial-grade machinery, now holding a presence in information technology, electronics, power systems, and social infrastructure. Hitachi engineers everything from railway systems, refrigerators and Internet of Things solutions to solid-state, lithium-ion batteries fit for space exploration.
Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
Company size: 60,000 employees
This construction and engineering firm caters to clients in a range of industries, from energy and infrastructure to mobility and cybersecurity. The company’s services include customized operations, maintenance and facility management; strategic consulting; design-to-build project delivery; tunnel and ground engineering and inclusive design. Jacobs Engineering earns $15 billion in annual revenue, according to its website. In 2021, Environmental Business International recognized the company’s sustainability efforts with six awards.
Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
Company size: 26,000 employees
Stantec is a professional services company that works in the design and consulting industry. Designers, engineers, scientists and project managers makeup the company’s team working in 400 locations across six continents.
Headquarters: Almere, Netherlands
Company size: 4,200 employees
This mechanical engineering company supplies everything from wafer processing equipment to semiconductor manufacturers. ASM International designs, manufactures, sells and services deposition tools like Epsilon, a single wafer device used to artificially grow crystals at high temperatures via epitaxy, and Pulsar, an atomic layer deposition reactor that processes highly charged, dielectric materials. In its 54 years of business, the modern tech company has acquired over 40 subsidiaries.
Headquarters: Beijing, China
Company size: 368,000 employees
This state-owned construction company is the largest in the world by revenue — an estimated $304 billion — offering building, civil, infrastructure and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services. It specializes in planning and design, project development, equipment leasing, trade, construction and facilities management. Notable projects include the 300,000 square-foot Great Mosque of Algiers, award-winning high rises and the rapid construction of two hospitals in the span of 12 days in response to the pandemic.
Headquarters: St. Louis, Missouri
Company size: 86,700 employees
Emerson Electric is a global technology, software and engineering company that manufactures products and provides engineering services for industrial, commercial and consumer markets. Originally setting out as an electric fan and motor manufacturer in 1890, the multi-billion-dollar Fortune 500 company has since grown its portfolio, holding the largest market share in manufacturing power conversion equipment and even developing aerospace applications. It’s been named the “Industrial IoT Company of the Year” by IoT Breakthrough five times, and plans on reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.
Headquarters: Espoo, Finland
Company size: 60,000 employees
This elevator engineering company creates elevators, moving walkways, lifts, escalators and automatic doors to “improve the flow of urban life.” The company is active in over 60 different countries, and has been in operation for more than a century. In 2022, Kone sold 1.5 million units to its customer base, ending the fiscal year with 10.5 billion euros.
Headquarters: Mumbai, India
Company size: 245,000 employees
India’s largest construction and engineering company started out as a ship repair business in 1938 during World War II. Larson & Toubro still builds ships, but has since expanded its Mumbai-based operations globally across the following sectors: hydrocarbon, infrastructure, power, process industries and defense. The company employs workers in over 30 countries, and has been recognized for its sustainability efforts and as a “best workplace” by LinkedIn. Upcoming projects include a 237-kilometer high-speed rail corridor and India’s longest sea bridge.
Headquarters: Espoo, Finland
Company size: 4,400 employees
Neste is a sustainable energy company that produces renewable diesel, jet fuel and feedstock solutions. The firm involves every level of engineering — layout and piping, civil, electric, automation, instrumentation, construction management, procurement, project management and control — for projects of varying scale, locally and globally. When switching to Neste’s renewable diesel fuel, greenhouse gas emissions can drop by up to 75 percent, according to the company’s website. As for aviation fuel, Neste reports a potential 80 percent reduction.
Headquarters: Houston, Texas
Company size: 40,000 employees
Quanta Services is an engineering and construction firm that builds infrastructure for the electric, oil and gas industries. The company provides planning, design, installation, program management, maintenance and repair services, on and off shore. Since the current CEO, Duke Austin, took the helm in 2016, revenues have increased by 47 percent, according to the company’s website.
Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
Company size: 40,000
This engineering group provides equipment, tools and digital solutions that cater to mining and infrastructure industries. Sandvik operates out of 150 countries, offering mining and rock excavation, rock processing and metal cutting products and services. The company experienced overall growth of 18 percent in 2021, and announced that it will be achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 “at the latest,” according to its website.
Headquarters: Cheltenham, England
Company size: 8,000 employees
Spirax-Sarco Engineering is an engineering group that creates steam systems, electric thermal solutions as well as pumps and fluid path equipment for commercial and industrial use. This technology powers the manufacturing sector, helping deliver the goods of its 110,000 direct customers in about 165 countries. With its steam clean generators, Spirax-Sarco helped a hospital in Thailand sterilize its surfaces and equipment to medical-grade standards. Its electric thermal systems provide mission-critical safety for space launches, while its peristaltic pumps keep everything from water plants to bakeries in operation.
Headquarters: Singapore, Central Region, Singapore
Company size: 25,000 employees
This defense and engineering group builds and manufactures solutions across the aerospace, marine, smart city, military and public security segments. Of the company’s 25,000-person workforce, 17,000 are engineers and technical professionals. ST Engineering offers maintenance, repair and operation for airplanes and naval ships; satellite communication; modeling and simulation software; smart city infrastructure and security robotics, to name a few. The company, which is a member of the United Nations Global Compact, scored an A rating of its ESG-compliant policies, according to an MSCI report in 2023.
Headquarters: Los Angeles, California
Company size: 10,000 employees
This consulting and engineering firm provides integrated services that focus on water, environment, sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy and international development. Tetra Tech’s global team works with both commercial and governmental groups, following through a project’s entire life cycle. For 20 consecutive years, Engineering News Record, a weekly publication, has ranked Tetra Tech number one among 500 other design firms for its innovative water solutions.
Headquarters: Montreal, Canada
Company size: 65,000 employees
This engineering and professional services firm provides technical expertise and strategic advice across transportation and infrastructure, property and buildings, environment, industry, resources and energy sectors. Its portfolio includes the University of California’s all-electric hospital, accessibility testing of an autonomous bus in Finland, a 753-kilometer transmission line that powers Chile and Ain Dubai, the world’s largest ferris wheel-to-be. WSP has accumulated 130 years of experience in the field, growing to an international team since its founding in 1885 in New York City, New York, formerly known as Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the largest engineering firm?
Siemens is the largest engineering firm in the world, with a $127 billion market capitalization and a workforce spanning 300,000 members across 190 countries.
What are the big four of engineering?
The big four of engineering refers to four categories within the industry: chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering.