CDM Smith
CDM Smith is a 100% employee-owned engineering and construction firm founded in 1947 with 7,000 staff across 120+ offices, delivering design-build water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities projects to government and industrial clients globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1947
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CDM Smith does
CDM Smith is a privately held, 100% employee-owned engineering and construction firm founded in 1947 and headquartered at 75 State Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm employs approximately 7,000 professionals across 120+ offices in more than 150 countries and has delivered over 150,000 projects to more than 20,000 clients since inception. It operates as a full-service design-build delivery organization spanning water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities, with primary customer segments including municipal water utilities, local and federal government, data centers, airports, international development agencies (notably USAID), and industrial clients in chemicals, mining, oil and gas, and manufacturing.
The firm's revenue is generated through four primary streams: engineering and consulting services, integrated design-build construction services, ongoing operations and maintenance, and digital/SaaS solutions delivered through Trinnex, its wholly owned digital subsidiary. Pricing is predominantly quote-based and project-based, driven by competitive bidding for public-sector work and direct negotiation for private-sector engagements, with no publicly disclosed pricing. The digital product portfolio centers on Trinnex (AI-powered SaaS for infrastructure digital transformation), Sky Wave (a drone-based geospatial intelligence platform combining ML analytics with patent-pending digital field capture and multispectral/LiDAR sensors), and leadCAST Predict (a machine learning GIS tool combining physical inspections with predictive modeling for lead service line inventory management). Recent strategic moves include Trinnex's February 2026 expansion into real-time asset and geospatial intelligence, dedicated entry into the data center vertical, the Tampa Bay Water $181 million progressive design-build joint venture with Veolia, and program management of DC Water's $2 billion Lead-Free DC initiative via the CDM Smith-Ramboll Joint Venture. The firm has been recognized as a dominant player in the global PFAS treatment market and won seven 2026 LSLR Collaborative Awards, reflecting category leadership in regulated water-infrastructure compliance.
CDM Smith firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CDM Smith
- Legal name
- CDM Smith Inc.
- Website
- https://cdmsmith.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1947
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- CDM Smith is a 100% employee-owned engineering and construction firm founded in 1947 with 7,000 staff across 120+ offices, delivering design-build water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities projects to government and industrial clients globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CDM Smith industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Engineering and Construction Services
- NAICS
- Totalizing Fluid Meter and Counting Device Manufacturing (334514)
- SIC
- Water Supply (4941)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Meter Data Management & Analytics (MDM, validation/estimation/editing, usage insights) (EUANAIAB)
Keywords
Where CDM Smith is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices7 records
Markets served
CDM Smith business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Engineering and Consulting Services: Providing consulting, engineering design, and technical expertise across water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities throughout the project lifecycle
- Construction Services: Integrated design-build construction services delivered as a single entity from project inception through design, preconstruction, construction, and commissioning
- Operations Services: Ongoing operations and maintenance support for infrastructure assets
- Digital/SaaS Solutions (Trinnex): Software-as-a-service solutions through wholly owned subsidiary Trinnex, including data analytics, AI tools, and consulting for infrastructure digital transformation
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
CDM Smith product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CDM Smith is a full-service engineering and construction firm providing consulting, design, and integrated design-build delivery across water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities for federal, municipal, and industrial clients. The firm complements its core engineering services with operations and maintenance support, and increasingly layers in proprietary digital offerings through its wholly owned SaaS subsidiary Trinnex, the Sky Wave drone-based geospatial intelligence platform, and the leadCAST Predict machine learning tool for water utility compliance.
Product overview
CDM Smith's digital product portfolio centers on Trinnex, a wholly owned SaaS subsidiary that provides AI-powered tools for infrastructure digital transformation. The portfolio includes leadCAST Predict (machine learning GIS tool for lead service line inventory management), Sky Wave (drone-based geospatial intelligence platform with machine-learning analytics), and various digital engineering services. These products integrate CDM Smith's deep infrastructure expertise with AI, data analytics, and remote sensing capabilities to help clients make faster, more transparent data-driven decisions across the asset lifecycle. The core offering is a platform-plus-services model where Trinnex serves as the digital innovation arm, delivering end-to-end solutions from real-time asset intelligence to predictive analytics.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Trinnex: A wholly owned subsidiary providing digital transformation services including AI-powered software tools, consulting, data analytics, GIS, and asset management for infrastructure clients.
- Sky Wave
- leadCAST Predict
Products and services
- Engineering and Consulting Services Provides consulting, engineering design, and technical expertise across water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities throughout the project lifecycle for federal, municipal, and industrial clients.
- Construction Services (Integrated Design-Build) Integrated design-build construction services delivered as a single entity from project inception through design, preconstruction, construction, and commissioning for large infrastructure projects.
- Operations and Maintenance Services
Quantifiable outcome
- DC Water Lead-Free DC program: $2 billion citywide replacement of 42,000 lead service lines
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use CDM Smith
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments12 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CDM Smith technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature4 records
CDM Smith partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Trinnex (leadCAST Predict)coreTrinnex's leadCAST Predict machine learning GIS tool is supporting SWBNO's $1 billion lead line replacement program by combining physical inspections with predictive modeling for inventory management.
- Veolia Water North AmericacorePublic-private partnership for Tampa Bay Water's $181 million Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant expansion. CDM Smith and Veolia are delivering the expansion through a progressive design-build approach, expected to be operational by 2028, increasing capacity by 12.5 million gallons per day.
- Carollo EngineerscoreAssociation partnership for Broward County, Florida PFAS treatment upgrades. Carollo Engineers, working in association with CDM Smith, is designing advanced nanofiltration treatment systems at the county's water treatment plants and constructing transmission mains.
- Tampa Bay WatercorePublic-private partnership for $181 million expansion of Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant. Project financed through revenue bonds and state and federal grants, scheduled for completion in 2028.
- RambollcoreCDM Smith-Ramboll Joint Venture serving as program manager for DC Water's $2 billion Lead-Free DC program, the largest lead service line replacement initiative in the nation.
- Water Environment Federation (WEF)coreCDM Smith joined WEF's Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence Advisory Council alongside founding leaders Amazon, Leading Utilities of the World, and The Water Center at Penn to advance 'Water for AI' and 'AI for Water' initiatives.
- AmazonminorFounding leader of Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence Advisory Council, collaborating with CDM Smith and other organizations on water and AI initiatives.
- TrinnexcoreWholly owned subsidiary of CDM Smith focused on digital innovation. Trinnex provides AI-powered SaaS tools, data analytics, and consulting for infrastructure digital transformation. Expanded in 2026 to integrate CDM Smith's GIS and asset management team.
- USAIDcoreUSAID Energy Infrastructure Monitoring Services (EIMS) project in Pakistan where CDM Smith provides third-party monitoring for hydroelectric and renewable energy facilities. Across Pakistan, USAID-funded initiatives supported by CDM Smith are delivering over 485 MW of renewable energy.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CDM Smith competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Arcadis: Global design and consultancy with water, environment, and infrastructure practices. Competes on similar municipal utility, transportation, and environmental remediation projects, with comparable integrated service offerings.
- Tetra Tech: Engineering and consulting firm with particularly strong water and environment practices. Direct competitor in PFAS treatment, lead service line programs, and municipal water infrastructure consulting where CDM Smith is dominant.
- WSP Global: Global professional services firm with comparable water, environment, transportation, and property/infrastructure practices. Competes on large federal and municipal programs with similar integrated consulting approach.
- AECOM: Premier global infrastructure consulting firm with overlapping water, environment, transportation, and energy practices. Direct competitor on federal contracts (FHWA, USAID) and large municipal programs like CDM Smith's DC Water and Tampa Bay Water engagements.
- Stantec: Engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with strong water and community development practices. Direct competitor in North American municipal water infrastructure and lead service line replacement programs.
- Black & Veatch: Infrastructure-focused engineering and construction firm, particularly strong in water and energy. Direct competitor on large water treatment plant design-build projects like Tampa Bay Water and similar municipal utility engagements.
- Carollo Engineers: Water-focused engineering firm that is actually a partner of CDM Smith on Broward County PFAS work, indicating direct competitive overlap in water treatment design. Specialized competitor in municipal water treatment plant design.
- HDR Inc. Employee-owned (like CDM Smith) engineering, architecture, and consulting firm with strong water and transportation practices. Competes on federal highway, water infrastructure, and environmental programs.
- Burns & McDonnell: 100% employee-owned engineering, architecture, and construction firm. Competes across water, environmental, and infrastructure sectors with similar integrated delivery model targeting utility and government clients.
- Jacobs Solutions: Global engineering, design, and consulting firm with similar water, environment, transportation, and energy infrastructure practices. Both compete for federal/municipal mega-programs and offer integrated design-build capabilities at comparable scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CDM Smith social profiles
Digital presenceCDM Smith financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CDM Smith leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles19 records
CDM Smith subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
CDM Smith funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CDM Smith M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CDM Smith
What does CDM Smith do?
CDM Smith is a full-service engineering and construction firm providing consulting, design, and integrated design-build delivery across water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities for federal, municipal, and industrial clients. The firm complements its core engineering services with operations and maintenance support, and increasingly layers in proprietary digital offerings through its wholly owned SaaS subsidiary Trinnex, the Sky Wave drone-based geospatial intelligence platform, and the leadCAST Predict machine learning tool for water utility compliance.
Is CDM Smith a public or private company?
CDM Smith is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was CDM Smith founded?
CDM Smith was founded in 1947. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is CDM Smith based?
CDM Smith is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does CDM Smith make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Engineering and Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are construction Services, operations Services and digital/SaaS Solutions (Trinnex).
Who are CDM Smith's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Arcadis, Tetra Tech, WSP Global, AECOM, Stantec, Black & Veatch, Carollo Engineers, HDR Inc., Burns & McDonnell and Jacobs Solutions.
Does CDM Smith have an API?
No public API is recorded for CDM Smith.
What industry is CDM Smith in?
CDM Smith's product category is Engineering and Construction Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUANAIAB, Meter Data Management & Analytics (MDM, validation/estimation/editing, usage insights). Its NAICS code is 334514 and its SIC code is 4941.