Kennedy/Jenks Consultants

What Kennedy/Jenks Consultants does

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants is a U.S.-headquartered engineering consulting firm specializing in water, wastewater, recycled water, and industrial process infrastructure. Founded in 1919 in San Francisco and operating under 100% employee ownership since 1972, the firm runs 30+ offices across the United States and employs 500+ technical and professional staff. Its practice spans 21 service lines including drinking water treatment, wastewater conveyance and treatment, advanced water reuse, stormwater management, biosolids and resource recovery, PFAS remediation, renewable natural gas (RNG), biofiltration, and specialized support for industrial clients in mining and metals, food and beverage, and advanced manufacturing.

The firm's revenue model is project-based professional services consulting, delivered under planning, design, construction management, and alternative delivery (CMAR, design-build, progressive design-build) procurement structures. Representative engagements include the $1.7 billion EchoWater Project in Sacramento, the $580 million Silicon Valley Clean Water (SVCW) RESCU Program, and the firm's $2 billion+ in cumulative recycled water construction value, along with decarbonization studies for Water Resource Recovery Facilities. Customer mix is balanced between public agencies (municipalities, water utilities, sanitary districts, and federal/state agencies) and private industrial owners, with procurement typically driven by qualification-based selections on multi-year programs.

Kennedy/Jenks is governed as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), aligning professional incentives with long-cycle municipal and industrial infrastructure delivery. The firm has received national recognition from bodies such as ACEC and DBIA for design and alternative-delivery excellence and maintains long-tenured relationships with several West Coast and Southwest utility clients. Recent strategic moves — including C-suite additions (CFO, CTO), a Mining and Metals practice launch anchored by a new Florida office, a Rockwell Automation partnership, and selection for Department of Energy WRRF decarbonization funding — signal active expansion of both geography and addressable vertical markets.

Name

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants

Legal name

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, Inc.

Website

https://kennedyjenks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1919

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm founded in 1919, delivering planning, design, and construction management for water, wastewater, recycled water, and industrial infrastructure to public agencies and industrial clients across 30+ U.S. offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water and Environmental Engineering Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Operations & Process Improvement Consulting (BPAHACAB)

Keywords

• Water engineering consulting
• Wastewater treatment design
• Environmental remediation services
• Construction management services
• Drinking water treatment

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices33 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Scientific Consulting Services: Kennedy Jenks provides professional engineering and environmental consulting services to public agencies and private industrial clients on a project-by-project basis. Services include design engineering, construction management, program management, planning, and research. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for project delivery, typically billed on a time-and-materials or fixed-fee basis per project.
2. Recycled Water Project Delivery: Kennedy Jenks has completed numerous recycled water projects with a combined construction value of more than $2 billion. The firm participates in the planning, design, and construction management of recycled water projects, positioning itself on major infrastructure programs across multiple states.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Kennedy/Jenks Consultants is a professional engineering and scientific consulting firm that delivers planning, design engineering, construction management, and program management services for water, wastewater, recycled water, stormwater, and industrial environmental infrastructure projects. The firm serves public agencies and private-sector industrial clients on a project-by-project basis, applying multidisciplinary expertise in civil, mechanical, structural, electrical, and controls engineering, as well as hydrogeology, biology, and chemistry. Revenue is generated through professional service fees billed on time-and-materials or fixed-fee bases across the full project lifecycle.

Product overview

Kennedy Jenks is a water and industrial engineering consulting firm founded in 1919, providing professional engineering and scientific services through 21 distinct service offerings. The company operates as a single integrated practice rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture, offering services across the entire water infrastructure lifecycle: planning, design engineering, construction management, and operations support. Core service areas include water treatment (drinking water, wastewater, recycled water), conveyance systems (transmission, pipelines, pump stations), environmental services (remediation, risk assessment, site characterization), and specialized capabilities (PFAS mitigation, air quality, solid waste management). The firm serves both public agency clients (municipalities, water districts, port authorities) and private industrial clients (aerospace, manufacturing, food and beverage, pulp and paper). Projects range from master planning studies to full design and construction management of treatment facilities, with recent notable projects including the $1.7B EchoWater Project and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) systems for wastewater treatment facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Air Quality Services
• Collaborative Delivery
• Construction Management
• Data Management
• Design Engineering
• Drinking Water Services
• Industrial Wastewater Services
• One Water Planning
• PFAS Mitigation Services
• Program Management
• Recycled & Purified Water Services
• Remediation Services
• Research Services
• Risk Assessment Services
• Site Characterization Services
• Solid & Hazardous Waste Services
• Solid Waste Management Services
• Stormwater Services
• Transmission & Conveyance Services
• Utility Management Services
• Wastewater Treatment Services

Quantifiable outcome

• EchoWater Project: $1.7B upgrade to 181-mgd wastewater treatment plant completed in 2023 using biological nutrient removal and advanced filtration
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Black and VeatchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026One of the other funded institutions selected alongside Kennedy Jenks for DOE decarbonization of Water Resource Recovery Facilities funding.
• AECOM Technical ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026One of the other funded institutions selected alongside Kennedy Jenks for DOE decarbonization of Water Resource Recovery Facilities funding.
• Carol Engineering and Environmental (Carollo Engineers)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026One of the other funded institutions selected alongside Kennedy Jenks for DOE decarbonization of Water Resource Recovery Facilities funding.
• Quasar Energy GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026One of the other funded institutions selected alongside Kennedy Jenks for DOE decarbonization of Water Resource Recovery Facilities funding.
• Rockwell Automation, Inc.coreTechnology or Integration · 19 September 2025Kennedy Jenks joined Rockwell Automation's EPC Partner Program as a partner company. KJ's design engineers now provide in-house control system programming using Rockwell Logix platforms, allowing clients to receive integrated process design and automation programming under one roof. This partnership enables clients who already use Rockwell automation tools to have those tools aligned with the facility's design intent, streamlining the overall automation and process delivery.
• Puget Sound Energy (PSE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022PSE operates the natural gas distribution system into which the City of Tacoma Central WWTP injects its RNG. The partnership made the RNG project viable through agreements on gas quality standards, pressure (250 psi), and pricing.
• NW Natural (natural gas utility)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021NW Natural operates the commercial natural gas pipeline into which MWMC's RNG is injected. The partnership enabled Oregon's first public agency RNG pipeline injection project. NW Natural constructed the receipt point facility on WPCF grounds and the buried pipeline to the existing transmission line.
• McKinstry (Energy Services Company)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018McKinstry, an Energy Services Company (ESCO), partnered with KJ on the City of Tacoma Central WWTP RNG project. McKinstry conducted the energy optimization study, identified financing solutions including state grants and federal tax credits, and hired KJ to design the biogas treatment system. McKinstry brokered contracting mechanisms with utilities for RNG acceptance.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting giant with a major US Water business; named alongside Kennedy Jenks in the DOE WRRF decarbonization funding cohort and competes for large collaborative-delivery water programs.
• Arcadis: Global design and consultancy with a significant US water and climate resilience practice; increasingly competing with mid-sized water specialists like KJ on resilient infrastructure programs.
• Tetra Tech: Large consulting and engineering firm with deep water, environmental remediation, and PFAS practices, frequently bidding for the same federal and municipal environmental work as Kennedy Jenks.
• HDR: Employee-owned engineering firm with significant water and environmental capabilities pursuing many of the same municipal water, PFAS, and recycled water programs as Kennedy Jenks.
• Stantec: Global engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with a large Water practice that competes with KJ on municipal water, wastewater, and PFAS projects across North America.
• Black & Veatch: Large global EPC and consulting firm offering comprehensive water infrastructure services; competes with KJ on major treatment plant and conveyance programs, including in the same DOE WRRF decarbonization cohort.
• Jacobs Solutions: Global professional services firm with a large water/wastewater practice built partly on the legacy CH2M Hill business; competes with KJ for major municipal and federal water infrastructure programs.

Direct peers

• Carollo Engineers: Employee-owned US water and wastewater engineering consulting firm of similar size and niche specialization; the most direct head-to-head competitor to Kennedy Jenks on municipal water design, PFAS, and recycled water work.
• Hazen and Sawyer: Employee-owned water and environmental engineering firm headquartered in New York with a comparable national office footprint; direct peer on drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater consulting work.
• Brown and Caldwell: Privately held US engineering consulting firm focused on water, wastewater, and environmental work for public agencies; competes with Kennedy Jenks for the same municipal RFPs and treatment plant design mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kennedyjenks-consultants
• Facebookfacebook.com/344869713329
• Xx.com/KennedyJenks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kennedy/Jenks Consultants