2025 In Review: Counting What Counts
As 2025 comes to an end, we’re counting the projects, stories, and milestones made extraordinary by our talented staff, collaborative partners, and visionary client owners. Here’s to the last 365 days of DE and to the memories ahead.
As a company, we added 14 tenacious new employees, hosted 13 interns, and officially planted roots in the Des Moines area by opening our third office in Ankeny, Iowa.
Project Wins
When it came to our project work, we dug deep—as always. We put in the hours. Meticulously balanced deadlines and tenaciously saw every commitment through to completion. This work isn’t for everyone, and that’s something we’re proud of. Because when the building’s doors open for business, we know the end product is transformational—a stunning design, efficient and functional building systems, and happy building owners. Each ribbon cutting is a feather proudly added to our caps, signifying a job well done. While the result of our specific work often hides behind the scenes—like a comfortably regulated room, beautifully concealed ductwork, or mechanical rooms that are intuitive for maintenance staff—we did celebrate some publicly recognized awards and certifications. These included our 25th Excellence in Energy Efficient Design Award, another LEED Gold certification, an IES Lighting Award, and countless AIA and other project awards earned by our talented architect partners, including a prestegious national AIA COTE Top 10 Award!
Professional Milestones, Social Events & Community Impact
When we weren’t crushing it with our project work, we kept things interesting with professional development milestones, social events and community involvement. We celebrated seven promotions, including three new associate principals. We cheered on Abby Hayes, Nick Rolling and Ryan Collins as they were appointed ASHRAE Cedar Valley Chapter President Elect and Co-Treasurers, and Ahmed Bilal for his appointment as Region VI Chapter Technology Transfer Chair! We also added two more FEs, two Registered Professional Engineers and our first Certified Passive House Consultant—congratulations Allison Clemens, PE, CPHC and Ahmed Bilal, PE!
A few of our favorite social events from this year included our annual company dinner, intern welcome lunch, pumpkin carving contest, and baseball outing. And, of course, we can’t forget about the time hosting our annual spring and fall Building Systems Design Day that educates local high school students about our profession and celebrating Engineers Week by supporting ASHRAE of Dane County’s Engineering Day with the Boys and Girls Club.
An especially significant moment this year was being a part of another winning team in the ASHRAE Decarbonization Challenge. The $10,000 grant supported ongoing work with Engineers Without Borders and brought us back to Ullo, Ghana in June to install solar panels at the local high school. At the end of the year, our holiday fundraising planted over 90 trees at the local soccer field and throughout the community.
Personal Highlights & Adventures
Outside the office, we cheered on fellow colleagues as they accomplished countless milestones and adventures taken by our employees. We celebrated five new houses, three new pets, two babies, two weddings and engagements, eight graduations, and capped off the year with one very special retirement party for our beloved administrative assistant, Vickie, who has been with us for more than 37 years.
Our employees enjoyed time with family and friends by going on adventures across Japan, Australia, and Hawaii, hiking the mountains of Colorado and Glacier National Park, and so much more!
Unique Benefits & Company Perks In Action
Our new Volunteer Time Off benefit was utilized in creative ways. From reading books at our kids’ schools, to putting on our chef’s hat at Green Square Meals, to rolling up our sleeves to tidy houses for the elderly—we contributed over 75 hours combined to make our communities a better place. Additionally, twenty-six employees participated in utilizing our EV company car this year. Our charging station, which provides employees with free EV charging, also helped power the company car on more than 200 trips totaling 14,647 miles.
This year, we grew in more ways than one. Our “world-class results” mindset that drives transformational buildings systems, paired with a team that celebrates and supports each other’s life outside the office is what makes a year of reflection something truly special at Design Engineers.
Cheers to all that was accomplished in 2025 and to all the exciting milestones and memories that await in 2026!
Join The Momentum!
Thinking about where your career could grow next? We’re always looking for proactive, collaborative, and tenacious individuals to join our team. If you’re looking for a place where your work matters, your growth is supported, and your teammates genuinely enjoy showing up every day, visit our careers at Design Engineers page and apply today!
