Vault’s Verdict

A relatively new player in the federal contracting space—it was founded in 2019—Aminad couldn’t have timed its arrival in the DoD consulting space much better. With the recent infrastructure bill providing $858 billion for defense spending, there will likely be no shortage of contract work in the years ahead; as a result we would expect Aminad’s recent growth to continue for the foreseeable future.

The key question for insiders will be whether it can maintain a culture that is both open and responsive as it continues to grow—an aspect that several insiders cite as their favorite part of life at the firm. Of course, generous compensation and education reimbursement don’t hurt either, and the firm also seems to be walking the walk when it comes to promises of decent work life balance.

At present, Aminad’s hiring model appears to be more recruiter-based,but for those interested in getting in on the ground floor of a rapidly expanding federal consulting shop, it may well be worth making proactive outreach.

Firm Culture

“A rewarding, positive opportunity to do great work, with talented people in a values-based culture.”

“Aminad Consulting is a firm that is employe- focused with a very strong culture. The firm values are not simply words on paper, they are pervasive in everything the firm does, which supports client delivery and the preservation of the firm culture.”

“I have never seen another firm so explicitly state that moral values are at the heart of their business. I believe this creates stronger teams and encourages our teams to not only treat each other with respect and kindness but also treat our clients the same.”

“Providing best-in-class consulting services with a modern, relevant, practical, and compassionate approach.”

“The focus on developing company culture and putting people first. The firm takes very seriously creating a work life balance that's sustainable and enjoyable. There are also a number of culture events we do together to create cohesiveness among the team.”

Quality of Life

“Aminad Consulting empowers employees to manage their work and schedule. The firm has an unlimited vacation policy and encourages employees to take time off to ensure a proper work/life balance. The travel requirements are minimal and on an as-needed basis in support of client delivery. Aminad Consulting maintains adequate staffing to balance workload across the firm, ensuring hours are manageable and the work product is of the highest quality.”

“Aminad has very flexible work from home arrangements with minimal requirements to be in the office if not necessary. Client travel is also fairly minimal with many trips being voluntary / self-selected. Overall, Aminad's efforts to ensure employees can set their own work-life balance is one of its greatest strengths and biggest draws for employees.”

“Strong focus on culture and retaining a work-life balance. Leadership truly cares about the well-being of the firm and does its part to ensure that the team is satisfied.”

“There is total flexibility around hours, travel, working from the office, and taking time off. There are no negative aspects around work life balance to note.”

“We get to work very flexible hours on top of having the ability to work from home so it’s very easy to get tasks accomplished and have a balanced home life. It’s easy to take time off with an unlimited PTO policy that we get to use whenever needed and I have never had an issue scheduling time.”

Compensation

“Aminad Consulting offers competitive and generous compensation packages. There is compensation transparency, and clear progression for promotion. The salaries are equitable and commensurate with experience, and the bonuses are tied to realistic firm goals and individual achievements. Furthermore, the firm adjusted salaries this year for inflation and offers spot bonuses to recognize achievements. The firm also offers generous benefits and perks including rewards based on employee recognition. Employees can nominate peers for a financial reward based on their great work or support to other colleagues.”

“Best: Education reimbursement - Aminad has compensated me for my last year at my Masters degree and will be compensating me for a Harvard course this summer. 

Worst: Not necessarily bad, but as a small company, there are many benefits still being formalized, such as childcare and remote worker's gym membership.”

“Firm pay is very competitive for the industry, and there are open communications with leadership where negotiations are respected. One of the best perks is full coverage of a world-class health insurance plan.”

“The best part of the compensation is the generous bonuses and base salaries. Aminad is very transparent about the financial health of the firm and bonuses are not a surprise at the end of the year, which is great. I have also been extremely impressed by Aminad's dedication to pay equality. When an employee who was a similar level to me was hired at a higher salary, Aminad raised my salary mid-year to match the other employees. This was extremely appreciated and not something I would have ever expected at any other firm.”

“The firm has a great compensation policy, and the salary progression is very clearly defined which is great to know so there are no surprises. I really enjoy the geo-flex policy they have in place allowing us to work from anywhere.”

Career Development

“Aminad Consulting provides detailed performance feedback, enabling employee growth, and facilitating an equitable promotion process. The firm values diversity and equity and invests in employee training and development.”

“Aminad is a place where everyone is treated fairly and if you work hard you are rewarded. As Aminad grows, more formal training can be established; however, the informal mentoring and training is the best I have ever experienced. Aminad truly invests in its people.” 

“I think the current career development at the firm is extremely fair. We have detailed descriptions of each level and what is necessary to meet the next level of expectation. In addition to that, regular touchpoints are in place to help regularly communicate progress and areas of improvement.”

“Open communication with leadership to create avenues to convey expectations and progress. Ideas are listened to and implemented from all levels. Being a small firm, there is less diversity of the work itself, but as the firm grows this will be mitigated.”

“The best aspect of career development is the personalized discussions and personal development sessions hosted by the leadership team, trying to understand individual challenges of day-to-day work, areas employees would like to grow on, and how that connects with the company's professional goals. 

The worst aspect of the career development opportunities is how, due to being a small firm, individual specialization and additional training must be individually research-based on one's individual needs. There is no standardized training once you are already settled at the company.”

Community Engagement

“Aminad Consulting is committed to advancing D&I efforts across the firm and launched an employee-led D&I committee to support those goals and advance D&I discussions across the firm. One such initiative developed by that committee is reimbursement for D&I educational resources. The firm maintains a diverse employee base and all consultants have equal access to interesting/high-quality work and promotion opportunities.”

“As a small firm Aminad has launched a very thorough D&I initiative led by a joint employee team with direct oversight and involvement of the CEO. Aminad is already very strong in this area and the core values of the firm - kindness, generosity, humility...all blend very nicely with being a firm that values D&I. All consultants have access to promotion opportunities and as a very young firm Aminad has already promoted individuals across race and gender.”

“I feel that there's equal access to work and promotions. There is diversity for a small company, and we have a committee that meets regularly focused on developing DEI practices and programming.”

“It seems that everyone has access to equal opportunities, and the firm is making active efforts to promote talent from within and develop a strong D&I initiative framework to pursue over each year to retain and improve these efforts.”

“Our firm has a group dedicated solely towards developing and improving diversity, equity, and inclusion. Everyone our firm has access to better opportunities within the workplace and no one is limited due to their background.”

Business Outlook

“Aminad Consulting is positioned for strong growth in the coming year. The firm has a recognized presence and breadth of work within an agency with a high likelihood of growth, while also well positioned to expand to other agencies. The firm has established valuable partnerships with large and small firms offering complementary capabilities and has contracting mechanisms and vehicles available for the Government to access. The firm has demonstrated year-over-year growth and has the infrastructure and talent in place for that to continue.”

“Aminad has an extremely strong pipeline and has grown at a remarkable pace. Having just been founded in 2019 the firm is already at almost $6M in revenue in only its third year. Aminad's focus on culture and employee satisfaction has created very high employee morale so the team is all excited to take part in and work towards success together. The disciplined focus in supply chain strategy within DoD is paying off in terms of customers asking for more and more work. The retention of clients has been incredible.”

“Best aspect: We have been awarded contracts with the Navy and Marine Corps for the following year, with the option of 2-year extensions which positions us really well in the federal consulting spectrum for smaller firms. 

Worst: Uncertainty dependent on contract awards and money pool.”

“The firm has a very strong pipeline and is always sharing business development opportunities with the firm. They are highly competitive in the industry and the employees' morale is high.”

The strengths are that leadership is extremely transparent about business outlook and upcoming project work—we meet biweekly to discuss—and there's a committee focused on business development and finding more work.”

Hiring Process

“Although I was not hired through the traditional process, I am aware that upon submitting a resume, a candidate is reached out to by a recruiter who coordinates the conversations with the interviewers and firm leadership. The recruiter stays in close contact with the candidate and informs them of the next steps and feedback regularly.

The ideal candidate is eager to learn, intellectually curious, kind, and committed to making our workspace better than they found it.”

“Aminad Consulting is very focused on culture and wants to ensure the candidates are not only exceptionally talented, but that they align with the culture and values of the firm. To that end, the firm ensures candidates have an opportunity to interview and meet with folks at a few levels across the firm and value the collective feedback.”

“I was contacted by a recruiting firm that introduced me to senior firm leadership which resulted in 4 typical interview calls conducted via teams. They are seeking the best professionals who are interested in making an impact at a growing boutique firm and working in the government space.”

“The candidate will speak with the CEO and leadership team members - especially if being hired for a specific project. Everyone's opinion is taken into account on the abilities of the person, but also that they would be a good fit with the rest of the team and personify the firm's values.”

“The firm partners with a professional recruiting firm to help identify and support a targeted interview process and candidate management. Outside of specific consulting skill sets, the firm looks for candidates that will continue to contribute to a positive, healthy firm culture.”

Interview Questions

“A typical interview question for consultants and business analysts involves a case study for one of the company's previous business case analyses. We strip out client specific information, due to non-disclosure situations, and request applicants to analyze the situation and suggest possible recommendations and the reasons for the recommendation. We evaluate those based on creativity and feasibility.”

“Aside from general work questions and ability questions the firm is very focused on its core values, so personality and sharing similar values is important to the interview process as well.”

“Our firm typically structures interview rounds into behavioral and case sections. The case questions can vary depending on the role that we're hiring for and are often related to how a candidate would respond to a client challenge Aminad is currently tackling on a project.

Aminad also structures final round interviews around our core values, which I think is a very unique part of the hiring process that I haven't seen at other firms. This final interview underscores the importance of these values (humility, kindness, simplicity, determination, etc.) to the candidate and ensures that they embody the values as well.”

“The interview/case questions Aminad Consulting employs varies depending on the level they are recruiting for, but generally the interview process is intended to promote equity and intended to identify candidates that cannot only successfully do the job but also espouse the values of the firm.”

“We typically have a lot of questions that revolve around how someone would react in a situation from an ethical standpoint. While being practical with Excel, PowerPoint and communication skills, we test to see if a prospective employee has the right cultural fit to treat clients and internal members with the care they deserve.”