In their own words

“Kosmos Energy is an oil and gas company with exploration and production activities in the deep waters offshore West Africa and northeast South America,” says Thomas Golembeski, vice president of corporate communications.

About the culture

Every new employee receives shares in Kosmos stock. Kosmos focuses on frontier and under-explored areas along the Atlantic Ocean, primarily offshore Africa, South America and Europe. Its office is closed for a week and a half between Christmas and New Year’s Day, in addition to employees’ normal vacations. The company provides health insurance benefits to employees and their dependents at no cost to the employee. Employees are eligible to participate in the 401(k) on their first day of work and are immediately 100 percent vested in the employer contribution, which is 8 percent. Every Wednesday, Kosmos has lunch delivered from a local restaurant for the entire company. There's also a companywide breakfast every Friday.

Employees say

"Everyone is so welcoming and respectful regardless of position or time with the company."

"I am allowed to contribute to projects that are important to the company and to foreign countries."

"Kosmos is an oasis of sorts to the rest of the industry. It moves at its own beat and its own pace, which makes it very different than anywhere else I have worked. The job is challenging and rewarding."

Good works

Kosmos is committed to advancing the environmental, social and economic well-being of local communities and host countries in which it operates. Community efforts include a partnership with the Dallas Museum of Art as the presenting sponsor of the Keir Collection of Islamic Art, providing $800,000 of support for its inaugural years of special exhibitions and installations; the Kosmos Energy STEM Teacher Institute at the Perot Museum of Science and Nature, designed to help Dallas area teachers develop their ability to instruct and inspire students in the STEM disciplines; and the Kosmos Innovation Center, a multimillion-dollar social investment program in Ghana. Kosmos employees volunteer together during the work week at the North Texas Food Bank several times a year.

Fun facts

The word “Kosmos” means “the world” in ancient Greek. Company founders liked the word because it captured the scope of their vision for the company: far-reaching and exploratory.