When the government shutdown put 15 of its software engineers out of work, employees at IntelliGenesis, a cybersecurity firm, rallied to their aid. Colleagues at the Columbia-based company donated portions of their own banked leave to their laid-off co-workers to help them make ends meet.

“We all have the attitude that we’re here to get through [crises] as a team,” said Guy Howard, 43, a chief AI engineer who gifted a portion of his accrued leave to the cause. “These are people we see at company events, parties and meetings, and we wanted to help out.”

That cohesive, one-for-all culture has helped make IntelliGenesis a top workplace in the metro area for three of the past six years. Founded in 2007 by Angie Lienert, an Air Force veteran, the firm handles sensitive defense industry contra

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