Salas O'Brien
Salas O'Brien is an employee-owned engineering and technical consulting firm with 5,000+ professionals across 120+ North American offices, delivering multidisciplinary MEP, structural, civil, sustainability, digital automation, and forensic engineering services to federal, healthcare, higher education, and industrial clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersIrvine, United States
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Salas O'Brien does
Salas O'Brien is an employee-owned engineering and technical consulting firm founded in 1980 and headquartered in Irvine, California. The firm provides multidisciplinary engineering services spanning mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, structural, civil, technology, sustainability, and forensics across 120+ offices throughout the United States and Canada. It serves a diverse client base including federal agencies (Department of Defense, Air Force Civil Engineer Center), higher education institutions (Princeton, Miami University, Smith College), healthcare systems (Kaiser Permanente, Royal Columbian Hospital), and industrial manufacturers (Pfizer, Toyota, Ford, Molson Coors, LG Chem), and reports roughly 20,200 projects per year representing $20 billion in annual construction value.
The firm's service portfolio is organized into six core categories: Built Environment, Energy & Resiliency (including advanced geothermal, district energy, microgrids, and decarbonization), Process Design & Integration, Digital Automation & Robotics, Sustainability Consulting & Design, and Forensic Consulting. The firm has completed over 450 geothermal heating and cooling systems delivering more than 90,000 tons of capacity, maintains an ISO 17025 accredited building envelope and materials testing lab, and has delivered sustainability credentials (LEED, WELL, ESG) as a foundation of all work. Its digital services include industrial automation, turnkey robotics, digital twins, IIoT, and industrial cybersecurity, recently augmented by an expanded partnership with Siemens that makes it the first firm in North America to hold both the Siemens Digital Industries Solutions partner designation and the Smart Infrastructure Alliance Program membership.
Revenue is generated through project-based professional services priced per engagement under multi-year contracts. In January 2024, Blackstone made a minority growth investment that preserved the employee-ownership model in which approximately 90% of the 5,000+ team members hold equity. The firm has executed an active roll-up strategy, completing mergers with Ehvert Mission Critical (July 2024, addressing hyperscale data center demand from AI workloads), Chavez-Grieves Consulting Engineers (April 2025), and Evolve Steel, alongside retaining legacy brands of multiple previously acquired firms. The firm ranks #31 on ENR's Top 500 Design Firms, #5 on MEP Giants 2025, #3 on BD+C's Giants 400, and #3 on Zweig Group's Hot Firms list, with 13 appearances on the Inc. 5000.
Salas O'Brien firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Salas O'Brien
- Legal name
- Salas O'Brien
- Website
- https://salasobrien.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Salas O'Brien is an employee-owned engineering and technical consulting firm with 5,000+ professionals across 120+ North American offices, delivering multidisciplinary MEP, structural, civil, sustainability, digital automation, and forensic engineering services to federal, healthcare, higher education, and industrial clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Salas O'Brien industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Engineering Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Engineering Services (541330), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Engineering Services (54133)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Construction Program Management (Multi-site/Portfolio) (IMAFAAAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAM)
Keywords
Where Salas O'Brien is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Irvine
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices25 records
Markets served
Salas O'Brien business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Engineering and Technical Consulting Services: Project-based professional services revenue from providing multidisciplinary engineering consulting across built environment, energy, process, digital, sustainability, and forensic services. Services range from quick-turn projects to complex multi-year engagements for government and private sector clients.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based consulting - no standard tiers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels9 records
Salas O'Brien product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Salas O'Brien is an employee-owned engineering and technical consulting firm that delivers multidisciplinary design, commissioning, and construction management services across the built environment, energy systems, industrial processes, digital automation, sustainability, and forensic analysis. Services span from quick-turn assignments to complex multi-year engagements for government, healthcare, higher education, industrial, data center, and utility clients throughout North America.
Product overview
Salas O'Brien is an employee-owned engineering and technical consulting firm offering a portfolio of integrated service lines rather than a single software product. The core offering spans six major service categories: Built Environment (MEP/FP, structural, civil, technology, acoustics, architecture & interiors, lighting, building envelope, commissioning, and theatre consulting); Energy & Resiliency (advanced energy systems, renewables, decarbonization, power infrastructure, resilience, and energy optimization); Process Design & Integration (process engineering, digital automation, robotics, facility operations & maintenance, and industrial construction management); Digital, Automation, & Robotics (industrial automation, turnkey robotic solutions, digital transformation, data analytics, digital twins, and industrial cybersecurity); Sustainability Consulting & Design (LEED, WELL building, ESG, energy modeling, environmental, and indoor air quality); and Forensic Consulting (forensic engineering, materials testing, fire investigation, construction disputes, and forensic meteorology). The firm also publishes practical guides and resources such as the Non-FAR Procurement Options Guide for federal clients.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Built Environment Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 900% revenue growth since 2015
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Salas O'Brien
Customer profileNamed customers36 records
Segments14 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Salas O'Brien technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Salas O'Brien partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- SiemenscoreSalas O'Brien expanded its partnership with Siemens, being recognized as a Siemens Digital Industries Solutions partner and joining the newly formed Siemens Smart Infrastructure Alliance Program. The partnership enables delivery of integrated solutions including Siemens' Building X platform and industrial automation technologies. Salas O'Brien is the first in North America to hold both Siemens designations.
- Chavez-Grieves Consulting EngineersmajorChavez-Grieves Consulting Engineers joined Salas O'Brien as part of a merger with the national engineering firm, expanding capabilities and presence in the Albuquerque market.
- Ehvert Mission CriticalmajorMerger combining Salas O'Brien with Ehvert Mission Critical, both engineering firms, to better address increasing energy demands of hyperscale data centers particularly for AI applications. The combined entity has over 3,600 employees across more than 90 offices globally, focusing on sustainable digital infrastructure solutions.
Scale indicators18 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Salas O'Brien competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Burns & McDonnell: Employee-owned (100%) engineering, construction, and consulting firm with ~13,000+ professionals; one of the closest comparable models to Salas O'Brien given shared ESOP structure, multidisciplinary scope (MEP, environmental, power, facilities), and similar energy/infrastructure sector focus.
- HDR Inc. Employee-owned engineering and architecture firm of comparable size (~12,000+ employees) covering transportation, water, buildings, and energy; direct parallel to Salas O'Brien in ownership model, scale, and multidisciplinary service mix.
- Black & Veatch: Employee-owned engineering, procurement, and construction firm specializing in water, power, telecommunications, and oil & gas; overlaps with Salas O'Brien in energy, district energy, and federal infrastructure, with similar ESOP culture.
- Stantec: Publicly traded Canadian engineering and design firm with comparable services across buildings, water, energy, and environment; competes head-to-head on multidisciplinary engineering projects for healthcare, higher education, and data center clients.
- WSP Global: Large global professional services consulting firm with substantial engineering design and advisory services for built environment and infrastructure; a direct competitor on large, multi-disciplinary MEP, structural, and sustainability engagements.
- Tetra Tech: Publicly traded engineering and consulting firm focused on water, environment, and sustainable infrastructure; overlapping federal and renewable energy capabilities and competing for environmental and engineering services work.
- NV5 Global: Technical engineering and consulting firm of similar size with comparable MEP, environmental, and geospatial offerings; smaller and acquisitive but mirrors Salas O'Brien's roll-up growth strategy in infrastructure and energy services.
- Affiliated Engineers (AEI): Employee-owned engineering firm specializing in MEP, structural, and lighting design for complex facilities including healthcare, higher education, and data centers; smaller but highly analogous ownership model and core MEP/built-environment focus.
Broad incumbents
- Jacobs Solutions: One of the largest global engineering and professional services firms with a much broader portfolio across critical infrastructure, advanced facilities, and national security; competes for the same federal and data center engagements as Salas O'Brien but at significantly larger scale.
- AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with significant overlap in transportation, environment, water, and building engineering; competes with Salas O'Brien on large federal, healthcare, and energy projects but operates at substantially larger scale and broader geographic scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Salas O'Brien social profiles
Digital presenceSalas O'Brien financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Salas O'Brien leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles23 records
Salas O'Brien subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries18 records
Salas O'Brien funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Salas O'Brien M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A4 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Salas O'Brien
What does Salas O'Brien do?
Salas O'Brien is an employee-owned engineering and technical consulting firm that delivers multidisciplinary design, commissioning, and construction management services across the built environment, energy systems, industrial processes, digital automation, sustainability, and forensic analysis. Services span from quick-turn assignments to complex multi-year engagements for government, healthcare, higher education, industrial, data center, and utility clients throughout North America.
Is Salas O'Brien a public or private company?
Salas O'Brien is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Salas O'Brien founded?
Salas O'Brien was founded in 1980. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Salas O'Brien based?
Salas O'Brien is headquartered in Irvine, United States, in the North America region.
How does Salas O'Brien make money?
One revenue line is on record: engineering and Technical Consulting Services.
Who are Salas O'Brien's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Burns & McDonnell, HDR Inc., Black & Veatch, Stantec, WSP Global, Tetra Tech, NV5 Global and Affiliated Engineers (AEI). Broad incumbents are Jacobs Solutions and AECOM.
Does Salas O'Brien have an API?
No public API is recorded for Salas O'Brien.
What industry is Salas O'Brien in?
Salas O'Brien's product category is Engineering Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAFAAAF, Construction Program Management (Multi-site/Portfolio), with a secondary code of BPAHAIAM, Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting. Its NAICS code is 541330 and its SIC code is 8711.