PAE Engineers

What PAE Engineers does

PAE Engineers is a privately held mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and technology engineering design consultancy founded in 1967 in Portland, Oregon, with approximately 405 employees across 12 U.S. offices spanning the West Coast to Boston. The firm specializes in high-performance, sustainable building systems design, including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, technology, and architectural lighting (LUMA), with deep expertise in Living Building Challenge, Passive House (PHIUS), LEED Platinum, net-zero energy, all-electric, and regenerative design certifications. PAE has engineered 17 Living Buildings, 54 net-zero energy projects, 93 all-electric projects, and 108 LEED Platinum projects, and operates its own certified Living Building headquarters as a working demonstration project.

The firm's core technology includes proprietary methodologies for net-zero water systems, Red List material compliance, and semantic modeling for smart buildings developed in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Linux Foundation, and the Coalition for Smarter Buildings. PAE generates revenue through professional engineering and design consulting fees billed on a project-by-project basis for architectural and construction projects, serving clients across healthcare, higher education, K-12, government/civic, commercial office, laboratories, aviation, housing/hospitality, and mission-critical sectors. Customer concentration spans federal agencies (GSA), municipalities, universities (Georgia Tech, UW, UC Berkeley), nonprofit foundations (Bullitt Foundation, Rocky Mountain Institute), and enterprise clients (Microsoft, Terwilliger Plaza).

In June 2026, Hennick & Company completed a strategic partnership with PAE providing capital for talent, geographic expansion, technology, and acquisitions while preserving PAE's existing leadership and operating model. The firm holds B Corp certification (renewed 2025), JUST 3.0 Label (2025), and is a signatory of the MEP 2040 Challenge, with a self-reported history of carbon neutrality since 2008 and carbon-negative operations since 2019. PAE's go-to-market is enterprise field sales through direct engagement with architects, developers, owners, and government agencies on major construction projects.

Name

PAE Engineers

Legal name

PAE Engineers

Website

https://pae-engineers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

PAE Engineers is a 405-person sustainable MEP engineering consultancy founded in 1967, designing high-performance mechanical, electrical, plumbing, lighting, and technology systems for healthcare, education, government, and commercial clients across 12 U.S. offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering Consulting Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

MEP (Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing) Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Construction Engineering & Constructability Consulting (BPAHAIAN)

Keywords

• MEP engineering services
• Electrical engineering consulting
• Plumbing system design
• Sustainable building design
• Building systems engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Design Consulting Services: PAE generates revenue through professional engineering and design consulting fees for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, lighting, technology, and fire protection systems design. Projects are typically billed on a fee-per-project basis for architectural/engineering services on construction projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PAE Engineers is a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering firm that provides consulting engineering services for commercial, institutional, and mission-critical building projects. The firm specializes in sustainable building design, energy-efficient systems, and integrated engineering solutions. It also offers lighting design and high-performance building systems consulting for architects, developers, and building owners.

Product overview

PAE Engineers is a sustainable building engineering and design firm offering integrated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering services alongside specialized consulting practices. The portfolio includes core engineering services (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire Protection, Technology Design), sustainable design consulting (Energy Analysis, Carbon Consulting, Green Building Certification, Distributed Energy Systems, Sustainable District Planning), and specialized offerings including LUMA Lighting Design, the Regenerative Design Group, and Diversity Partnership Program. PAE also operates community programs including the Solar Equity Grant and Diversity in Engineering Scholarship, demonstrating their commitment to extending impact beyond client projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) Engineering

Quantifiable outcome

• PAE Living Building achieves 61% energy savings over code and generates 113% of energy needs, with an EUI of 16.2 vs Portland average of 41.5
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments11 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Twende SolarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Twende Solar to deliver PAE's first Solar Equity Grant project in Bompaso, Ghana. Twende Solar led a two-week training program for community members on solar and battery system installation and maintenance.
• PACE GhanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with PACE Ghana to help close a critical funding gap for the 10 kW off-grid solar PV system with battery storage serving approximately 600 residents in Bompaso, Ghana.
• Linux FoundationstrategicTechnology or IntegrationCollaborative research initiative through PAE's internal R&D program to explore open platform capabilities for smart building systems. The project aims to enable seamless communication across building systems (solar, battery, HVAC, water heating) using open, adaptable protocols.
• Coalition for Smarter Buildings (C4SB)strategicTechnology or IntegrationResearch collaboration on open smart building platforms enabling interoperable systems for energy optimization in commercial buildings.
• SkycentricsstrategicTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner in open smart building platform research initiative for building automation and energy management systems.
• PadistrategicTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner in smart building interoperability research using open platforms for building systems communication.
• OnumastrategicTechnology or IntegrationPartner in R&D initiative to advance open, adaptable platforms for smart building systems using building information modeling and system integration.
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration to advance semantic modeling approaches that bring clarity to complex building systems, creating machine-readable frameworks for diagnostics, commissioning, and digital twin applications aligned with ASHRAE 223P standards.
• Architecture Foundation of Oregon (AFO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with AFO to administer the PAE Diversity in Engineering Scholarship supporting climate-focused engineering students. The scholarship is open to undergraduate students marginalized by ethnicity and/or gender pursuing engineering with passion for climate justice.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CannonDesign: CannonDesign is an integrated architecture and engineering firm with deep healthcare, higher education, and science & technology practices. It competes with PAE on large institutional building projects where integrated design and high-performance engineering are required.
• Buro Happold: Buro Happold is a global engineering consultancy with strong sustainability, MEP, and building performance expertise, including net-zero and Living Building work. It is a broader incumbent serving similar institutional and developer clients as PAE Engineers.
• Arup: Arup is a global engineering, design, and consulting firm with strong sustainability credentials and a portfolio of Living Building and net-zero projects. While it operates at much larger scale and broader scope than PAE, it is the most directly comparable broad incumbent on sustainability-led MEP and building services design.
• SmithGroup: SmithGroup is an integrated design firm offering architecture, MEP engineering, planning, and sustainability consulting across healthcare, higher education, and science & technology. Its integrated architecture-plus-engineering model and sustainability portfolio overlap with PAE's sector focus.

Direct peers

• Atelier Ten: Atelier Ten is an MEP engineering consultancy specializing in environmental design, building physics, and high-performance sustainable buildings, including Living Building Challenge work. Its services (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, lighting) and client base (architects, developers, institutions pursuing deep sustainability) are nearly identical to PAE Engineers.
• AKF Group: AKF Group is an MEP, fire protection, and technology engineering firm with offices across the U.S. It serves healthcare, higher education, science/technology, and commercial real estate clients — overlapping directly with PAE's primary segments.
• Affiliated Engineers (AEI): AEI is a nationally recognized MEP engineering design firm serving research, healthcare, higher education, and cultural facilities. Like PAE, AEI competes for large institutional building projects on the basis of technical depth in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems design.
• ME Engineers: ME Engineers is a boutique MEP and audiovisual/technology engineering firm focused on performing arts, cultural, sports, and high-performance commercial buildings. It competes with PAE on MEP-led projects for marquee architects and institutional clients.
• Syska Hennessy Group: Syska Hennessy Group is a national MEP, fire/life safety, and technology engineering consultancy serving healthcare, science & technology, higher education, and mission-critical clients. Its service mix, project types, and target segments are directly comparable to PAE Engineers.
• Introba (formerly Integral Group): Introba is a global MEP and building engineering consulting firm with deep focus on net-zero, Living Building Challenge, and high-performance design. Its project portfolio, sustainability credentials, and integrated MEP + sustainability consulting model closely mirror PAE Engineers' positioning, making it the closest direct comparable.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PAE_Engineers
• Facebookfacebook.com/PAEEngineers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pae-consulting-engineers

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PAE Engineers