FTF Engineering

What FTF Engineering does

FTF Engineering, Inc. is a privately held structural and seismic engineering professional services firm founded in 2002 by Randy Collins and headquartered in San Francisco, with a secondary office in San Luis Obispo, California. The firm provides structural engineering, seismic evaluation, and seismic retrofit services across eight service verticals: single-family residential, mixed-use/multifamily, commercial, hospitality, institutional, industrial, education, and historic preservation. Its core customer base comprises architects, general contractors, developers, and government entities, with marquee relationships including San Francisco International Airport (where FTF serves as Local Business Enterprise structural engineer on multiple projects), Brookfield Properties, KPF, HOK, Swinerton, Hensel-Phelps, and Skanska.

The firm delivers projects using industry-standard structural analysis and BIM tools—SAP2000, ETABS, MATLAB, OpenSees, and Revit—and differentiates on specialized capabilities including performance-based seismic design, ASCE 41-based historic retrofit, viscous fluid dampers, post-tensioning masonry strengthening, and innovative insulated concrete wall systems. Technical leadership is concentrated in three principals (Randy Collins, Nik Favretto, Jillian van Enckevort), all of whom hold active roles in the Structural Engineers Association of Northern and Southern California. The firm has invested in the SE2050 Challenge for embodied carbon reduction and in academic partnerships with Cal Poly, UCSD, and UC Berkeley for talent and research pipeline development.

FTF generates revenue through project-based professional services fees, billed as a percentage of construction cost or hourly for design and construction administration. Projects are won through direct engagement with repeat architectural and contractor clients, competitive bidding on public sector work, and design-build team selection. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, but the firm's visible project portfolio—anchored by the $165 million SFO Courtyard 3 Connector, the ENR Best of the Best-winning 415 Natoma office tower, and a deep base of high-end residential commissions—indicates a mid-sized boutique firm operating primarily across Northern and Central California with select expansion into Oregon.

Name

FTF Engineering

Legal name

FTF Engineering, Inc.

Website

https://ftfengineering.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FTF Engineering is a privately held structural and seismic engineering firm founded in 2002, serving architects, contractors, developers, and government entities across California with specialized expertise in performance-based seismic design, historic retrofit, and high-end residential and institutional projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Structural Engineering Services: Professional engineering consulting fees for structural design services on construction projects. Revenue is project-based, typically billed on a fee structure tied to construction cost or hourly rates for design and construction administration services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

FTF Engineering is a structural and seismic engineering firm that provides professional consulting services for building design, new construction, seismic evaluation, and retrofit of residential, commercial, hospitality, institutional, industrial, and historic projects. Services are delivered as project-based engagements using advanced analysis tools including SAP2000, ETABS, MATLAB, OpenSees, and BIM/Revit, with specialized expertise in performance-based seismic design, ASCE 41-based retrofit, and State Historic Building Code compliance.

Product overview

FTF Engineering is a structural and seismic engineering firm that provides professional engineering services across multiple market sectors. The firm operates as a single unified service offering centered on structural engineering, serving clients in California and beyond. The company's service portfolio includes Single Family Residential, Mixed-Use/Multifamily, Commercial, Hospitality, Institutional, Historic Preservation & Seismic Retrofitting, Industrial, and Education project types. FTF Engineering works on new construction, renovation, and seismic retrofit projects, with particular expertise in earthquake-resistant design and historic building preservation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Structural Engineering Services Comprehensive structural engineering services for building design, including new construction, seismic evaluation, and retrofit solutions for residential, commercial, hospitality, institutional, industrial, and historic preservation projects.
• Mixed-Use / Multifamily Structural Engineering Structural engineering for multifamily residential buildings, affordable housing developments, and mixed-use projects combining residential and commercial spaces, including wood framing, podium construction, and steel-framed pedestrian bridges.
• Single Family Residential Structural Engineering Structural engineering for custom high-end residential homes, including hillside residences, modern designs, exposed cantilevered concrete walls, and seismic retrofits of existing homes.
• Commercial Structural Engineering Structural engineering for commercial buildings including office buildings, tenant improvements, and retail spaces such as the 415 Natoma 25-story office tower in San Francisco SoMa.
• Hospitality Structural Engineering Structural engineering for hotels, resorts, and hospitality venues including new construction and adaptive reuse projects such as the Element by Westin Hotel, a 175-room extended-stay property.
• Institutional Structural Engineering Structural engineering for institutional facilities including airports, government buildings, libraries, and educational institutions, with expertise in essential facility requirements and Design Category 4 seismic designation.
• Historic Preservation and Seismic Retrofitting Seismic evaluation and retrofit of historic buildings including unreinforced masonry structures, theaters, and century-old buildings using ASCE 41 standards while preserving historic character and complying with the State Historic Building Code.
• Industrial Structural Engineering Structural engineering for industrial facilities including warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and space launch infrastructure such as the Telemetry Antenna Platform and Space Launch Complex 8 at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
• Education Structural Engineering Structural engineering for educational facilities including schools, universities, and campus buildings such as the Bakersfield College Agricultural Sciences Building.

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Van Sande Structural Consultants (VSSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFTF's San Luis Obispo team is supporting VSSC on a 2-story addition to the iconic Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara. FTF provides additional structural engineering capacity for this historic theater expansion project while VSSC serves as the Engineer of Record.
• SwinertoncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered on Potrero Power Station Sophie Maxwell Building project where FTF is Engineer of Record and Swinerton is General Contractor. Also collaborated on 415 Natoma project.
• HOK Group, Inc.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture partner on SFO Courtyard 3 Connector project. FTF worked with HOK as part of the design-build team alongside Hensel Phelps and Magnusson Klemencic Associates.
• Hensel-PhelpscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDesign-build contractor partner on SFO Courtyard 3 Connector project. FTF provided structural design as part of the Hensel-Phelps-led design-build team.
• Magnusson Klemencic AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerS.E. of Record partner on SFO Courtyard 3 Connector project. FTF provided structural design of foundations and miscellaneous metals as associate structural engineer.
• Huff Construction Company, Inc.majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for Element by Westin Hotel project. FTF provided structural engineering services during construction.
• Haiti PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono structural engineering partnership for Children's Academy school expansion in Haiti. FTF provides engineering services for earthquake- and hurricane-resistant construction using locally available materials.
• Cal Poly San Luis ObispocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFTF is a signatory donor for Cal Poly ARCE Endowed Professorship with $25,000 donation. Randy Collins serves on Cal Poly Architectural Engineering Department Advisory Board. Firm actively recruits from Cal Poly.
• UC San DiegominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRandy Collins participates in NHERI (Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure) Industry-Academia Workshop at UCSD. Firm actively recruits from UCSD.
• UC BerkeleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn-call project partnership for Lawrence Berkeley National Lab structural engineering services. FTF serves as prime contractor with Burns & McDonnell.
• Atascadero Printery FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono structural engineering partnership for rehabilitation of 14,000 SF historic brick building. FTF is working under State Historic Building Code to reinforce and repurpose the 1914 building.
• KPFFmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeamed with KPFF on SFO Cargo Building 626.1 project. FTF responsible for foundation design as LBE structural engineer alongside Clark Construction and Solomon Cordwell Buenz.
• Woods BagotmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture partner on SFO Cargo Building 720 and GSE Building 742 projects. FTF provides structural design as part of team with Skanska.
• SkanskamajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor partner on SFO Cargo Building 720 and GSE Building 742 projects. FTF provides structural engineering services.
• Rutherford + ChekenemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeamed on SFO Cargo Building 720 project alongside Woods Bagot and Skanska. FTF provides structural design of GSE Building 742.
• Brookfield PropertiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper partner on 415 Natoma project - 25-story office tower in San Francisco SoMa. FTF served as associate structural engineer on award-winning project.
• KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture partner on 415 Natoma project. FTF worked with KPF, Swinerton, and Brookfield Properties on this landmark office tower.
• Clark ConstructionmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor on SFO Cargo Building 626.1 project. FTF teamed with KPFF and Solomon Cordwell Buenz as LBE structural engineer.
• House & Robertson ArchitectscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture partner on 415 Natoma project alongside KPF. FTF provided structural engineering on award-winning office tower.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership including multiple projects: Courtyard 3 Connector, International Terminal Building upgrades, Cargo buildings. FTF serves as LBE (Local Business Enterprise) structural engineer.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with major structural engineering practice in California. Operates as a broader incumbent across multiple disciplines, overlapping with FTF on large institutional and high-rise structural design but at much larger scale.
• Simpson Gumpertz & Heger: National engineering firm with structural engineering, building enclosure, and applied science practices. Comparable to FTF on structural design for institutional and historic preservation projects, with broader service portfolio.
• Buro Happold: Global engineering consultancy with structural and façade engineering groups. Overlaps with FTF on complex architectural and high-performance structural projects, particularly hospitality, cultural, and high-rise commercial work.
• Thornton Tomasetti: International structural engineering firm with strong performance-based seismic, forensics, and applied research practice. Competes with FTF on large-scale complex structural projects and represents a broader incumbent with deeper R&D resources.

Direct peers

• Tipping Structural Engineers: Bay Area structural engineering firm recognized for performance-based seismic design, mass timber, and innovative damping systems. Closely comparable to FTF on advanced seismic techniques and California residential/commercial/institutional portfolios.
• Degenkolb Engineers: San Francisco-headquartered structural engineering firm with longstanding leadership in seismic design, earthquake engineering research, and ASCE 41-based retrofits. Highly comparable to FTF on seismic differentiation, historic retrofit, and California institutional clients.
• Forell/Elsesser Engineers: San Francisco structural engineering firm specializing in seismic design, base isolation, and historic retrofit. Direct comparable to FTF on California seismic innovation, university/institutional clients, and historic preservation projects.
• Magnusson Klemencic Associates: Seattle-headquartered structural and civil engineering firm with California presence. FTF partnered with MKA as S.E. of Record on the SFO Courtyard 3 Connector, making MKA a direct peer in seismic/structural engineering for large institutional and aviation projects.
• Rutherford + Chekene: San Francisco-based structural engineering firm with deep seismic and historic-retrofit expertise. FTF teamed with R+C on SFO Cargo Building 720, making it the closest direct peer in San Francisco seismic and institutional structural engineering.
• KPFF Consulting Engineers: Large Pacific-West structural and civil engineering firm. FTF teamed with KPFF on SFO Cargo Building 626.1, indicating direct overlap on California institutional, aviation, and high-rise structural projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/ftfengineering

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 FTF Engineering