Nous Engineering
Nous Engineering is a Los Angeles-based full-service structural engineering firm founded in 2012, serving architects, developers, institutions, and governments across the United States and select international markets. The firm specializes in seismic retrofit, complex geometry, historic preservation, and experimental materials including a proprietary paper pulp composite system.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Nous Engineering does
Nous Engineering is a full-service structural engineering firm headquartered in Los Angeles (5050 Eagle Rock Boulevard) and founded in 2012, with a secondary office opened in San Diego in December 2023. The firm delivers professional structural engineering consulting across residential, commercial, education, civic/culture, health/science/technology, and specialty structure sectors, with named engagements spanning museums (Orange County Museum of Art, City of Hope), memorials (National Memorial for Peace and Justice), performing arts centers (Glorya Kaufman), airports (Logan Terminal E for MassPort), affordable housing (Pacific Landing), and international healthcare facilities (Nyarugenge and Munini Hospitals in Rwanda, New Redemption Hospital in Liberia). Its core technical capabilities include seismic evaluation and retrofit, long-span structural design, structural dynamics, advanced analysis, and computational design applied to complex geometry and experimental materials - most notably a five-year R&D investment in a proprietary paper pulp composite construction system developed with Ball-Nogues Studio.
The firm's revenue model is professional services fee-for-project billing, with no publicly disclosed pricing and no software or productized offering. Go-to-market is reputation-driven enterprise field sales, originating through architecture, developer, institutional, and government relationships plus award recognition (50+ industry awards including SEAOSC, AIA, Architizer, and NCSEA) and principal-led university lectures. The firm self-finances operations with no disclosed outside funding, owns no subsidiaries, and operates as an independent partnership controlled by five principals - founding partners Matthew Melnyk, Elizabeth Mahlow, and Omar Garza, joined in December 2023 by Jeff Roi (ex-Degenkolb) and Jonathan Buckley (ex-Miyamoto). In 2025 the firm launched a dedicated fire-rebuild service line supporting 35+ projects across Altadena and Pacific Palisades following the LA wildfires.
Nous Engineering firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nous Engineering
- Legal name
- Nous Engineering
- Website
- https://nousengineering.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Nous Engineering is a Los Angeles-based full-service structural engineering firm founded in 2012, serving architects, developers, institutions, and governments across the United States and select international markets. The firm specializes in seismic retrofit, complex geometry, historic preservation, and experimental materials including a proprietary paper pulp composite system.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nous Engineering industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Structural Engineering Services
- NAICS
- Engineering Services (541330), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)
Keywords
Where Nous Engineering is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Nous Engineering business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Structural Engineering Services: Full-service structural engineering consulting for architecture, engineering, and construction projects. Revenue generated through professional engineering fees on project basis, serving commercial, residential, civic, healthcare, education, and specialty structure projects.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Nous Engineering product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nous Engineering is a full-service structural engineering firm providing design, analysis, seismic evaluation and retrofit, and consulting services for buildings and structures across residential, commercial, educational, civic, cultural, healthcare, and specialty-structure sectors. Services are delivered on a project basis with a focus on complex geometry, experimental materials, seismic resilience, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and sustainable design, supported by advanced computational analysis and parametric design tools.
Product overview
Nous Engineering is a full-service structural engineering firm providing professional engineering services. The firm offers structural engineering consulting across multiple sectors including residential, commercial, education, civic/culture, health/science/technology, and specialty structures. The portfolio consists of project-based engineering services rather than software products or platforms. Key project categories include: residential projects (houses, ADUs, multi-family), commercial buildings, educational facilities, civic and cultural institutions, healthcare facilities, and specialty structures (art installations, pavilions, memorials). Services encompass new construction, seismic retrofit, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and sustainable design. The firm is named after the philosophical concept of nous, representing the combination of intellectual knowledge and intuitive thought in engineering practice.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Structural Engineering Services Professional structural engineering consulting including design, analysis, seismic evaluation, and retrofit for buildings and structures across residential, commercial, civic, and institutional sectors, for architects, developers, institutions, and government clients.
- Residential Engineering Structural engineering for single-family residences, multi-family housing, ADUs, and residential additions, including challenging hillside sites and historic properties, for homeowners, architects, and residential developers.
- Commercial Engineering Structural engineering for commercial buildings including office spaces, retail, creative studios, and adaptive reuse projects, for commercial property owners, developers, and architects.
- Education Sector Engineering Structural engineering for educational facilities including K-12 schools, universities, and institutional campuses, for school districts, private schools, and universities.
- Civic & Culture Engineering Structural engineering for civic buildings, cultural institutions, museums, performing arts centers, and community facilities, for cultural institutions, nonprofits, and civic entities.
- Health, Science & Technology Engineering Structural engineering for healthcare facilities, laboratories, hospitals, and technology campuses, for hospital systems, medical research institutions, and laboratory/biotech operators.
- Specialty Structures Structural engineering for art installations, pavilions, memorials, kinetic sculptures, and experimental structures requiring advanced analysis and innovative solutions, for artists, fabricators, and cultural organizations.
- Seismic Evaluation & Retrofit Seismic evaluation, earthquake resilience assessment, and retrofit engineering for existing buildings, including historic preservation and unreinforced masonry (URM) building upgrades, for historic property owners, institutions, and government entities.
- Fire Rebuild Engineering Structural assessments, resilient design, and engineering support for wildfire recovery and rebuilding projects, for homeowners, architects, and community organizations in fire-affected Southern California.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced embodied carbon by nearly 50% for Jewel Box on Sunset project compared to industry baseline
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Nous Engineering
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles7 records
Nous Engineering technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Nous Engineering partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Radius TrackcoreEngineering partnership for Logan Airport Terminal E Modernization providing curved metal stud framing. Also collaborated on Orange County Museum of Art (terracotta panel cladding support) and South Station Transportation Center (vaulted atrium framing).
- Mass Design GroupcoreCollaborated on National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. Nous generated parametric control to allow reorganization of 800 memorial modules. Also partnered on Nyarugenge Hospital and other Rwanda healthcare projects including New Redemption Hospital in Liberia.
- Ball-Nogues StudiocoreFive-year collaboration on paper pulp composite research and Pulp Pavilion construction. Nous provided structural engineering for experimental testing and finite element analysis of composite material. Also collaborated on Organic Dreams Synthetic Means project with bundled fiberglass rods.
- Escher GuneWardena ArchitectureminorWorking with Escher GuneWardena Architecture and Neutra expert Dr. Barbara Lamprecht on Richard Neutra's Lovell Health House seismic assessment and historic restoration. Also collaborated on straw bale construction project.
- Office of: OfficeminorCommunity collaboration on post-fire structural assessments for 2025 wildfire recovery in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Participated in community-driven assessment program offering homeowners early structural evaluations.
- MASS Design GroupcoreLong-standing partnership on international healthcare projects including hospitals in Rwanda (Nyarugenge, Munini) and New Redemption Hospital in Liberia. Also collaborated on Lupani African Conservation School and other African projects.
- Poetic Kinetics (Patrick Shearn)coreOngoing collaboration since early development of Skynet series - nearly two dozen experimental moving sculptures spanning 400-800 feet. Nous crafts procedures to inform net shapes, simulate wind effects, and determine anchorage forces.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Nous Engineering competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Degenkolb Engineers: California-founded structural engineering firm recognized for seismic design, retrofit, and healthcare/institutional work — directly comparable on service offering, region, and technical niche, and is the firm from which Nous hired principal Jeff Roi.
- Miyamoto International: Global structural and earthquake engineering firm with significant seismic-retrofit and international humanitarian/education practice — directly overlapping with Nous' seismic and international healthcare/education portfolio, and is the firm from which Nous hired principal Jonathan Buckley.
- Simpson Gumpertz & Heger: Mid-sized US structural engineering consultancy recognized for complex analysis, historic preservation, and structural investigation/retrofit work — closely comparable to Nous' specialty-structure, seismic-retrofit, and investigative engineering offerings.
- John A. Martin & Associates: Los Angeles-based structural engineering firm with a strong track record on seismic design, healthcare and large civic/cultural buildings in Southern California — a peer competitor for the same regional client base and project typologies.
- Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers: Rocky-Mountain/West-Coast structural engineering consultancy with comparable services across civic, cultural, healthcare, and education sectors — direct same-category peer for institutional and adaptive-reuse structural work.
Broad incumbents
- Arup: Global multidisciplinary engineering giant with a large structural engineering practice serving cultural, healthcare, and specialty-structure clients. Comparable on overlapping project types (museums, kinetic/art structures, complex geometry) but far larger and broader-scope than the boutique Nous practice.
- Buro Happold: International engineering consultancy with a strong structural engineering practice covering complex cultural, civic and specialty structures. Directly comparable to Nous' complex-geometry and signature-project work but with significantly broader geographic and disciplinary reach.
- KPFF Consulting Engineers: Large US structural and civil engineering consultancy with deep West Coast presence serving commercial, civic, healthcare and education markets — direct overlap on most of Nous' core service categories, but at substantially greater scale.
- Walter P Moore: National structural and civil engineering firm with established practices in healthcare, civic, education, and sports/cultural venues. Overlaps with Nous on healthcare and education-sector structural design and seismic retrofit, at meaningfully larger scale.
- Thornton Tomasetti: Global engineering consultancy with a structural practice specializing in tall buildings, complex geometry, facades, and forensic/retrofit work. Comparable to Nous on signature complex-geometry and specialty-structure engagements but at much broader scope and scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nous Engineering social profiles
Digital presenceNous Engineering financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nous Engineering leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Nous Engineering funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nous Engineering M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nous Engineering
What does Nous Engineering do?
Nous Engineering is a full-service structural engineering firm providing design, analysis, seismic evaluation and retrofit, and consulting services for buildings and structures across residential, commercial, educational, civic, cultural, healthcare, and specialty-structure sectors. Services are delivered on a project basis with a focus on complex geometry, experimental materials, seismic resilience, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and sustainable design, supported by advanced computational analysis and parametric design tools.
Is Nous Engineering a public or private company?
Nous Engineering is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Nous Engineering founded?
Nous Engineering was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Nous Engineering based?
Nous Engineering is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does Nous Engineering make money?
One revenue line is on record: structural Engineering Services.
Who are Nous Engineering's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Degenkolb Engineers, Miyamoto International, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, John A. Martin & Associates and Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers. Broad incumbents are Arup, Buro Happold, KPFF Consulting Engineers, Walter P Moore and Thornton Tomasetti.
Does Nous Engineering have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nous Engineering.
What industry is Nous Engineering in?
Nous Engineering's product category is Structural Engineering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAA, Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting. Its NAICS code is 541330 and its SIC code is 8711.