What FSi Engineers does

FSi Engineers is a privately held mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP) and fire protection engineering consulting firm founded in 1985 in Seattle, Washington. The firm delivers design, construction administration, commissioning, energy modeling, BIM 3D modeling, CFD airflow analysis, LEED certification support, and condition assessment services for public agencies, educational institutions, healthcare systems, industrial and manufacturing clients (notably aerospace paint facilities), transit authorities, and select private enterprises across the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. FSi is differentiated by deep domain expertise in complex, process-sensitive facility types (aircraft paint hangars, wineries and breweries, ferry terminals, Living Buildings, and passive house projects) and by a firm-wide culture that trains every engineer in disciplined client-questioning and communication practices. The firm is structured around three offices (Seattle headquarters, Spokane opened 2017, Baltimore opened 2013) and operates as both prime consultant and subconsultant on IDIQ and work-order contracts, with a documented track record of 140+ LEED projects, 950+ work orders under 160 contracts over two decades, and 40+ years of continuous service to The Boeing Company.

The firm generates revenue through professional services fees billed on a project basis across mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, fire protection engineering, commissioning, energy audits and modeling, CFD airflow analysis, BIM 3D modeling, sustainable and net-zero design, LEED documentation including a differentiated 'LEED Rescue' offering, condition assessments, and industrial ventilation. Distribution is entirely direct, via competitive public-sector procurement, IDIQ master contract task orders, and repeat engagement with institutional clients and AEC primes such as NBBJ, ALSC Architects, Miller Hull, and Hord Coplan Macht. There is no external institutional ownership, no venture or PE funding, and no public listing; ownership and leadership rest with a group of principals (Kevin Chadwick as Managing Principal, Ben Roush, Rick Himmel, Ola Jarvegren) supported by a CFO (Jennette Lee, promoted September 2024), with the firm's founding principal Rob Danforth having retired in 2023 following decades at the helm.

Name

FSi Engineers

Legal name

FSi Engineers

Website

https://fsi-engineers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

FSi Engineers is a private MEP and fire protection engineering consulting firm founded in 1985, serving public agencies, educational institutions, healthcare systems, and industrial clients across the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic from offices in Seattle, Spokane, and Baltimore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Design Services: FSi provides MEP engineering design services for buildings including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering. Services include design, construction administration, cost estimating, commissioning, energy audits, BIM 3D modeling, and more. Revenue is generated through professional engineering fees on project-based engagements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FSi Engineers is an MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) engineering consulting firm delivering design, fire protection, commissioning, energy modeling, CFD airflow analysis, BIM 3D modeling, LEED documentation, and sustainable/net-zero building design services. The firm is hired by government agencies, school districts, universities, healthcare providers, industrial clients, and transit authorities to engineer new construction and renovation projects across the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. FSi is structured as a traditional professional services firm earning revenue through project-based engineering fees on prime and subconsultant engagements.

Product overview

FSi Engineers is a values-based MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) engineering firm that offers a comprehensive suite of engineering services rather than a single software product. Their core offerings include MEP engineering design, fire protection engineering, commissioning, and energy modeling services. They specialize in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) airflow analysis, BIM 3D modeling, LEED certification support, and sustainable/net-zero building design. The company serves diverse building types across the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, including schools, hospitals, wineries, transit facilities, and industrial manufacturing plants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MEP Engineering Services Full-service Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing engineering including design, construction administration, cost estimating, and field investigation for diverse building types across the Pacific Northwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.
• Fire Protection Engineering Fire protection system design including sophisticated detection systems with visual and auditory alarms, sprinklers, clean agents, and foam suppression systems. The Baltimore office specializes in fire protection engineering.
• Commissioning Services Building system commissioning services to ensure systems operate at peak performance and work holistically together, performed by the same engineers who design the systems.
• Energy Audits, Modeling & Upgrades Energy assessment services including building energy audits, energy modeling to predict annual consumption, and energy efficiency upgrade recommendations that have delivered outcomes like a 35% reduction in utility costs at the Yakima Post Office and 80% less energy use at Mount Vernon Library Commons.
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Airflow Analysis CFD airflow modeling for applications including aircraft and automotive paint facilities, door and window placement, natural ventilation analysis, and controllable airflow patterns for sensitive industrial processes such as aircraft paint hangars.
• BIM 3D Modeling Three-dimensional building information modeling for complex duct routing and crowded mechanical spaces visualization, used to improve communication with clients and occupants.
• LEED Certification Services Comprehensive LEED documentation and certification support including a 'LEED Rescue' program to help transform unsuccessful LEED applications into approved projects, with documentation that generates fewer comments than the USGBC average.
• Sustainable and Net-Zero Design High-performance sustainable design including Passive House (Mount Vernon Library Commons), Living Building (SEED Classroom, BLOCK Project), and net-zero energy building design services.
• Condition Assessments and Master Planning On-site inspections and investigations to assess projected useful life of building equipment for budgeting, master planning, and capital funding requests (e.g., Harborview Medical Center $2M strategic facilities plan that informed a $1.7B bond measure).
• Industrial Ventilation Design Industrial ventilation system design for aircraft paint hangars, manufacturing facilities, and high-hazard environments with specialized airflow requirements including controllable patterns for sensitive industrial processes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mukilteo Ferry Terminal uses natural ventilation for cooling, eliminating the need for mechanical cooling entirely (LEED Gold, multiple engineering awards)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers20 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

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Red Cross (Northwest Region Home Fire Safety Campaign)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023FSi's Spokane office participated in the Northwest Region Home Fire Safety Campaign with the Spokane Fire Department and Red Cross in April 2019, installing 186 smoke alarms and 39 carbon monoxide alarms in 74 homes.
• Facing HomelessnessflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016In 2016, Facing Homelessness founder Rex Hohlbein presented The BLOCK Project concept to FSi, and before he finished, FSi committed pro bono mechanical engineering services. FSi designed net-zero mechanical systems for BLOCK Homes, and one staff member hosted a home in her yard. FSi led one of eight AEC teams that each funded construction of a BLOCK Home. The project built 17 homes achieving ILFI Living Building Bulk Certification.
• BLOCK ArchitectsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016BLOCK Architects (founded by Rex Hohlbein and Jennifer LaFreniere) designed the BLOCK Home cottages placed in Seattle backyards. FSi collaborated on the mechanical engineering design for the highly sustainable net-zero energy and water homes.
• International Living Future Institute (ILFI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016ILFI joined The BLOCK Project team and provided the bulk certification process for the 17 Living Buildings. FSi has been involved in multiple ILFI Living Building and Net Zero certification projects including SEED Classroom and King County facilities.
• Coast Salish Tribal StakeholderscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Washington State Ferries and Coast Salish tribal stakeholders began the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal project with ambitious sustainability goals. FSi served as mechanical engineer for this collaboration, designing for natural ventilation and LEED Gold certification.
• Hord Coplan MachtcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2013Baltimore office works with Hord Coplan Macht on projects including the SEED Classroom at Black Hill Regional Park and the Green Street Academy LEED Rescue project. FSi served as third-party reviewer and energy modeling consultant for the LEED Platinum project.
• Montgomery ParkscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2013FSi served as MEP engineer for a SEED Classroom environmental education building for Montgomery Parks at Black Hill Regional Park in Boyds, Maryland. The project included design of DOAS unit, mini-splits, plumbing, rainwater collection, fire alarm, lighting, and solar panel system.
• SEED (Sustainable Education Every Day)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013FSi provided pro bono mechanical support for design of the SEED Classroom prototype, a net-zero energy, net-zero water, and completely non-toxic learning environment. The first SEED classroom (Seattle) was certified as an ILFI Living Building. A decade later, FSi was MEP engineer for the second SEED Classroom (Maryland).

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• HDR: HDR is an employee-owned engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with strong healthcare, transit, and higher education practices. Comparable to FSi's healthcare facilities planning work (e.g., Harborview strategic facilities plan) and higher-ed and transit building work, though at much larger scale and with broader multidisciplinary offerings.
• Arup: Arup is a global engineering consultancy with renowned expertise in sustainable design, CFD analysis, and complex building services engineering. It represents a high-end competitor in the most technically demanding projects (Living Building, high-performance facilities) where FSi's niche specialty overlaps with Arup's broader international practice.
• Kimley-Horn: Kimley-Horn is one of the largest privately-held U.S. engineering consulting firms with extensive MEP, land development, and environmental practices across all 50 states. While it competes with FSi on institutional and public-sector MEP work, its scale and breadth dwarf FSi's boutique Pacific NW/Mid-Atlantic footprint.
• Stantec: Stantec is a global publicly-traded engineering, architecture, and environmental services firm with a substantial buildings-engineering practice covering healthcare, education, transit, and industrial clients. It overlaps with FSi across virtually all of FSi's verticals but at vastly greater scale and broader geographic reach.
• WSP USA: WSP is a global professional services firm whose buildings practice competes with FSi on transit facilities, airports, and high-performance institutional projects. The Mukilteo Ferry Terminal and Sound Transit engagements illustrate how WSP's transit-group and FSi's smaller MEP subconsultant role often intersect on the same projects.
• Burns & McDonnell: Burns & McDonnell is a large employee-owned engineering firm with industrial, aerospace, and federal practices that broadly overlap with FSi's Boeing/aerospace and industrial facilities work. Its aviation and federal services groups sometimes compete for the same IDIQ contracts that FSi serves under, though at much larger program scale.

Direct peers

• Affiliated Engineers (AEI): Affiliated Engineers is a Midwestern-headquartered MEP engineering consulting firm specializing in high-performance building design for healthcare, university, research lab, and industrial clients. It directly competes with FSi in the mission-critical MEP design space and shares a similar specialization philosophy around complex, schedule-sensitive projects.
• PAE Consulting Engineers: PAE is a Pacific Northwest- and West Coast-based MEP consulting firm focused on sustainable, high-performance buildings for civic, educational, and cultural clients. It is a near-direct competitor given overlapping geographies (Seattle, Portland, Bay Area), LEED/Living Building expertise, and a comparable boutique-firm operating model.
• ME Engineers: ME Engineers is a national MEP and technology systems consulting firm serving performing arts, sports, education, and convention center clients. Comparable to FSi in serving complex institutional and entertainment venues with engineering-only services, though ME's portfolio skews toward larger arenas and sports venues.
• Mazzetti: Mazzetti is a MEP/engineering consultancy with deep healthcare and mission-critical facility expertise, including sustainability and energy modeling services. It overlaps with FSi's healthcare segment and Pacific Coast presence, and operates at a similar boutique scale of ~150-200 employees with comparable technical differentiation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance4 records

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 FSi Engineers