Brandow & Johnston

What Brandow & Johnston does

Brandow & Johnston is a privately held structural and civil engineering firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with a second office in Newport Beach (Orange County). Founded in 1945 by George E. Brandow and Roy G. Johnston, the firm has completed over 35,000 projects across Southern California and beyond, including pioneering structures such as the first post-WWII height-limited buildings in Los Angeles, the first over-height building permitted by ordinance, the first all-welded structural steel office building, and the Wilshire Grand Center — the tallest building in the Western United States at 1,100 feet, completed in 2017.\n\nThe firm's practice spans structural engineering (ground-up design, seismic retrofitting, tenant improvements, earthquake damage assessment, and forensic engineering), civil engineering (urban infill land development, master planning, grading, drainage, stormwater management, and public works), and — since a January 2018 joint venture with HBK Engineering forming B&J HBK, INC. — utility and communications infrastructure design (underground conduit, manhole systems, fiber, wireless, power, gas, and water/wastewater). Core technology is centered on Building Information Modeling using Revit Structure, Navisworks, and AutoDesk Civil 3D, with the firm having completed over 1,000 projects using Revit/BIM.\n\nBrandow & Johnston generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements sold via direct client relationships and qualifications-based selection on public-sector work. Its customer base spans four primary verticals — public sector/government, higher education, healthcare, and private commercial development — with named clients including Hanjin International, AC Martin, UCLA, UCSD, and various municipal agencies in California. The firm is staffed by a small team (11–50 employees) of tenured licensed engineers led by President James Pearson (since 2015), Senior Principal Howard Lam (39 years at firm), and Principals Peter Maranian and Ryan Bishoff.

Name

Brandow & Johnston

Legal name

Brandow & Johnston

Website

https://bjsce.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brandow & Johnston is a Los Angeles-based structural and civil engineering firm founded in 1945, serving public agencies, universities, healthcare systems, and private developers across Southern California with seismic, forensic, BIM/Revit-based design, and — via its B&J HBK subsidiary — utility infrastructure engineering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Structural and Civil Engineering Services

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Structural & Civil Engineering for Sites (Design, Reinforcement, Foundations) (HDAIAKAI)

Keywords

• Structural engineering services
• Civil engineering consulting
• Seismic retrofit design
• Forensic engineering analysis
• Utility infrastructure design

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Professional engineering services for structural and civil engineering projects. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements for public and private sector clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Brandow & Johnston is a professional structural and civil engineering firm providing design, analysis, and consulting services for buildings and infrastructure. The firm delivers ground-up structural design, seismic renovation and strengthening, civil engineering for land development and urban infill, forensic engineering and failure analysis, and utility/communications infrastructure design through its B&J HBK subsidiary, serving public and private sector clients primarily in Southern California.

Product overview

Brandow & Johnston is a structural and civil engineering firm offering professional engineering services. The company operates as a single unified service offering across three primary practice areas: Structural Engineering Services (including seismic, forensic, and earthquake engineering), Civil Engineering Services (land development and urban-infill projects), and Utility Design Services through the B&J HBK partnership. The firm also provides Building Information Modeling (BIM) using Revit technology. These services are delivered through their offices in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California, serving both public and private sector clients across Southern California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Structural Engineering Services Full-service structural engineering including ground-up building design, seismic renovations, tenant improvements, earthquake damage assessments, and forensic engineering for failure analysis and construction litigation, delivered to developers, owners, and public agencies.
• Civil Engineering Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 35,000 projects completed successfully since 1945
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HBK Engineering, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018In January 2018, HBK Engineering, LLC partnered with Brandow & Johnston to create B&J HBK, INC. (DBA: Brandow & Johnston). HBK brings over two decades of utility and communications infrastructure design experience, having designed thousands of miles of underground conduit, manhole systems, fiber optic networks, and wireless infrastructure for telecommunications companies and municipalities. This partnership enables B&J HBK to provide expanded services including utility coordination, public improvement services, natural gas distribution, water/wastewater systems, and construction support services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• KPFF Consulting Engineers: Seattle-headquartered structural and civil engineering consulting firm with deep West Coast presence and a comparable project-based professional services model focused on buildings, infrastructure, and seismic design.
• Degenkolb Engineers: San Francisco-based structural engineering firm specializing in seismic design, retrofit, and healthcare/education facilities — directly comparable to B&J's seismic and institutional practice.
• John A. Martin & Associates: Los Angeles-based structural engineering firm with a comparable mix of high-rise, seismic, and institutional work in the Southern California market — closest geographic and practice-area peer.
• Walter P Moore: National structural and civil engineering firm with comparable high-rise, healthcare, and sports/venue portfolio; competes with B&J for marquee commissions in the Western U.S.
• Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH): Structural engineering and building technology firm with strong forensics and seismic practices — directly comparable in service mix and technical positioning.
• Miyamoto International: West Coast-based structural engineering firm with global disaster-recovery and seismic-mitigation practice; directly comparable in seismic retrofit and earthquake engineering offerings.
• Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE): National engineering firm specializing in forensic investigation, structural evaluation, and failure analysis — overlaps with B&J's forensic engineering service line.

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with a Los Angeles presence and broad multi-discipline portfolio; competes for high-profile structural commissions but operates at vastly larger scale.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with extensive structural and civil engineering capability; competes in LA-area large-scale projects but as part of a broader multi-discipline portfolio.
• WSP: Global professional services firm with structural, civil, and buildings practices — competes in California for building and infrastructure work at much larger scale than B&J.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bjsce
• Facebookfacebook.com/bstelle.com
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brandow-&-johnston

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Brandow & Johnston