Vertical Design Services

What Vertical Design Services does

Vertical Design Services is a professional electrical engineering firm headquartered at 563 Commonwealth Drive, Suite 1700, in East Dundee, Illinois, founded in 2024. The firm delivers eight integrated service lines — Power Systems, Lighting Design, Controls, Fire Alarm, Arc Flash Studies, Coordination Studies, Short Circuit Studies, and Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) — under a single in-house team, with every drawing set engineered and PE-sealed internally rather than outsourced. Workflows are built on Autodesk Revit for BIM authoring, Navisworks and Revizto for multi-trade clash detection, SKM PowerTools for system studies, and Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud, Autodesk Forma, and Bluebeam for document coordination and project management. A Comprehensive Study Package bundles arc flash, coordination, and short-circuit analyses on a shared system model to avoid redundant modeling work.

The firm holds active Professional Engineer licensure in 22 states (Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin), positioning itself as a single engineering partner that can accompany contractors across state lines. Its named project portfolio spans enterprise-grade clients across healthcare (Froedtert Hospital), hospitality (Marriott Edition Hotel at Chicago's Hancock Tower), industrial and manufacturing (Smurfit WestRock's 588,000 SF packaging facility; a high-tech electronics and infrastructure plant producing AI-related hardware), and data centers (a confidential 5.4 MW air-cooled data rack expansion with medium-voltage service and arc flash analysis). Leadership combines CEO John Molak's 30+ years originating in electrical apprenticeship and distribution, with President Dillon Mitchell's 15-year track record of $1.5B+ commercial construction work and 75+ arc flash studies.

Revenue is generated entirely through project-based professional services engagements, with quotes issued per project and project-inquiry budgets ranging from under $10,000 to over $250,000. Distribution is direct: prospective clients (electrical contractors, general contractors, developers, and owners) submit a project inquiry form, after which a licensed engineer reviews and responds, typically within one business day. The firm markets itself as a partner rather than a vendor, with channels limited to LinkedIn, Instagram, and the corporate website, and no channel partners, resellers, or marketplace distribution. The customer base is segmented across Healthcare, Data Centers, Hospitality, Industrial/Manufacturing, Commercial, and Multifamily verticals, with Healthcare, Data Centers, and Industrial designated as primary segments. Vertical Ascent, a leadership summit the firm operates, indicates early industry-positioning activity beyond project delivery.

Name

Vertical Design Services

Legal name

Vertical Design Services

Website

https://verticaldesignservices.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Vertical Design Services is a professional electrical engineering firm that delivers PE-sealed power, lighting, controls, fire alarm, arc flash, coordination, short circuit, and VDC/BIM design services to electrical contractors, general contractors, developers, and owners across 22 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electrical Engineering Services

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Engineering design services (line design, substation design, civil/structural) (EUADAKAG)

Keywords

• Electrical engineering design
• MEP engineering services
• BIM coordination services
• Arc flash studies
• PE-sealed engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Dundee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electrical Engineering Design Services: Project-based professional services revenue for electrical engineering design. Services include power systems, lighting design, controls, fire alarm, arc flash studies, coordination studies, short circuit studies, and VDC/BIM coordination. Pricing is quote-based per project, with budget ranges from under $10k to $250k+ indicated in inquiry forms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Vertical Design Services provides professional electrical engineering design services covering power systems, lighting, controls, fire alarm, arc flash studies, coordination studies, short circuit studies, and VDC/BIM coordination. All work is engineered in-house in Revit and sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer across 22 states, delivered to electrical contractors, general contractors, developers, and building owners from concept through construction.

Product overview

Vertical Design Services offers a unified portfolio of electrical engineering services delivered as a coordinated in-house team. The core offering consists of eight integrated service lines: Power Systems (distribution and service design), Lighting Design (photometric calculations and fixture specification), Controls (lighting and building control systems), Fire Alarm (NFPA 72 addressable systems), Arc Flash Studies (NFPA 70E incident-energy analysis), Coordination Studies (protective device time-current analysis), Short Circuit Studies (fault-current analysis), and Virtual Design & Construction/VDC (Revit-based BIM coordination). All designs are engineered in-house and sealed by a licensed professional engineer across 22 states. The VDC/BIM capability serves as a coordination layer across all service lines, enabling clash-free documentation and prefabrication support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Power Systems Full electrical power system design covering service entrances, distribution equipment, feeders, transformers, and panelboards. Includes load calculations, one-line diagrams, and Revit-coordinated documentation sealed by a licensed PE, intended for electrical contractors and building owners on commercial construction projects.
• Lighting Design Photometric lighting design with calculated layouts, fixture selection, egress and emergency lighting, and energy-code compliance documentation, including point-by-point illuminance calculations. Built for contractors, developers, and owners on commercial, healthcare, hospitality, and multifamily projects.
• Controls Lighting and building controls design including occupancy sensing, daylight harvesting, networked controls, and energy-code compliance sequences, integrated into the electrical design from the first drawing for contractors and building owners.
• Fire Alarm Addressable fire alarm system design coordinated to NFPA 72, including initiating and notification device layouts, riser diagrams, and battery and voltage-drop calculations, delivered to contractors and facility owners.
• Arc Flash Studies Incident-energy analysis and equipment labeling for NFPA 70E compliance, including arc flash boundary determination, PPE category determination, and mitigation recommendations. Delivered standalone or as part of a full electrical design engagement for facility owners and contractors.
• Coordination Studies Protective device coordination analysis using time-current characteristic curves to ensure faults isolate to the nearest device, keeping the rest of the system energized. Includes TCC curve plots and NEC selective coordination compliance documentation for facility owners and contractors.
• Short Circuit Studies Fault-current analysis that calculates available short-circuit current at every point in the system, verifies protective devices and equipment are rated for the available fault current, and provides inputs for coordination and arc flash studies.
• Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) Model-based BIM coordination that resolves conflicts in Revit before field installation, including multi-trade clash detection, coordinated construction documentation, prefabrication support, and Revit model delivery to construction teams for contractors and VDC coordinators.

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Affiliated Engineers: Engineering consultancy with strong MEP/electrical design practice serving healthcare, science, higher education, and mission-critical facilities. Comparable to VDS in technical depth (power, lighting, controls, life safety) and PE-sealed multi-discipline delivery.
• ESD (Engineering Services for Design): MEP engineering design firm focused on workplaces, healthcare, data centers, and high-tech buildings. Overlaps with VDS in PE-sealed electrical design, BIM coordination, and mission-critical / data center exposure.
• ME Engineers: MEP and electrical engineering design firm specializing in building systems for sports, entertainment, healthcare, and high-tech projects. Closely comparable to VDS in scope (power, lighting, controls, fire alarm) and target clients (architects, GCs, owners).
• GHT Limited: MEP engineering firm serving commercial, healthcare, education, and multifamily in the Mid-Atlantic and beyond. Comparable in scope (electrical, lighting, fire alarm, BIM) and project-based professional services model to VDS.
• Salas O'Brien: MEP-focused engineering firm delivering electrical, mechanical, and building systems design across data centers, healthcare, industrial, and commercial verticals. Comparable in service mix, BIM workflow, and project-by-project commercial delivery to VDS.

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: Global engineering consultancy with a large buildings practice offering electrical, MEP, lighting, and BIM services. Overlaps with VDS across virtually all its verticals but at vastly greater scale, geographic reach, and brand recognition.
• WSP: Global engineering and design firm with a substantial buildings MEP/electrical practice serving healthcare, data centers, transportation, and commercial real estate. Competes with VDS on multi-state, multi-vertical electrical design mandates but from a much larger platform.
• Jacobs: Global professional services firm with deep buildings, industrial, and advanced facilities electrical engineering offerings. Overlaps with VDS in power systems design, BIM, and life-safety consulting, but at enterprise scale across hundreds of geographies.
• Burns & McDonnell: Large engineering, architecture, and construction firm with strong power, industrial, and mission-critical electrical design capabilities. Comparable to VDS in arc flash, coordination, and short-circuit studies for industrial and data center clients, but with broader portfolio and headcount.
• Tetra Tech: Consulting and engineering firm with high-performance buildings, MEP, and industrial electrical design practices. Comparable to VDS on engineering design services for industrial and commercial facilities, though from a much broader environmental/infrastructure platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/verticaldesignservices
• Instagraminstagram.com/vertical_designservices
• Facebookfacebook.com/VerticalDesignServices

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Vertical Design Services