Arup
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Posted on: Over 3 months ago

Direct hire

Sr. Façade Engineer

Account manager information:
Name: AAAKarthik Development
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 123-456-7891 ext 203

Job Insight:
  • Competitor names
  • CDC (Curtainwall Design & Consulting) – Nationwide, HQ in Texas
  • Buro Happold (Mainly NY now, as they ‘lost’ their LA group to Walter P Moore)
  • Walter P Moore
  • Thornton Thomasetti (TT): (Mainly Chicago/NY – but I know they have a ‘Building Skin’ group in LA and were looking for a leader for the Building Skin group in SF)
  • WJE (Wiss Janey Elsner) – Nationwide
  • SGH (Simpson Gumpertz & Heger) – Nationwide
  • Front (NY/SF/Seattle) – I noticed that they currently have positions open in SF & Seattle.
  • Heintges & Associates (NY/SF)
  • ABB (Allana Buick & Bers)
  • JA Weir Associates
  • Gordon H Smith Corp.
  • Vidaris (formerly Israel Berger & Associates)
  • The Façade Group (Portland/Philadelphia)
  • Some of the specialist façade contractors also ‘offer’ consulting service – with a view to being the preferred contractor when the project is bid, (such as Enclos)
  • Companies that may work with those competitors
  • Most architects have their own favorites from the lists above, so it’s difficult to provide specifics (Gensler (LA) use CDC &/or JA Weir; NBBJ (LA) use TT; ZGF (LA) use Front, for example). Sometimes they will reach out to others on the list as they are asked to get 3 competitive bids – but often this is really just a price-checking exercise against their ‘preferred’ consultant. It’s hard to break down some of these personal relationships.
  • Applicable school/educational/technical programs
  • There are no specific schools in the US that ‘teach’ ‘façade engineering/Envelope design etc. The closest we would have would be Architectural Engineering colleges, where they is some course requirement to do a technical paper as part of their coursework. Anna or Carmen in HR would be able to provide you with a list of the colleges that we tend to target.
  • Internationally there are a number of universities that provide a focus on the building envelope. In the UK they have a specific course at Bath University (Centre for Window & Cladding Technology) – although I understand that this is at risk of closing! Technical Universities in the Netherlands and Germany such as Delft and Aachen have also proven to be good sources for graduate engineers.
  • Specific software that may be used (not just at Arup but in general)
  • We use the typical drafting and 3-D software including 2-D autocad, Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit and occasionally Digital Projects. Our Building Physics team uses a number of analysis programs including Ecotech, Physibel, Therm, Radiance etc. and our structural guys use Strand.
  • We also use hand-drawing as a valuable tool to help us explain concepts to architects and as a quick way to get early designs conveyed, without spending a lot of time drafting, when we know things are likely to change in the future.
  • Unique products or materials used in the design or engineering of facades
  • We work closely with our materials consulting group to be as up to date on changes in the market, new materials/uses etc. as possible. Most of the work that we do is with aluminum, glass, metal panels etc. but we also have projects using fabrics, photo-voltaics and fiber-reinforced polymers, (plastics) and concrete.
  • Industry, technical or social media hangouts that these types of specialists may frequent
  • I’m not sure there is ‘one’ single point which everyone refers to. I’ve entered the world or Twitter and use LinkedIn, but by no means know how to utilize these to the full, to increase our visibility in the industry. I would suggest the key social media outlet would be Facades+ (http://www.facadesplus.com/), who have several conferences in the US a year, and Architects Newspaper (who sponsor Facades+). Internationally, there is Glass Processing Days (GPD), which is typically held annually in Finland plus one other location somewhere in the world. Also look at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), which is a more globally recognized organization dealing with tall buildings generally (ctbuh.org). I would say all of the above competitors probably have far better company websites compared to our own, also as they are primarily focused on façade engineering/envelope design only. USC has over the last few years started a Facades Tectonic conference series, (bi-annual conferences), which they are now looking to grow and increase the awareness of nationally, (I have been invited to be on the steering committee).
  • Leaders, gurus or well-known individuals within the facade space
  • Mic Patterson of Enclos is very well known in the US industry (on the contractor side) and speaks regularly at conferences globally. He is also on (possibly chairman of) the USC led Façade Tectonics committee mentioned above.
  • Industry or applicable publications (print or online) Facades+; Architects Newspaper; US Glass Magazine; Architect Magazine 
  • Specific non-Arup projects that may have utilized these types of individuals (I might be able to do some research to see who designed/engineered the facade)
  • Most, (although not all), large scale projects nowadays have a façade consultant on-board – either to assist the architect with the design and specification of the facades or to police the specialist façade contractor, (make sure they don’t take short cuts, deal with poor quality, review drawings/installation etc.)

Pre screen questionnaire:

1 : 1. Is the candidate currently working?

Options:

1: Yes

2: No

2 : 2. Is the candidate a permanent employee or a consultant?

Options:

1: Permanent employee

2: Consultant

3 : 3. What is the candidate’s current base salary?

Text field for candidate to answer.

4 : 4. What is the candidate’s expected base salary?

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5 : 5. Does candidate require sponsorship to work in the USA? If on a visa, which, when was the visa issued and how many years are left on the current visa before expiration?

Text field for candidate to answer.

6 : 6. Make sure all employment gaps are explained.

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7 : 7. What is the candidate’s current location?

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8 : 8. If out of area, is the candidate willing to relocate to location of job position?

Options:

1: Yes

9 : 9. Will the candidate require relocation assistance?

Options:

1: Yes

2: No