Background
A structural consultancy based in the Midwest decided to open a West Coast office focused on seismic retrofit work. The firm had strong steel and concrete design capability and existing client relationships that extended to the region, but no licensed presence there and no seismic specialism internally.
The Challenge
An office intended to seal seismic work in California without an SE-licensed lead is not really an office. The credential is not interchangeable with a PE, the examination is demanding and the pool of licensed structural engineers with retrofit experience in that market is small and well known to competitors. The firm also wanted to move two of its own engineers west, without having established what comity would require or how long it would take, which risked opening with staff who could not legally seal work. Any approach to a licensed lead would have to be confidential, since the market is small enough that word travels.
The Solution
Advastar ran the practice lead search confidentially, approaching SE-licensed candidates without naming the firm until mutual interest was established and prioritizing those who had personally delivered retrofit projects rather than supported them. In parallel we mapped licensure and comity timelines for the two engineers the firm intended to relocate, so that the opening date reflected when work could actually be sealed rather than when a lease began. Design engineers with ASCE 7 retrofit experience were then recruited beneath the lead, calibrated against the same technical bar the lead had set during his own assessment.
The Outcome
The office opened with an SE-licensed practice lead in place and the relocating engineers’ comity applications already in progress against a known timeline. Sealed work began on schedule. The practice has since taken on retrofit assignments from two of the firm’s existing national clients, which was the commercial rationale for the expansion.