Craig Stauffer, S.E. retires from his 31-year career in structural engineering at PCS Structural Solutions

by Valerie Hendel, PCS Structural Solutions | Husband, father, structural engineer, cyclist, wood worker … a handful of words Craig Stauffer could use to describe himself. But it takes a few miles of road before a person can do justice to the story of the ride. It’s been a 31-year structural engineering career for Craig Stauffer. And what a career. He’s worked on roughly 2,500 projects for communities throughout the Pacific Northwest and U.S. His designs include the University of Washington’s iconic Denny Hall, UW Tacoma Library, Bainbridge Island High School, Blakely Elementary School, and the Central Washington University Music Building. His leadership and advocacy shaped PCS’s collaborative imperative.

In 1992 the University of Wyoming launched a young engineer. Intelligent and driven, Stauffer emerged with his architectural engineering degree and master’s in structural engineering. Craig was ready for the world, but the economy wasn’t so sure. While the feds were wrestling with inflation, Craig went nose-to-nose with the high unemployment rate and sent out over a hundred resumes. He grabbed another pile and knocked on the doors of all the local firms.

Sundi Stauffer, Craig’s spouse, secured a job as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand taking them to Denver, Colorado. Craig kept at it, finally contacting Bret Maddox, a fellow University of Wyoming alum. Maddox—who is sworn to some leveraged secrecy about any shenanigans Craig was up to in college—had landed in the firm of Chalker Putnam Collins & Scott in Tacoma, Washington. They were hiring. Craig printed up another resume and sped it over.

Apparently, the state of Washington was feeling sunny and optimistic and dispatched the only two responses Craig would see. Craig accepted invitations to interview for a firm in Seattle and Chalker Putnam Collins & Scott in Tacoma. “Seattle was lively, and things were moving. Tacoma was … eerily quiet,” remembers Craig. But the little firm in Tacoma did structural engineering for community buildings which appealed to the structural engineer with an affinity for architecture. Maddox gave the Pacific Northwest a two-thumbs up. The decision was made. Sundi Stauffer would transfer, and they packed their belongings and headed west.

Tacoma Bound

There were twenty-five people in the Tacoma office of Chalker Putnam Collins & Scott. A good place to learn the business of structural engineering. No emails back then—people met in person. Architects sent their AutoCAD work to the engineers on discs. That’s the 3.5” floppy disc variety, not the round ones. Craig pedaled fast, working hard to prove himself. “I thought I’d do five years and head back to Colorado.”

Five years came and went. “We realized that we had grown to love the area and the situation. I felt that the chance of finding another firm that I liked as well would be small,” says Stauffer. But there was a teensy problem: Craig felt the opportunity to become an owner was limited. An office of twenty-five people and three owners didn’t present the obvious opportunity to an ambitious young engineer eager to challenge himself.

Opportunity in Seattle

The firm had a Seattle office at the time. Well, more like three desks and an equal number of engineers to fill the seats. But plenty of coffee. At that time in the industry, business required proximity to clients. Engineers needed to be at hand to meet with architects. Chalker Putnam Collins & Scott had dispatched the trio to work with their local Seattle clientele.

In 1999, people were feeling downright cheery about the economy. Skies were bluer, and the firm wanted to give the Seattle office a different shot. An opportunity to lead the Seattle team was just the thing for Stauffer.

Taking up leadership

Craig was driven to do excellent work and prove himself in the leadership role. “I wanted to see if I could make our Seattle location an office instead of just a few desks.” The Tacoma office’s reputation and portfolio were well established, and they were getting work steadily. Solid relationships with Tacoma architects meant that the next job often was a matter of tossing over a couple of resumes to the local architect.

Craig quickly recognized that building the firm’s Seattle presence was a different hill to climb—a different strategy to business development altogether. “I knew we just couldn’t sit back and wait for jobs. I wanted Seattle firms to enjoy working with us and to want to work with us again, so I took time just to develop relationships.”

The quiet kid from Wyoming was never comfortable elbowing in or being the center of attention. But Craig’s natural ability to build rapport translated to exactly what the office needed—authentic connections. “I like to visit with people about how things are going. I rarely just talk about work.”

Structural Engineer … it’s what I am

Stauffer was determined to build relationships and the firm’s reputation. It was a steady ten-year climb for the Seattle office to find its rhythm and build momentum. “I was managing projects and doing business development. I’d catch the 5:20 am ferry to tackle things early and spend a few hours working at home every night. I had a great team around me that just got stronger over the years. This allowed me to spend the evenings with my family, to coach youth sports for nearly a decade, and to enjoy other things that were important to me.”

Over the years, Craig would establish his balance. Father, spouse … Craig knew that he was many things. But structural engineer was one of them. It wasn’t just what he did, but what he was. Built into his inner tethers was an immense pride in work— a weight of responsibility about how the quality of the structural work would impact others—his clients and the community. The stakes are high. “When I think about hiring someone, I know they are many things. Structural engineer shouldn’t be the first thing they list, but it needs to be one of the top five. It’s just too important.”

Transitions

The firm was growing. Built into the brick and mortar of the firm was a culture of providing space for leadership to grow. “I appreciated when we became owners how gracious they were,” says Stauffer. In 2007, the firm roster read Craig Stauffer, president. “I was 40 years old. The partners who had mentored me gave me their full support.”

Craig was ready for the opportunity to learn and test himself, but leadership hadn’t been the goal. Asked how a retrospective Craig thinks about his leadership growth over the years, he doesn’t hesitate. “I’m surprised how much I’ve enjoyed stepping into leadership positions. Now, I will lean in and be a voice at the table, something I was much more hesitant to do in my twenties.”

Craig’s willingness to be a voice parallels changes in the AEC industry at large, which has matured into a collaborative one. Understanding the impact structural engineers have on project outcomes, Craig has been a steady champion of the value of having structural engineers at the project table early. 

That young engineer who emerged from the study halls of University of Wyoming couldn’t have known that he’d work on thousands of projects over the course of his career or that he would make his mark on structural engineering in the region. You have to put a few miles under you …

During Craig’s journey at PCS, he helped navigate the future of the firm. PCS has grown from twenty-five people and three owners to fifty-seven people, three offices, three espresso machines, a dozen owners, a diverse portfolio, leader mentorship, and a strong, continual transition plan in place.

And we come around to that question everyone asks a person headed into retirement—what do you think you’ll do when you’re retired? But Craig was never one for the obvious questions.  

 “Nope. The question I’m asking is who do I want to become?”

Valerie Hendel is marketing coordinator at PCS Structural Solutions. PCS Structural Solutions is a 57-person, single-discipline structural engineering firm with offices in Tacoma, Seattle, and Portland.