International architecture and engineering firm grows its Troy office, to add positions

The hunt for high quality architects is on! SSOE, an international architecture and engineering firm, currently employs 160 professionals in their three Michigan offices-- Troy, Portage and Flint—and plans to expand each.

Their Southeast Michigan office, located in Troy, employs 116 and plans to add additional staff by the end of the year. David Rose, the manager of the office's health care division, says,  "We have a number of requisitions open right now—we are actively trying to hire."

Rose says that SSOE has found it "challenging to find good, qualified people." He explains that many mid-career architects left the field in the late 1990's up through 2002-03 because of loss of work. Therefore, the field of architecture is "very thin" when it comes to that level of the profession. 

The Troy office also has a retail division; Rose says both are seeing growth. He explains that the retail component of the office's business is expanding because of its work with national clients such as Meijer's, Mervin's, Rite Aid and PetSmart. 

As for health care, the industry in Michigan is also growing, albeit conservatively. SSOE recently completed surgery additions to the Mt. Clemens Regional Medical Center and Oakwood Hospital and are planning an addition at Children's Hospital in the Detroit Medical Center. They are working to expand their health care expertise into Ohio. "We want a strong regional presence centered in the Troy office."

As for the general state of architecture in Southeast Michigan, Rose observes "reasonable growth," noting that many local firms are finding out-of-state work while major national firms are opening up branch offices here, further "contributing to the current difficulty in hiring."

SSOE is the 14th largest engineering and architecture firm in the country. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Toledo, it has more than 800 employees in 16 offices in the United States and China.

Source: David Rose, SSOE Troy office
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh