2014 40 Under 40: Jared J. Birmingham, PE, 34

Operations Manager, Rolf Jensen & Associates Inc., Los Angeles

By Silvia Chavez and Amara Rozgus May 19, 2014

Jared J. Birmingham, PE, 34
Operations Manager, Rolf Jensen & Associates Inc., Los Angeles
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, BS Mechanical Engineering, MS Fire Protection Engineering

Jared Birmingham’s experience in fire protection and life safety systems has taken him around the globe—from Boston through China—to his current position as Rolf Jensen & Associates’ operations manager in Los Angeles. While attending Worchester Polytechnic Institute, Birmingham traveled to Australia for one of his major qualifying projects, where he set up full-room burns to evaluate and study the effects of fuel load distribution on room fire parameters. Birmingham garnered early recognition in 2005 while working as junior staffer, and was presented with the RJA president’s award for technical excellence for his project work with performance-based design using computer fire modeling. Birmingham became a sought-out asset within RJA and was offered the opportunity to work in its Macau office in China. During his time in China, Birmingham performed as a project manager of large-scale casino resort projects where he was in charge of design review and the commissioning of fire protection and life safety systems. Birmingham connects his successes in the workplace to his love of both engineering and sports, which he made use of during his time in China. While there, he organized a team of North American expatriates to play in an international hockey league. Birmingham holds the record at the Los Angeles office for most bungee jumps—eight and counting. Birmingham and his wife love to travel and have bungee jumped and snorkeled all around the world. One of his most noted bungee jumps was at the 764-ft AJ Hackett Tower in Macau, China, which claims to be the world’s highest bungee jump.