Your next hire will
define your firm.
We make sure you
get it right.
XTERNA is New York City's specialist Local Law 11 and Local Law 126 recruiter and headhunter. We find QEWIs, QPSIs, and the engineers and architects who inspect, restore, and rehabilitate facades and parking structures across the five boroughs, backed by market intelligence on every one of them.
Local Law 11 & Local Law 126 Recruitment
Two inspection laws keep New York City's engineers and architects busy. Local Law 11, now the Facade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP), covers building facades. Local Law 126 created the Periodic Inspection of Parking Structures (PIPS) program, bringing the city's parking garages under regular engineering inspection. Every cycle, thousands of buildings and garages need a QEWI or QPSI to inspect them, a team to write the report, and engineers, architects, and project managers to run the restoration and rehabilitation work that follows. The firms that win that work are the ones that can staff it.
XTERNA recruits and headhunts only for this market. We know the engineering practices, architecture firms, and restoration consultants delivering FISP and PIPS in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island, and we know the QEWIs, QPSIs, and inspectors who make them work.
Why XTERNA
When a QEWI, QPSI, or senior PM leaves in the middle of a cycle, most firms scramble. They post a job, wait, and hope. XTERNA works differently. We give leadership teams a clear picture of the market before they need to move, so that when a role opens, they already know who is out there, what it will take to attract them, and how their firm compares to the competition.
We work with firms that take hiring seriously. Firms that understand that the wrong hire costs more than the right one, and that the best candidates are rarely the ones actively looking.
Every week, we speak with QEWIs, QPSIs, facade and structural engineers, architects, and restoration consultants across New York City. Not to fill roles, but to understand the market. Who is considering a move. What firms are paying. Where teams are under pressure. Which practices are growing and which are quietly losing people.
That intelligence feeds directly into the work we do for clients. It means that when we bring you a shortlist, it is built on current market knowledge, not a database search.
We work with firms whether they are actively hiring, planning ahead, or simply want to understand how they compare. A search does not need to be live for us to be useful.
What We Do
Know what is happening in your market before your competitors do. We track hiring movement, compensation shifts, and team-building activity across New York's Local Law 11 and Local Law 126 firms, using real conversations with practitioners, not aggregated data.
Understand exactly how your firm compares to other FISP and PIPS practices. QEWI, QPSI, and PM compensation, team composition, project exposure, career progression. We give you the information you need to attract and retain the people who matter most to your business.
When you are ready to hire a QEWI, QPSI, inspector, or project lead, we run a focused, confidential search built around your specific requirements. No volume, no noise. A structured process that delivers a shortlist of the right people, not the most available ones.
Roles We Recruit
XTERNA does not work across every sector. We recruit the engineers and architects who inspect, report on, restore, and rehabilitate New York City facades and parking structures under Local Law 11 (FISP) and Local Law 126 (PIPS). That focus is what makes the intelligence we hold genuinely useful.
Qualified Exterior Wall Inspectors. NY licensed PEs and RAs who sign FISP reports and lead facade inspection programmes.
Qualified Parking Structure Inspectors. NY licensed PEs who carry out Local Law 126 condition assessments and sign PIPS reports.
Field engineers, close-up, drop, and rope access inspectors, and the report writers who turn findings into FISP and PIPS filings.
Engineers and architects designing facade, parapet, balcony, and terracotta repairs, and the rehabilitation of parking garages, decks, and slabs.
Project managers and construction administrators who run facade restoration and garage rehabilitation programmes from filing through to sign-off.
Principals, directors, associates, and FISP and PIPS practice leads for engineering firms, architecture practices, and facade consultants.
Our Process
Every engagement follows the same rigorous process. It is designed to give you visibility at every stage and deliver a shortlist you can act on, not one you have to filter through.
A detailed briefing with your leadership team. We learn the firm, the team structure, the culture, and exactly what the right candidate looks like technically and commercially.
Before the search begins, we map the NYC FISP and PIPS landscape. Compensation, team structures, and how your firm sits in the market relative to the firms competing for the same talent.
We identify and approach specific professionals with the right background. No job boards. No volume advertising. Direct engagement with people who match your brief.
A focused shortlist of qualified candidates, each assessed against your brief. Presented with full context on background, motivation, and fit, so you can make informed decisions quickly.
We manage the interview process, gather feedback, and support offer negotiation through to acceptance. Our work does not stop at introduction.
Proprietary Market Intelligence
Intelligence is in our name. It is the layer that runs beneath every search we conduct. Before a brief is signed, we already hold data on who is moving, what firms are paying, and how your competitors are building their teams. It is what separates a well-placed hunch from a decision grounded in current market reality.
XTERNA Insights
XTERNA Insights is a video podcast featuring senior leaders across facades, parking structures, restoration, and structural engineering. Career journeys told plainly. The decisions, trade-offs, and turning points that shaped where they ended up.
Latest Episode
Robert Hartley, PE, RA, QEWI of Ancora Engineering + Architecture talks about his journey from facade inspections to firm leadership — and what it really takes to make that transition.
"Leaving stability for growth never feels comfortable. Robert captured that moment perfectly — the 'warm hot tub' of a good job, and the cold shock of a new challenge."
— From Episode 1, XTERNA Insights
What People Say
FAQ
Answers to the questions we hear most from FISP and PIPS firms and the engineers and architects who work in them.
Get in Touch
Whether you need a QEWI or QPSI before your next FISP or PIPS deadline, are planning ahead for the cycle, or simply want a clearer picture of where your firm sits in the market, get in touch.
Principal
Ethan Randall
XTERNA Intel · Local Law 11 & 126 Recruitment
Book a call
Hiring this cycle, a salary benchmark for a QEWI or QPSI role, or a confidential career conversation. Pick a time that suits and it goes straight into the diary.
Book a 30-minute call →Prefer email? ethan@xterna-intel.com