Michael Jensen, 34

Michael Jensen was always good at math and science, so naturally his parents encouraged him to pursue engineering. It worked out: Jensen is now a plumbing and fire protection design manager at MG Engineering D.P.C. based in his hometown of New York City, working on projects up and down the East Coast. 

Jensen got his big break in the trade as the lead plumbing and fire protection engineer for Jaros, Baum & Bolles Consulting Engineers on the development of the Midtown Manhattan office tower One Vanderbilt. In the role, he designed the base plumbing and fire protection systems for the roughly 1.75 million-square-foot building that opened in late 2020 and that now looms (literally and figuratively) as the exemplar of flight to quality in the office market.

The Clarkson University mechanical engineering graduate has been with MG Engineering for two years, and is currently working as the lead engineer on the fire protection system of Jem Private Residences. The 67-story tower coming to Miami Worldcenter will have 510 rentals, 197 condos and retail. It’s Jensen and his team’s job to calculate the system’s sizes and capacities based on the building size and local code requirements.

For unique, high-end projects like this, “anyone can draw a pipe or piece of equipment on a piece of paper,” Jensen said, downplaying his talents. “The challenge is understanding and ensuring that a contractor can physically install it in the field, and that any future maintenance or access that is required can be provided so building owners can maintain and operate their building for years to come.” 

That, he said, is his goal.