Engineering at Scale: What NY Engineers Reveals About the Power of Great Management
About the Author
Nick Herinckx is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Oxygen, a manager development academy helping high-growth companies close the execution gap. A former fast-scaling CEO and longtime executive coach, Nick has helped hundreds of leaders build stronger, more effective teams. Follow him at @NickHerinckx.
Introduction
As part of my work at Oxygen, I’m always looking to learn from leaders in industries where execution is complex, deadlines are tight, and collaboration isn’t optional. Engineering and construction fit that description perfectly. These projects succeed or fail not only on technical excellence, but on how well people communicate, coordinate and lead.
That’s why I was excited to sit down with Anuj Srivastava, Principal/Partner at NY Engineers, a nationwide licensed MEP firm that guarantees 50% faster turnaround time. I wanted to better understand the challenges his teams navigate every day — and explore where strong management practices, coaching, and leadership systems can meaningfully improve outcomes in a highly technical environment.
Below is our conversation, digging into what NY Engineers is seeing in the field, how they deliver such efficient project turnaround, and where human-centered leadership and organizational support can amplify the impact of their already significant engineering expertise.
Q1. Thanks for speaking with me, Anuj. Could you briefly describe your role at NY Engineers and what NY Engineers brings to the table in the building and construction industry?
Anuj: Certainly. As a Principal/Partner at NY Engineers, I help steer our team’s mission of delivering Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing (MEP) and Fire Protection engineering—plus Virtual Design & Construction (BIM/VDC) services—across a wide variety of building types: from offices, hotels and retail spaces to restaurants and healthcare facilities, among others. We aim to provide streamlined, code-compliant, energy-efficient designs that save construction costs, reduce change orders, and ensure systems work reliably once installed. We have worked on the mission of making this world a greener and safer place by delivering 4000+ value-engineered projects across USA.
Q2. Building such systems is a technical and complex job. What kinds of challenges do you routinely encounter managing project delivery at NY Engineers?
Anuj: There are several recurring challenges. First, MEP design involves many interdependent systems—HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire protection—and they must be coordinated carefully to avoid conflicts (for instance, HVAC ductwork clashing with plumbing risers or electrical conduits). Second, each project often has tight schedules and budgets. Mistakes or late changes can create costly delays or rework. To mitigate that, we rely heavily on BIM/VDC modeling, clash detection, and a “single-source” engineering-design approach so all components are accounted for and integrated from the start.
Third, when working across multiple disciplines and stakeholders (architects, contractors, clients), communication and coordination become critically important. Any breakdown can lead to mismatches, compliance issues or construction overruns.
Q3. That level of coordination often depends on human processes as much as technical ones. In that context, how do you see the value in a company like Oxygen for firms such as NY Engineers or broader construction-industry teams?
Anuj: That’s a very perceptive point. While NY Engineers focuses on the technical integrity of buildings, the success of those projects ultimately depends on collaboration, coordination and effective leadership across teams. That intersects directly with what Oxygen does. Their programs offer structured leadership training, coaching, and ongoing development for managers and teams—helping them build communication skills, clarity, accountability, and the mindset to manage complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
For example: imagine a large commercial or mixed-use project where mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and architectural teams must collaborate. To execute smoothly, you don’t just need good drawings — you need project managers who can lead, coordinate, anticipate conflicts, and resolve issues proactively. Oxygen’s cohort-based training and tools can help elevate leaders in engineering firms to manage complexity efficiently, reduce misunderstandings, and foster team cohesion.
Q4. Could you point out one or two specific ways in which stronger leadership and team-management—via Oxygen-style development—could improve outcomes on engineering or construction projects?
Anuj: Absolutely.
Better cross-discipline collaboration: When managers and team leads have strong communication and people-management skills, handoffs between plumbing, HVAC, electrical, fire protection, and architectural groups go smoother. That reduces the risk of design clashes, delays, or costly rework.
Improved execution and accountability: Engineering projects often involve many moving parts, contractors, subcontractors, and tight deadlines. Leaders trained to set clear expectations, monitor progress, and ensure accountability help ensure that plans made in BIM or drawings actually translate on-site efficiently — minimizing delays, on-site confusion or scope creep.
Sustainable growth and scalability: As a firm grows and handles multiple projects in parallel, leadership consistency becomes more important than ad-hoc “hero” efforts. Ongoing coaching and development as offered by Oxygen can help create a stable leadership bench, where project managers follow consistent processes and standards rather than depending on individual brilliance.
Q5. Looking ahead: if you were advising a mid-size engineering firm about combining technical excellence with organizational leadership, what would you suggest — and how would integrating services from NY Engineers and Oxygen look in that vision?
Anuj: My advice would be: treat technical execution and team leadership as two equally important pillars. Engineering firms often invest heavily in technical tools—BIM, modeling software, energy analysis—but neglect the “people layer.” That’s a mistake.
In practice, integrating services could look like this: For a given large or complex project, assign a dedicated project-lead trained through Oxygen’s programs — someone who not only understands engineering principles but also has leadership, communication and team-management skills. Meanwhile, use NY Engineers’ design and BIM capabilities to ensure technical coherence. This dual approach would ensure that from concept and drawing to on-site execution, both the technical systems and the people working on them are aligned toward efficiency, safety, cost-control, and timely delivery.
Over time, this would build a firm that isn’t just technically competent, but also organizationally robust—capable of scaling, handling multiple projects, adapting to complex stakeholder demands, and delivering consistently.
Conclusion
It’s clear that combining strong engineering capability with purposeful leadership development — technical + human infrastructure — can make a significant difference in project success and long-term growth.
