World Class Engineering, Small Town Values.
Upright Engineering is a Lafayette, California structural and civil engineering firm founded in 2016, serving residential, commercial, and environmental clients across the San Francisco Bay Area. Its engineers handle structural design for remodels, additions, and new construction alongside site civil work including drainage, grading, stormwater compliance, and earthwork. Upright Engineering specializes in wetland restoration, with its lead engineer bringing over 10 years of experience and more than 35 completed tidal habitat restoration projects spanning nearly 50 square miles of Bay Area habitat.
Austin PayneFounder & Principal Engineer
Caleb StrangeManaging Structural Engineer
Hasib HasanzadaManaging Civil Engineer
Nirmal SharmaProject Structural Engineer
Nina PatelProject Civil Engineer
Structural design for residential remodels, additions, new construction, retaining and landscape walls, soft-story retrofits, and commercial projects.
Site civil design services covering drainage, grading, earthwork, utilities, and stormwater for residential and commercial clients.
Stormwater C.3 compliance planning and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans prepared by registered QSD/QSP.
Wastewater and septic system design including advanced treatment systems.
Planning, design, and construction management for tidal and freshwater wetland restoration projects in the San Francisco Bay Area, taking projects from concept through permitting, final design, and construction.
Residential · Commercial · Natural Resources · Environmental & Remediation
Sonoma County, CA · 2015
An $18 million tidal restoration restoring 960 acres of subsided Baylands in Sonoma County. The scope included a 2.5-mile tidal levee on Young Bay Mud protecting the SMART rail line and Highway 37, habitat elements including marsh mounds and variable-slope levee design, riparian restoration, access road construction, and cleanup of hunt club and farm facilities. The project opened to public use in 2015.
Alameda County, CA · 2016
A $15 million project restoring 675 acres of tidal wetlands and enhancing 400 acres of managed ponds at the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve in Alameda County. Work included refining project goals and permits, managing specialty subcontracts, and writing design reports. Value engineering recommendations reduced project costs by 40%. Completed 2016.
Martinez, CA
Restoration of a 138-acre muted tidal marsh in Martinez, CA on land owned by the Mt. View Sanitary District. Planned features include a bridge replacement under an active rail line, water control structures, levees and berms, conveyance swales, habitat islands, trails and boardwalks, and beneficial reuse of wastewater for habitat benefit. Design ongoing.
Hayward, CA
A multi-year tidal wetland restoration initiative covering 138 acres in Hayward, CA. The project involves comprehensive review of existing data, field studies, conceptual design alternatives, environmental assessments, permitting, and final design for construction. Ongoing.