Meet the Team

We are a team of structural and architectural engineers who thrive on tackling challenges with creative solutions. Our team members are all Sun Valley natives who returned after receiving higher education because we value the character of our small community and maintaining its integrity through the work we do.

At the end of the day, our focus is on building relationships—whether with our clients, fellow contractors, our team as we work together on innovative projects, and the landscape around us.

Craig Maxwell, Maxwell Structural Design Studio
  • Craig’s grandpa was a builder and his father an electrical contractor, so growing up he spent almost as much time on a construction site as he did in school. After high school, he spent another 12 years working in the construction trades and gaining a deep understanding of how buildings are put together. At 30, Craig was eager to take this knowledge to the next level, so he and his wife Kara moved from Ketchum to San Luis Obispo to study Architectural Engineering at California Polytechnic State University. In 2005, Craig moved back home to Ketchum with his wife, two young kids and a BS degree from CalPoly. He spent the next 8 years working for Ruscitto/Latham/Blanton as a project engineer gaining architectural engineering skills and experience until 2014 when he started his own company, Maxwell Structural Design Studio.

    Craig is calm, structured, and hard working. He finds enjoyment in challenging projects, finding answers to complicated problems, and collaborating with strong minds to come up with creative, constructible solutions to each unique design situation.

    A fourth generation Idahoan (the Maxwell family moved to the mountains of Idaho in the late 1800’s under the Homestead Act of 1862), Craig’s heart and soul are rooted in the natural beauty of the mountains.

Allie Freund, Maxwell Structural Design Studio
  • Allie is an architectural designer, who works collaboratively with the office’s engineers to craft thoughtful and efficient designs. She graduated from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Architecture degree and a minor in sustainability. After working on a wide range of projects in California and Portland, she moved back to the Wood River Valley, where she grew up. She loves the scale of design the valley has to offer and its opportunities to craft unique spaces and details specific to each site and resident. Outside of the office, you will find her hiking, camping, and snowboarding in the mountains or hanging out in a park with her family.

Chase Caulkins, Craig Maxwell, Maxwell Structural Design Studio
  • Chase was born and raised in the Wood River Valley. As a kid, he spent many hours on his dad’s BC Builders job sites around the valley where he whet his appetite for construction and eventually spent a few summers working for his dad. After graduating from University of Portland with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he got a job making windows for Pella, and eventually became the Quality Engineer at the Portland facility. After too many years away from the Wood River Valley, he finally escaped the rain and moved back to the mountains and the snow with his wife. Chase enjoys spending his free time climbing peaks, skiing, mountain biking, running, and making furniture.

  • Tyler grew up in Ketchum and returned to the Wood River Valley after graduating from Rocky Mountain College with degrees in Physics and Environmental Science. After four years with Maxwell SDS, Tyler and his wife made the move to Östersund, Sweden where they traded powder skis and smooth single track for skinny skis and rocky trails. Tyler continues to work remotely from Sweden and enjoys spending his free time with his family skiing, mountain biking, and traveling around Sweden.

  • A Ketchum native, Jack joined Maxwell Structural Design Studio in 2020 after graduating from Montana State University with a degree in Industrial Engineering. Jack returned to the Wood River Valley for the community and to enjoy all that it has to offer. He enjoys working collaboratively with his colleagues at MSDS to embrace challenges and find creative solutions for his clients. When he’s not in the office, Jack spends winters skiing and coaching the local high school hockey team. In the summers, you can find him chasing spring runoff in his kayak and fishing around the state from his drift boat.

Ethan Marx
  • Born and raised in Ketchum, Ethan is actively pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. An eager member of the team, he’s analytically minded and driven to solve problems through creative solutions. When he’s not in school or helping out on a new project, Ethan is either wearing bags for his dad’s General Contracting business, Idaho Mountain Builders, or doing all the outoor sports imaginable—dirt biking, mountain biking, skiing, snowmobiling, or surfing.

  • Enjoys laying around, chewing on things, and reminding us to enjoy the simple things in life. Still unsure about his new sibling, Baxter.

Memberships + Affiliations

Our Values

As everyone in this Valley understands, our lives extend vastly beyond our careers. We find meaning and value in the connections we create within our community and surrounding environment. Our team members volunteer, coach, and help out with various projects and organizations around the Valley—from the Pioneer Cabin restoration project to Rotarun. And what’s more, we enjoy spending time together in the outdoors.

We work hard. We play hard. We enjoy working together to make our community a better place.