Use whenever the user wants to find, shortlist, vet, or enrich US engineering firms — civil, structural, MEP, mechanical, electrical, geotechnical, transportation, environmental, and manufacturing. **For real-world engineering (buildings, infrastructure, manufacturing) — NOT software engineering.** Triggers on "find civil engineering firms in Florida for transportation", "shortlist three structural engineering firms with high-rise experience", "MEP consultancy for a hospital project", or "pull contact info for these 12 engineering firm domains", even when described indirectly (PE-stamped drawings, building-permit review). Drives the ServiceGraph API (api.servicegraph.co) — a 100k+ US firm catalog filterable by industry, services, location, size, ratings. Defer software-dev / "engineering team" / SaaS-architecture asks to find-software-developer. Skip in-house engineering-manager hires, DIY questions, software-product comparisons (Revit, AutoCAD), non-US firms, individual freelancers.
Use whenever the user wants to find, shortlist, vet, or enrich US engineering firms — civil, structural, MEP, mechanical, electrical, geotechnical, transportation, environmental, and manufacturing. **For real-world engineering (buildings, infrastructure, manufacturing) — NOT software engineering.** Triggers on "find civil engineering firms in Florida for transportation", "shortlist three structural engineering firms with high-rise experience", "MEP consultancy for a hospital project", or "pull contact info for these 12 engineering firm domains", even when described indirectly (PE-stamped drawings, building-permit review). Drives the ServiceGraph API (api.servicegraph.co) — a 100k+ US firm catalog filterable by industry, services, location, size, ratings. Defer software-dev / "engineering team" / SaaS-architecture asks to find-software-developer. Skip in-house engineering-manager hires, DIY questions, software-product comparisons (Revit, AutoCAD), non-US firms, individual freelancers.
Drive the ServiceGraph API (https://api.servicegraph.co) to find,
shortlist, and enrich US real-world engineering firms — buildings,
infrastructure, energy, manufacturing — via the pro_services
dataset. The catalog tags firms with industry:engineering_services
and a ~23-tag service sub-taxonomy.
This is NOT for software engineering. "Software engineering firm",
"engineering team", "engineering manager hire", "system architecture
review" — those are all software-developer territory. The first thing
this skill confirms is that the user means real engineering, not
software.
Always pin industry:engineering_services. Note the _services
suffix — older docs sometimes show industry:engineering but the
literal pin returns zero results in the live catalog. Sub-disciplines
are typically structured service_provided tags
(civil-engineering, structural-engineering, mep-engineering,
etc.) — confirm exact names via
/v1/datasets/pro_services/fields?include_values=1. Surveying is
surveying-mapping, not surveying.
Any HTTP client works (curl, fetch, requests). Examples below use curl.
When NOT to use this skill
The dominant failure mode is firing on software-engineering asks. Refuse those.
Software / SaaS / app-development asks — even when phrased as "software engineering firm", "engineering team partner", "build our platform" → defer to find-software-developer.
In-house "engineering manager" hires — in modern B2B usage this is almost always software-engineering recruiting. Refuse.
System / cloud / database architecture questions ("Postgres vs DynamoDB", "monolith vs microservices") — software topics.
Architecture (buildings) — find-architecture-firm covers that industry (when it exists). This skill covers engineering disciplines that work with architects (structural, MEP, civil), but the architect-of-record procurement is a different fire.
Consumer/residential ("architect for a residential remodel", "engineer to inspect my house"). Catalog is B2B procurement only.
the ServiceGraph MCP server (https://mcp.servicegraph.co) loaded in
your harness — this plugin's .mcp.json wires it up; OAuth 2.1 + PKCE
keeps credentials in the harness sandbox — or
a ServiceGraph API key (vk_…, minted at
https://servicegraph.co/profile/api-keys) available as
SERVICEGRAPH_API_KEY in the environment or .env.local for the REST
path (setup steps under Auth below).
An HTTP client for the REST path — the examples use curl.
Instructions
The loop is free-first: discovery, validation, search, and brief reads cost
nothing; only unlock after the user confirms the spend.
Pick the call path — the ServiceGraph MCP tools if loaded, otherwise the
REST flow (MCP server and Auth sections below).
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/fields?include_values=1 — confirm the
fields and values you plan to filter on exist.
Build the filter (Filter DSL below) and validate it with
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/check — or draft it from plain English via
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/translate-intent.
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search — present the free brief cards and
let the user pick.
Quote the unlock cost (10 credits per row, 30-day TTL) and get an explicit
go-ahead.
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks with the chosen apexes; report the
revealed detail.
GET /v1/me/credits to report the remaining balance when asked.
MCP server (preferred for authed calls)
If your harness has the ServiceGraph MCP server loaded (tools
containing servicegraph), prefer those — OAuth 2.1 + PKCE keeps the
token in the harness sandbox. Otherwise use the REST flow below.
API surface (dataset id: pro_services)
Every endpoint requires the bearer (Authorization: Bearer vk_…).
No anonymous tier.
Endpoint
Cost
Use it for
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/fields[?include_values=1]
free
Confirm engineering_services industry value and sub-tag names.
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/check?filter=…
free
Validate filter.
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/translate-intent
free
{intent} → DSL filter + sanity count.
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=…&limit=
free
Brief firm cards + per-row unlock hint + total.
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/:apex
free
One row brief; detail only if unlocked.
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks
10 credits / firm
{apexes:[...]} ≤100; atomic; 30-day TTL on detail.
GET /v1/me/credits
free
Balance.
Cost model. Discovery / validation / search / brief reads are
free. Detail (url, phone, email, social, address, full platforms
map) costs 10 credits per firm and lasts 30 days.
Auth
vk_* API keys minted in the dashboard. Keep the token out of the
LLM context — never read .env* into your context; dispatch via
shell.
Try the call first through a shell wrapper that sources .env.local:
"Open https://servicegraph.co/profile/api-keys, create a
key, and add SERVICEGRAPH_API_KEY=vk_… to .env.local here
(or export it). Tell me when done. Please don't paste the key
into chat."
Retry after the user signals ready.
Filter DSL
GitHub-search-style.
filter := orExpr
orExpr := andExpr ("OR" andExpr)*
andExpr := notExpr (("AND")? notExpr)* # whitespace = implicit AND
notExpr := ("NOT" | "-") notExpr | atom
atom := "(" filter ")" | predicate
predicate:= IDENT op valueOrList | bareword
op := ":" | "=" | ">=" | "<=" | ">" | "<"
valueOrList := value ("," value)*
value := IDENT | NUMBER | tagAtEvidence
tagAtEvidence := IDENT "@" ("low"|"medium"|"high")
bareword := IDENT | NUMBER # → keyword:<bareword>
Four rules that bite: AND binds tighter than OR (use parens);
comma list = OR within one predicate; negation is -x or NOT x;
bareword = keyword search (quote multi-word phrases).
Engineering-flavored examples (validate yours with /check):
Verticals (hospital, high-rise, semiconductor, retail, datacenter)
and credentials (PE-licensed, LEED, AICP) are keyword-only.
Identifying firms — apex
Firms are identified by their apex domain (aecom.com, not
www.aecom.com/about).
Output
All responses are JSON.
Search returns free brief firm cards — apex, name, location, and
rating signals — plus a per-row unlock hint and the match total. Briefs
never include url, phone_primary, email_primary, legal_name,
address_full, or the full platforms map.
Unlock (POST …/unlocks) returns each unlocked firm's detail block —
contact fields, address, socials, the platforms map — plus per-item
billing; detail stays readable for 30 days.
Errors arrive as a JSON envelope
{"error": {"code": "…", "message": "…"}} — see Errors below.
Examples
A. Civil engineering for transportation, in a state
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=industry:engineering_services+service_provided:civil-engineering+state:FL+transportation&limit=10
# Present, get pick of 3. "Unlocking 3 = 30 credits, 30-day TTL."
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks
{ "apexes": ["firm-a.com", "firm-b.com", "firm-c.com"] }
B. Structural engineering + commercial high-rise
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=industry:engineering_services+service_provided:structural-engineering+(high-rise OR commercial)&limit=10
C. MEP for a hospital project
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=industry:engineering_services+service_provided:mep-engineering+hospital&limit=10
D. Mechanical / HVAC for industrial facility
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=industry:engineering_services+service_provided:mechanical-engineering+hvac+industrial&limit=10
E. Indirect intent — "stamp the drawings"
User: "We're building a 10-story office and need a structural engineer to stamp the drawings."
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=industry:engineering_services+service_provided:structural-engineering+commercial&limit=10
PE-license details surface from the unlocked platforms map / firm
detail. If the user wants only PE-licensed firms, add pe as a keyword.
F. Geotechnical in California
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=industry:engineering_services+service_provided:geotechnical-engineering+state:CA&limit=10
Avoid pinning narrow keywords like seismic on top — engineering
verticals tend to collapse below k=20 quickly. The full state pool
of ~20 geotechnical firms is more useful than a 2-firm pool after
keyword narrowing.
G. Quality threshold — be careful
Engineering firms aren't reviewed like agencies; rating>=N collapses
civil/structural/MEP pools sharply. Prefer @high + size + geography
as the quality proxy instead of a rating gate:
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=industry:engineering_services+service_provided:civil-engineering@high+state:CA+-company_size_signal:solo&limit=10
If the user insists on rated firms, add has:clutch (more lenient
than rating>=4).
H. BYO apex list — enrich domains
User pastes 8–20 engineering firm domains:
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/:apex per domain — free brief
(404 = not in catalog, no charge). A 404 often means the domain
is a software firm tagged industry:it_services instead of real
engineering.
User picks N to fully enrich. POST /unlocks = 10×N credits,
atomic, detail returned.
Re-runs within 30-day TTL are free.
Gotchas
Always pin industry:engineering_services. Without it, civil-engineering / mep-engineering / electrical-engineering keywords could leak into other industries (architecture firms sometimes list MEP coordination as a sub-service).
It's engineering_services, not engineering. The literal pin industry:engineering returns zero results. Same drift logic for surveying-mapping (not surveying).
The hardest boundary is software-engineering. "Engineering firm" / "engineering team" in modern B2B usage almost always means software in tech contexts. Defer those to find-software-developer. Real engineering is for buildings, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing — not for SaaS apps.
"Engineering manager" hires are recruiting, not procurement.
Architecture firms are a separate industry. Architect-of-record procurement (form/aesthetics) is a different fire; this skill is for the engineering disciplines that work with architects.
Consumer/residential is out of scope ("architect for my house remodel", "engineer to inspect my deck"). B2B-only.
Engineering verticals are rating-sparse. Civil/structural/MEP firms aren't reviewed like agencies — rating>=N collapses pools below k=20. Use @high evidence + size + geography as the quality proxy.
Narrow keywords artificially shrink pools. A keyword like seismic on top of a CA geotech filter yields only ~2 firms vs ~20 without it. Drop narrowing keywords for default-required verticals.
Engineering-software product comparisons (Revit, AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Ansys, Bentley) are NOT procurement.
Briefs DO include apex, name, location, ratings. They DON'T include url, phone_primary, email_primary, legal_name, address_full, full platforms — those require an unlock.
not_found / not_in_dataset 404 = not in pro_services. Skip; not charged.
Unlock is atomic. N apexes either all charge (up to 10×N credits) or none on 402.
