Every time we have the opportunity to meet with clients, one of the first questions they ask is, “What is the Sparx story?” We enjoy answering that question, because we are able to pepper in plenty of startup clichés with straight faces. The fact is, as of early 2009, we really were just a few guys working out of a poorly air-conditioned garage (albeit a storage company’s office/garage combo) near Johnson Space Center. We had come from another startup where we honed our skills on how to operate with a tiny budget and little management support. As a result, we learned valuable lessons about what not to do in business. With backgrounds ranging from Space Medicine, eBay, Oil Field Services, and Electronics Manufacturing, we decided that there might actually be a market for our collective expertise. So we leapt at the chance to try this entrepreneur thing on our own and see if people would hire us for innovative engineering design and product development.
Sparx History
We started off with one client – a client we’re happy to report is still with us today. Our first project was designing a military life support device, and we quickly outgrew the garage. While leaving Sparx Private Mini-Storage World Headquarters was tough, we knew we had to branch out and find a place that we could thrive (i.e., fit our stuff). Naturally, we found a one-bedroom apartment up the street. With air mattresses in tow, the one-bedroom apartment served as our home until we decided that we should probably upgrade to a two-bedroom version. Once we settled into the more modern and spacious two-bedroom with upgraded kitchen countertops, everything really began to click.
By October 2009, we decided to move into a real office and stop sharing space with boxes and bubble wrap. We also thought that having a place to set up an actual engineering lab and show our expertise would better serve the company. Fortunately, we found a great deal on an office building in Pearland and officially hired our first employees.
2010 was a banner year for us as we doubled our team, designed and built more than 25 circuit boards in 9 months, developed FDA pedigree software, earned several new clients, and created a company website. As employees came on and our customer base increased and diversified, it became clear to us that we should find a permanent home for Sparx. In early 2011, we decided to take another big step and purchased our current office, Southfork – yes, it actually is a replica of the infamous Southfork ranch house from the TV classic Dallas.
2016 marked one of our most significant changes as we grew our footprint by over 10,000 more sq ft. This extra addition provided a larger state-of-the-art wet lab, machine shop, additional 3D printing capabilities as well as more areas for project work. Our ever-growing workforce looks brightly on the future, ready to take on your next project.
Our continued growth has been gaining the attention of the local community, with Sparx being named the #34 fastest growing company in the Houston area by the Houston Business Journal’s “Fast 100”. In 2019 we were also named as one of Houston’s Best Places to Work.
Meet the Team!
If you think you might have what it takes to join our team, then we encourage you to send your resume to
We’re Hiring!
Visit our Careers Page to see our open positions and apply to join the Sparx team.
We are conveniently located minutes from the Houston Medical Center, Johnson Space Center, Hobby Airport and the Houston Energy Corridor.
Sparx Engineering 3110 Southfork Parkway Manvel, TX 77578
Phone: (713) 965-6251
engineering@sparxeng.com
We are conveniently located minutes from the Houston Medical Center, Johnson Space Center, Hobby Airport and the Houston Energy Corridor.
Sparx Engineering
3110 Southfork Pkwy
Manvel, TX 77578
Phone: (713) 965-6251
engineering@sparxeng.com
