Desert Springs Civil Engineering
About the Company
Desert Springs Civil Engineering PLLC is a civil and water engineering firm based in Meridian, Idaho, founded by Michael Yoder, PE.
The firm operates at the intersection of traditional civil engineering practice and open-source infrastructure technology—bringing decades of field experience to both client projects and software development.
Leadership
Michael Yoder, PE
Founder & Principal Engineer
Michael is a licensed Professional Engineer (Idaho, Indiana) with over 14 years of civil engineering experience. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Purdue University (2010).
A husband and father of four, he’s also an avid rockhound who believes the best tools are built by people who use them.
| Experience | Focus |
|---|---|
| Bureau of Reclamation | Federal water infrastructure |
| HDR | Transportation consulting |
| Regional Firms | Roadway design, water projects, construction inspection |
What We Do
Desert Springs Civil Engineering operates in two interconnected areas:
Engineering Consulting
Traditional civil and water engineering services for Idaho’s Treasure Valley and beyond.
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| Feasibility Studies | Project practicality assessments |
| Stormwater Management | Drainage design and water management |
| Hydrology/Hydraulic Studies | Site analysis for water impacts |
| Grading & Earthwork | Cut/fill calculations and site design |
| Irrigation Design | Gravity and pressure system optimization |
| FEMA Floodplain Permitting | Regulatory compliance navigation |
| Construction Administration | Project monitoring and QC |
Software Development
Open-source infrastructure design tools built on open standards.
| Project | Description |
|---|---|
| Saikei Civil | Native IFC 4.3 authoring for roads, alignments, and corridors. 30,000+ lines of production code. |
The consulting practice informs the software—and the software serves practitioners like us.
Philosophy
Engineers building tools for engineers.
Most civil engineering software is built by software companies, then sold to engineers. We’re doing it the other way around.
Desert Springs Civil brings real project experience to every line of code. When Saikei Civil calculates a vertical curve or exports an IfcAlignment, it’s built by someone who’s staked alignments in the field.
Open standards benefit everyone.
Open standards—like IFC 4.3—let designs travel between applications and remain accessible across decades-long asset lifecycles.
Contact
| Phone | 208-271-8981 |
| myoder@desertspringscivil.com | |
| Location | Meridian, Idaho |
| Hours | Monday–Friday, 8am–5pm MT |
Visit desertspringscivil.com LinkedIn
Explore Saikei Civil
Open-source infrastructure design software.