Employee Spotlight: Tad Longmaid, Superintendent at FORMA
Tad’s path into construction didn’t start with a hard hat—it started with art school.
Born on the East Coast outside Philadelphia, Tad moved directly to San Francisco in 1989 and has been there ever since. Early on, he wanted to be an artist, but real life pulled him toward building—first through his mother’s boyfriend, a builder, and then through his father, an architect (who never practiced), who introduced Tad to millwork. That early exposure stuck.
“I keep returning to trade work,” Tad says. “I don’t know if I chose this industry or if this industry chose me.”
That mindset, which blends craft, curiosity, and pragmatism, is evident in how he manages a jobsite today. Tad has been a superintendent at FORMA for about five months, and his role is exactly what you want it to be: he keeps the work moving, makes sure details don’t slip, and stays close to the reality of what’s happening in the field. He’s also a steady presence for everyone around the project, especially neighbors, and a key link between the jobsite and the project manager as questions come up about sequencing, coordination, and budget.
Ask Tad what the FORMA culture feels like, and he doesn’t default to buzzwords. He talks about structure and follow-through, starting from leadership and extending through the entire team.
FORMA, he says, is built on “support, passion, excellence, investment.” To Tad, that’s not abstract. It shows up in the way the company holds its core values, offers a clear roadmap for success, and builds real support into the week, right down to the team dinners that keep relationships strong and communication open.
And then there’s the work itself. When asked about a favorite project so far, Tad doesn’t hesitate: Normandie Terrace. “This project is my baby,” he says, plain and direct, the way someone speaks when they’re deeply invested in doing something right.
Outside of work, Tad’s energy doesn’t slow down; it just shifts gears. He’s been playing hockey for 20 years. He rides motorcycles and loves sport riding on California roads. He takes long walks on the beach. He works on his own house, designing and building. For four years, he even ran his own furniture design business, creating pieces with the same attention to detail he brings to a jobsite.
And in true Tad fashion, the next project is already in motion: he’s currently designing his own house to build on a piece of land in Thailand, his favorite place he’s traveled, and a place he’s clearly still drawn to.
If there’s one thing that sums Tad up, it’s that he’s always making, whether that’s a clean sequence on a complex job, a piece of furniture, or the bones of a future home. For FORMA, that means a superintendent who brings craft thinking to construction reality, and who cares about how every moving part comes together.
How long have you been a superintendent at FORMA? What are your daily responsibilities?
- Superintendent for ~5 months; keeps the job moving and details on track
- Main point of contact with neighbors
- Works closely with the PM on budget and field questions
Describe the FORMA “vibe” in three words.
- Support, passion, excellence, investment
What do you enjoy most about working for FORMA?
- Adherence to core values, structure of support, roadmap for success, exciting projects
Favorite project so far?
- Normandie Terrace (“my baby”)
Just for Fun
- Played bass in a band called Pornstar
- Favorite place traveled: Thailand
- Favorite Bay Area inspiration: the North Coast
- Wants to learn: a foreign language