Shirin and Javad Rahimian immigrated to the United States in 1981 and settled in Sacramento, California. Javad earned a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from U.C. Davis and a master’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from University of Florida in 1975. Shirin holds a Bachelor's degree in English literature from U.C. Davis and received an MBA degree in 1989 from California State University in Sacramento. The couple co-founded Motion Control Engineering, Inc. (MCE), headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California in 1983. MCE has grown into the dominant company making elevator control systems in North America. The family is also a partner in Parlin Development Company in Rancho Cordova, a real estate development firm established in 2001