He worked in Washington, D.C., for
John Anderson Lankford from 1936 until 1938; followed by work for
Howard Hamilton Mackey Sr. from 1939 until 1941. In 1939, Griffin became a licensed architect in Washington, D.C.. Griffin had a private practice in his home at 5325 Ames, NE, in the
Capitol View neighborhood of Washington, D.C., from 1941 until 1943. Followed by work as a cost estimator for
Albert Irvin Cassell's
Mayfair Mansions Apartments project (1943–1945). He partnered with
Donald Frank White between 1946 and 1968 to form the firm of White & Griffin Architecture–Engineering Associates in Detroit. In the mid-1950s, White & Griffin took a project in Liberia; a joint venture between the United States government, the Liberian government, and
Prairie View A&M University to create the
Booker T. Washington Institute, a vocational school patterned after the U.S. land grant college system. In the late 1950s until the 1970s, he partnered with architects Harold Edward Ward and Aubrey Caston Agee to form the firm, Ward, Griffin, & Agee. By the 1970s, the firm name was changed to Francis E. Griffin Associates, Architects, & Planners. He also worked for the City of
Detroit Housing Commission from 1962 and 1969. Griffin was an active member of BAG (Black Architects Group) in Detroit; and a member of the
American Institute of Architects (AIA). He was also a leader within the
National Technical Association, providing training, opportunities, and support for African American architects. == Death ==