How has BBI helped you to develop and expand your professional career as an engineer?
I joined BBI nearly 9 years ago as a remote Project Engineer: I worked from College Station on a project the Houston transportation group was developing in the TxDOT Waco District. Prior to accepting the position at BBI, I knew I would be returning to Texas A&M for a year and a half to pursue a degree in Business Administration. BBI was great in allowing me to step away for a bit to further my education. Upon returning full time, we opened the College Station office where I was given the reins to develop a new office. It was definitely a challenging objective, but I have always appreciated the trust and freedom I was given to try something new and develop my skills as an engineer and leader. It has been a great and satisfying journey!
What is your favorite part of your job?
I enjoy taking a challenging problem, understanding its many facets, including engineering and stakeholder concerns, and developing an elegant solution that satisfies and optimizes numerous design and stakeholder constraints. Its exciting to understand and balance the many complexities of an issue in a safe and balanced way. The idea that engineers simply solve technical problems is simply untrue; there is so much more to developing solutions that satisfy the people and communities we serve.
How do you think that engineering will change in the future?
As technology advances, it will shape how engineers do everything, from drone surveying and data collection to engineering design and development of deliverables. As the equipment that constructs the built environment advances, it will require new types of information, such as advanced 3D corridor models, to communicate the engineering design directly to the equipment and operators. Design software is doing more than ever and allows conceptualizing numerous solutions in ways that could not previously be done. As we move to the future, the solutions we provide will offer a higher level of analysis and accuracy and will integrate seamlessly to take solutions from conceptual design through construction phases in ways we could not have imagined.
Describe a typical day in the BBI College Station office.
The BBI College Station office is a fun place to work! We have a great group of folks that work together and strive to be the best that we can be. We generally plan the week on Monday and work together throughout the week to accomplish our goals. The team communicates throughout the day to ensure we are all rowing together, and we enjoy thinking through challenges and solutions together. We have a number of “inside jokes” the create a fun environment despite the sometimes-stressful demands. We often take a quick trip to a project site or to meet with a client, so every day offers something a little different.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Most of my spare time is spent with family and serving at church. My wife and I have 5 children who are actively engaged in all sorts of activities including Boy Scouts, pole vaulting, basketball, guitar lessons, and ballet. Their hobbies become my hobbies! At church, I currently serve as the Bishop of a Spanish speaking congregation, so I get to serve with some great folks who work very hard to help and spiritually strengthen each another.
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