AECOM engineer Stefanie Massey works on sustainable water supply

AECOM's People Spotlight series provides an inside look at the company's technical experts around the world.

Meet Stefanie Massey, an AECOM process mechanical engineer and project manager based in Texas.

Stephanie joined AECOM as an intern and has since served as a people manager, lead verifier and technical auditor. In 2023, Stephanie was named a U.S. Top Young Professional by Engineering News-Record Texas & Louisiana.

Here, Stefanie provides an insight into her inspiration and work focused on wastewater treatment plants, pump stations and lift station rehabilitation.

Pursuing the human element of engineering

Stefanie has always had a keen interest in math, science and understanding how things work, so Stefanie knew a career in engineering would be right for her. However, Stefanie didn’t know which branch.

"When I started taking classes to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, I realized I was missing the human element of engineering, - i.e. designing solutions that benefit communities and engage end users. Water bridged this gap for me, so I began an internship with AECOM’s Water team and never left," says Stefanie.

Developing creative solutions as a team

When asked about her favorite AECOM project that she's worked on, Stefanie explains: "A couple of weeks before the COVID-19 lockdowns began in 2020, we’d just kicked off a wastewater treatment plant rehabilitation project located outside of Dallas-Fort Worth for which I was the project manager. To adhere to the delivery schedule, we had to move our team interactions to a virtual environment very quickly and determine how we could conduct field assessments safely and maintain quality standards - all while balancing everything that was coming at us in our personal lives."

The project included rehabilitation and improvements to multiple structures and systems within the wastewater treatment plant, from mechanical improvements at one of the primary clarifiers and the replacement of slide gates and valves, to the addition of vegetation for odor control, and replacement of a biotrickling filter, a building roof and site lighting. The project included multiple disciplines with team members located across several offices. The client received four bids for the construction phase. Due to the quality of our design and tender documents, the bid range was approximately 2 percent from our estimated construction cost.

"We’re now wrapping up the construction and as I reflect on our journey to get to this point, I realize this project affirmed how we can adapt and develop creative solutions as a team to deliver great results for our clients and their stakeholders. For that reason, it’s my favorite project," adds Stefanie.

Bringing sustainable water to a growing population

Stefanie offers an example of how her work positively impacts the community.

"We’re currently part of a large, complex raw water pipeline project that aims to transfer water from East Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to meet the area’s future water demands. It comprises 150 miles of pipelines ranging from 84 inches to 108 inches in diameter. Our team has served as the program manager from the outset. I have supported the program through coordinating permits with the state transportation department, counties, cities, and franchise utilities. It’s exciting to be part of a forward-thinking project that‘s bringing a sustainable water supply to an area with a growing population and rising economic activity, safeguarding the community’s future for years to come," says Stefanie.

Sharing valuable career advice

Finally, Stefanie shares a valuable piece of career advice: "We must remember that both our professional life and our personal life complete us as an individual. I encourage others to bring their whole selves to work by sharing who they are outside of the workplace, whether that’s their hobbies, interests, values and personal life, so we can all understand and support one another better. Since following this advice myself, I’ve found my interactions both inside and out of the workplace have vastly improved and I have a better work-life balance as a result."