Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Timeline
Generic

Shay Coombs

Murrayville,GA

Summary

Professional engineer and project manager with extensive experience in the design, permitting, and construction of water, sewer, and stormwater systems.

Professional leader with proven ability to drive team success and adapt to changing needs. Strong focus on collaboration, communication, and achieving results. Expertise in project management, conflict resolution, and performance optimization. Reliable and flexible, always ready to support and inspire team members.

Overview

11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

SE Treatment Team Manager

Freese and Nichols, Inc.
01.2025 - Current
  • Lead and manage a multidisciplinary treatment team of six engineers, overseeing water, wastewater, and PFAS-related projects across the Southeast region.
  • Support business development efforts in partnership with the Group Manager by pursuing new opportunities, contributing to proposals/interviews, and cultivating strong client relationships.
  • Ensure successful project delivery through active project management, technical oversight, and resource allocation—monitoring scope, schedule, budget, and quality standards across the group’s portfolio.
  • Drive team performance and accountability by managing key financial indicators (KFIs), including staff utilization, backlog forecasting, workload balancing, and budget tracking.
  • Mentor and develop team members by providing technical guidance, facilitating internal training, and supporting career development aligned with individual and team goals.

Sr. Project Manager

Freese and Nichols
01.2022 - 12.2024
  • Assist the Group Manager with workload management for 1188 staff; coordinate and run bi-weekly workload meetings for the group.
  • Supervise, support, and oversee individual development of four staff members in the 1188 treatment group.
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with key clients by modeling FNI’s LEADS values and participating in sales presentations and “lunch and learn” sessions to educate clients on water treatment technologies and best practices.
  • Develop comprehensive project plans, including timelines, budgets, resource requirements, and risk mitigation.
  • Monitor project progress and performance, identifying and resolving issues or deviations from the work plan.
  • Provide technical guidance and oversight to junior engineering staff.
  • Develop detailed design drawings, specifications, and calculations for water and wastewater treatment systems.

Owner/Operator

Atlas Imagery
02.2022 - 11.2024
  • Licensed FAA Part 107 UAS Pilot.
  • Perform drone mapping and construction inspection services for heavy civil contractors.
  • Responsible for pre-flight mission planning, FAA permitting, and actual flight operation of drones on construction sites.
  • Provide clients with topographic progress maps for earthwork operations, aerial maps with CAD linework, and build GPS machine control models for heavy equipment layout and equipment.

Senior Project Manager

North Georgia Pipeline
02.2020 - 08.2021
  • Responsible for overseeing the bidding and construction of all mission critical projects for the company from February 2020 – December 2021; aggregate value of 40 million dollars.
  • Coordinated with General Contractors for the construction of water, sewer, and stormwater systems on highly complex construction sites for data centers across the Southeast.
  • Consistently delivered these utility projects on schedule and under budget, resulting in 25-30-percent profit margins for the company.
  • Perform earthwork take-offs and analysis for heavy civil grading projects; build GPS machine control models for heavy equipment and layout equipment.

Senior Engineer/Project Engineer

ASUS
07.2018 - 02.2020
  • Responsible for overseeing the design and permitting of water distribution systems, sanitary sewer systems, lift stations, and potable water wells for military bases across the country.
  • Assigned projects to junior staff and CAD technicians and was responsible for managing their work to completion.
  • Worked with ASUS’ subsidiary utility companies on military bases to coordinate the design and delivery schedules for new capital projects and renew/replace projects each year.
  • Researched and wrote a preliminary study on the feasibility of Fort Jackson switching to a ground water well distribution system and developed a 3-phase plan and budget that secured the utility company funding from the government to perform the phase I feasibility study.

Water Resources EIT

Stantec
12.2016 - 07.2018
  • Project engineer responsible for process and production design for renovation of a 7.0 MGD water treatment plant located on Fort Knox Army Base; responsibilities included hydraulic analysis, unit process evaluation, design of chemical bulk storage and feed facilities, coordination with structural, electrical, and architectural departments for development of design documents to include construction drawings and specifications, development of preliminary design report, and cost estimates.
  • Project engineer responsible for hydrologic/hydraulic analysis to determine the size and location of stormwater pipes and inlets, and final design drawings for stormwater improvements needed to capture and convey stormwater at new roadway bulb-outs along several intersections for a streetscape project in downtown Shelby, NC.
  • Project engineer responsible for preliminary design of two 85-ft diameter gravity thickeners and sludge pump station for a 45 MGD water treatment plant owned by Kentucky American; responsibilities included analysis of existing residuals handling system, hydraulic analysis, design calculations, and class 5 OPCC.
  • Process engineer responsible for bench scale testing development and analysis for treatment of industrial wastewater in accordance with federal CCR regulations for Tennessee Valley Authority.

Project Engineer

JDS Hydro Consultants
10.2014 - 12.2016
  • Project engineer responsible for managing a small team for design of an ultraviolet disinfection system for a 12 MGD wastewater treatment plant located on Fort Carson Army Base.
  • Process engineer responsible for preliminary and final process design to convert a 2.5 MGD activated sludge facility into a complete biological nutrient removal facility; responsibilities included data collection, model development and simulation, nutrient removal alternative analysis, treatment train selection, unit process sizing, chemical feed system sizing, and development of preliminary and final engineering reports to satisfy state funding requirements.
  • Worked in partnership with local municipalities to develop simplistic workflows for mapping their water/wastewater infrastructure systems using GIS technology; trained clients on basic application and use of GIS software and equipment.

Education

Masters of Environmental Engineering -

Johns Hopkins University
05.2019

Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology
05.2014

Skills

  • Customer focus
  • Influencing skills
  • Staff development
  • Team development
  • Problem-solving

Certification

  • North Carolina Professional Engineer, License #048419
  • Georgia Professional Engineer, License #PEF008076
  • Texas Professional Engineer, License #148245
  • FAA Part 107 UAS Remote Pilot, License #4608962

Timeline

SE Treatment Team Manager

Freese and Nichols, Inc.
01.2025 - Current

Owner/Operator

Atlas Imagery
02.2022 - 11.2024

Sr. Project Manager

Freese and Nichols
01.2022 - 12.2024

Senior Project Manager

North Georgia Pipeline
02.2020 - 08.2021

Senior Engineer/Project Engineer

ASUS
07.2018 - 02.2020

Water Resources EIT

Stantec
12.2016 - 07.2018

Project Engineer

JDS Hydro Consultants
10.2014 - 12.2016

Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

Masters of Environmental Engineering -

Johns Hopkins University

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Shay Coombs