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insights Meet Matt, Division Manager, in the Water Infrastructure Group

Matt shares his passion for his career and his creative side. 
Matt, a Division Manager in the Water Infrastructure Group
Q: Briefly describe your position with Atkins. 

A: I am currently the Division Manager for the Community & Intermodal Infrastructure Business Unit, West Sector, Southwest Division.

Q: What is your role at Atkins? 

 
A: I currently manage a $25M+/year business within Nevada for Atkins.  Our clients include the City of Las Vegas, City of Henderson, City of North Las Vegas, Clark County, and City of Reno to name a few.  We offer engineering planning and design, construction management, land surveying, right-of-way acquisition, public outreach and landscape architecture services.

Q: How is collaboration central to what you do at Atkins?  


A: Collaboration and teamwork have been the cornerstone of our Nevada business for the last 20 years. Our culture is based on everyone supporting each other in the common goal of delivering quality work to our clients and meeting or exceeding their expectations.  We have no tolerance for “silos” or “us vs. them” mentality.  “One Team” attitude is critical to our past, present and future success.  This is not only beneficial to Atkins, our clients and the business, it is beneficial to the employee as well as it allows the employees to work on multiple types of projects over time through sharing of staff resources across different groups, projects and services.  Through this staff develop a diversity of skill sets, which increases their versatility and value to the firm.  This also helps eliminate potential layoffs if one group’s workload is light they are able to help other groups whose workload is greater.  This type of approach also promotes a positive office culture where everyone feels they are valued and part of something larger than themselves.

Q: What’s something most people don’t know about you?  


A: I sometimes write poetry, below is one of my favorites:

The Silent Symphony

The stillness of the vast escape seeps into the soul.
The cool crisp air whispers of all that came before.
Where you were once in love, sharing the quiet paradise.
Remembering now in this place time forgot it feels she is here, despite the infinite distance between you.
As the milky amber light of the dying day fades into cold twilight she leaves you once again, dancing over the horizon.
This is the silent symphony of timeless moments in timeless places that fill the missing pieces of my heart.
Giving all of your heart to someone can be like living with ghosts, but you remind yourself the pieces sometimes grow inside the ones you gave them to.

Q: What is the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from? 


A: “Be the adult”, meaning when conflict arises between yourself and someone else you work with – be calm, professional, fair and logical, do not let your emotions overcome your better judgement, no matter what the other person does in terms of inappropriate or unprofessional behavior, rise above it and be the better person.  It was from Todd Kenner former Henderson, NV office leader and PBS&J President.

Q: What is your favorite movie and why?


A: “A River Runs Through It”, life is hard, disappointment, loss, heartache and pain are unavoidable, but there will also be joy, love, kindness, success and healing.  Through it all, finding those people, places and things that give you peace and serenity are what will carry you through the difficult times and will be your cornerstone in the pursuit of happiness during the good times. 

Become the latest member of the AtkinsRéalis Group

Are you thinking about joining AtkinsRéalis , and our Atkins and Faithful+Gould businesses? With growing populations, climate change and pollution, we're seeing our clients face increasingly challenging projects. We’re continuing to build diverse teams so we have a mix of thinkers, like Matt, who can help us tackle these challenges with innovative solutions.

If his story has inspired you, why not learn more about our water market and browse our latest roles. Whether you're looking for a drainage engineer, civil engineer or project manager job - or something more niche - we could have the opportunity that is right for you.

About our Water Market:

Our clients in the water supply and quality industry not only work with one of the most complex, ever-changing resources – they work with one of the most important. Simply put, water sustains all life, which is why we’re proud to bring together the best expertise and latest innovations to meet the challenges facing our clients – and the wider world – head on. 

Humans and water have a complicated relationship. We need to protect and nurture it, but also understand that it can be a dangerous and destructive force. Our water management experts recognize this, and make sure sustainability and safety are central to every project we deliver.