I'm a Planner, and I do a lot less planning than you'd think

At AtkinsRéalis, career growth doesn't always follow a straight path. For Armani, what started with floodplain management has expanded into a diverse range of projects and responsibilities. In his own words, he reflects on that journey.

My official title at AtkinsRéalis is Planner I. In practice I do a lot more than you might expect, and a lot less actual planning than you might expect.

My background is in floodplain management. Most people have never heard of it, so here's the short version. More than 50 years ago the federal government set up the National Flood Insurance Program, to offer flood insurance in communities willing to take part. To join, a community has to adopt floodplain regulations that meet the program's standards and work with FEMA, which runs it. More than 22,500 communities take part. I specialize in those regulations and help communities meet them, through training, permitting support and learning materials.

Outside work, I'm a serious badminton player, which tends to surprise people, because in the US it's usually written off as a casual gym-class game. That's how I found it, and after one semester nobody I knew kept playing. Then, teaching English in South Korea before I joined AtkinsRéalis, I watched my students play after school and assumed it would be the same casual game. I couldn't return their simplest shots. It turned out to be far faster and more strategic than I'd realized, and they kindly taught me, which became one of my favorite ways to bond with them. Back in the US, I found a badminton center near me in Virginia and never stopped. I'm also a devoted tea drinker.

One role, a lot of directions 

I was hired for my floodplain background, and that's where my first year focused: training local officials, writing fact sheets, helping communities with permitting. But because the company is so large, the connections I made kept opening new doors.

A former supervisor introduced me to digital accessibility, making sure people with disabilities can use online documents and tools the same as anyone else, under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This year I went deep on it, remediating more than 50 community documents, and took it upon myself to earn the Trusted Tester certification from the Department of Homeland Security. I also joined our Dam Safety Group, where I've used my research and emergency-management background to update guidance and help communities strengthen their dam safety programs. And I became a certified Project Quality Manager, a role I'm now performing on a large, multi-firm project. It's been a big year.
 

Work that felt like it mattered

The project that has stayed with me most was helping the Texas Water Development Board create a Flash Flood Warning Siren Guide. It followed the devastating July 2025 flash floods in Texas, which claimed more than 100 lives. In response, the state moved to require flood-prone communities to install warning sirens, and they needed guidance on choosing the right ones and building the warning procedures around them.

On a tight timeline of under three months, alongside teams from several organizations, I facilitated interviews with communities that had already installed sirens, to understand what they chose and why, and how it fit their emergency planning. I took the notes, asked the questions, and turned those conversations into the case studies that went into the final guide. I loved the team and the work, but what stayed with me was the feeling of making a difference. Helping communities put in sirens that could save lives is not something I'll forget.

A Planner who does floodplain management, digital accessibility, dam safety, quality management and emergency management. That range, over the course of two-and-a-half years, is a big part of why I'm glad I'm here. 

Explore water careers at AtkinsRéalis

We're growing our US water team. If you want work that matters, and room to grow in directions you didn't expect, take a look at where you could fit.