Summit Design & Engineering Services

As leader of our North Carolina operations Eric spends a lot of time collaborating with team members to make sure clients are happy, employees are happy and that everything is going smoothly in NC. Eric graduated from NC State with a degree in civil engineering and has over 30 years of design and construction experience. He values the diversity of leading multiple service managers, who day in and day out deliver the industry’s best client service and innovative design solutions.

Jim is a true entrepreneur. When he sees an opportunity, he goes after it and never looks back. Not only does he see possibility everywhere, he surrounds himself with people who are just as determined as he is to win. Behind Jim’s leadership and experience, Summit has grown exponentially, expanded into new markets and become a well-known firm in the southeast. Jim is proud to see his vision prosper by fostering a close-knit team environment, encouraging his employees to grow and seeing his clients succeed.

Rick started with Summit in 2018 and played in a golf tournament his second day. He joined the team to focus on growing our private division companywide and help with business development strategy. He is no stranger to the industry with over 25 years of experience in the environmental and engineering consulting world. Rick lives in Hillsborough and was one of several employees that was recruited through several run ins with Jim Parker in downtown Hillsborough. What Rick enjoys most about Summit is doing what he loves while also getting a little work in.

Zack joined Summit in July of 2014 and manages Summit’s Virginia operations and emerging markets in West Virginia. Zack’s hard work, determination and charge a head attitude have helped us to pave our way into Virginia. He has over 34 years experience in the civil engineering industry with a background in construction engineering, transportation engineering, traffic engineering and land development. Zack was happy to lead the charge in Virginia because of the great people and the opportunity to grow a company that places high value on employees and clients.

Ariel brings over 19 years of professional experience in civil site design and project management in both the public and private sector. He works with clients to help them meet their goals and objectives and also helps them to plan out their projects, so they are not only successful but creative and in line with environmental principles. He has a plan for everything and it helps in juggling his day to day responsibilities of managing the land development team, developing partnerships and creating budgets. Ariel plans on staying with Summit for a while because he has enjoyed creating a team based environment for his staff where they can collaborate, be creative and stay motivated.

When you meet Brandon, what you see is who he is –a roads guy, a mentor, a department manager and a reliable engineer. Brandon is always willing to help people improve and he also has the know-how to discover surprising ways to get people where they need to go. After 6 and a half years of hard work he became the department manager of our transportation design department. He doesn’t like to brag but his coworkers say he is a team player in every sense of the word, someone who holds himself accountable for every aspect of the work that bears his seal, and the person who has helped foster the thriving and collaborative department we have today.

Before we had an entire department assisting with projects, it was just Brian. He has attracted talent because of his forward thinking approach to design. His dynamic architectural experiences in residential, commercial and institutional projects give him the experience he needs to not only lead our architecture department, but to design and create beautiful structures. He enjoys finally having a team to work with to help him bring clients’ visions to life.

Britt Joined Summit in the spring of 2018 to lead our maintenance management team. He knows how to fix, pick up, clean up and recover from just about any kind of disaster you can imagine. He’s the guy you want to know if something goes wrong. He has over 10 years of experience in highway maintenance, contract administration, project management and storm response, so we’re glad to have him on the team. Since he has started with Summit he has really enjoyed the collaboration throughout the company, the sense of pride in what we are doing and the flexibility to create and grow as an employee.

Chris started with Summit in August of 2016 to help us get a major project across the finish line (the largest in NCDOT’s history at the time). He successfully completed the Monroe Expressway as the Resident Engineer for the Project and upon its completion he took over the role of leading our SC branch. He has over 12 years of experience in the design and construction of infrastructure projects, and he specializes in major construction engineering and inspection projects for state and municipal clients. Chris is always looking for a more efficient way of doing things and loves that Summit gives him the flexibility of doing just that. As an innovator, he also appreciates our vision to continually grow and improve.

After 27 years and 4 million square feet of designed building space, Chris Berg sits as our Structural Engineering Manager. Chris is the foundation of our structural group because he led the merger between his old firm and Summit to form what is now our structural engineering department. Chris loves it here because of challenges that keep him on his toes while working with clients in both the private and public sectors.

Summit recently merged with Craig’s previous firm to create our new planning department. Prior to joining Summit, Craig had been partnering with us for many years, so it was only natural for him to be welcomed into the Summit family as the leader of our planning department. He focuses on economic development, downtown restructuring and revitalization, community branding and public participation/facilitation. Craig might lead our planning group, but it’s not his only career. Craig has served in inner-city ministry for 9 years and served as a denomination administrator for 18 years. Craig made sure to keep his long-time team intact during the transition, so they can continue to keep giving back to communities in need.

Don has been with Summit for 13 years and established our Geotechnical Engineering department. His talents for talking to people about his passion have now led him into a business development role. Nobody cares as much as Don. He will talk through challenges with both clients and employees for as long as it takes to get things resolved. He enjoys it here because he’s not chained to his desk, and he’s allowed to flourish in his natural environment.

With over 300 iPads, 200 desktop and laptops, and 200 phones, not to mention numerous on-prem servers and cloud-based services that need to be monitored and maintained, it takes magic to make it all work seamlessly. Doug left a 20-year career in higher education to help Summit build a stronger IT department and manage our growing IT needs. Doug prides himself on being a communicator and collaborator who understands the value that IT can bring to any organization, but he is also sensitive to the ways in which it can drive people crazy at times. With advances in technology, there are always going to be problems and Doug likes being faced with the challenge of making those problems disappear.

When you’re driving down the road and see a Summit truck, (which you will at some point if you haven’t already) Edmund gets the credit. Before managing our fleet of over 150 trucks took up his time, Edmund was a survey project manager. Now, Edmund is busy keeping up with our trucks, furniture requests, signage and most importantly our facilities. He is a busy man but still finds time to raise beef cows with his family and bring the team local produce. Edmund’s favorite parts about Summit are watching the talented team grow, getting everyone together to support local philanthropies and fixing the problems that pop up daily. 

Greg’s experience in transportation goes full circle. His experience starts at the source where he designs Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies and traffic signal systems, and it continues into construction and inspection. After spending 28 years working for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Greg built relationships that have allowed him to transition into managing both design and construction phases. Greg’s favorite part about working for Summit is the opportunity to continue working for NCDOT.

Jeff loves dirt. He’s been playing in it professionally for 12 years. Jeff started with Summit in 2014 as a Geotechnical Engineer and after we noticed his incredible gift for digging, he was promoted to lead all Geotechnical/Materials Testing/Special Inspections efforts. Clients love working with Jeff because he will pick up the phone and check up on them. He is always looking for ways we can do things better, and he loves that Summit gives him the flexibility to be creative with his management methods.

Did you know that everything all the way down to the paint needs to be inspected during bridge construction? Well, Kerry has 13 years of experience doing just that. Kerry has even managed to earn a coatings certification that only seven other people in the world have earned! He joined the Summit in the winter of 2017; and his favorite parts about working for Summit are the family atmosphere and the open-door concept.

Matt has over 10 years of experience working in North Carolina and Virginia for water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer design, watery system modeling, hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, storm water management, commercial site plans, and construction inspection. If that doesn’t scream bio of a civil engineer we don’t know what else will. Matt likes to be busy all the time and working at Summit allows him to stay on the go.

Do you know how many traffic signals are currently maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation? Bobby does. Not only because of his 36 years of experience with NCDOT, but because he is a master trivia researcher. Bobby came to Summit in 2006 to grow our Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI) Department but has recently been promoted to oversee trivia for our weekly business development meetings. Bobby really enjoys working with the high caliber of technicians that he credits himself with attracting. By the way, it’s 9300 traffic signals.

Sherry gets things done. She balances many roles and is the go to person for administration, finance, 401k retirement benefits and keeping everyone in line. She has been with Summit since before we were Summit and has seen this company grow from 5 employees to over 400. In her 35+ years with Summit, she has seen and done just about everything. She loves seeing the growth and change, teaching new people the works and the fast pace of the week.

Ginny Kirk joined our team in 2016 and brought her talents in communication, community relations and speaking loudly. She manages the work flow of the marketing department, leads community relation efforts and creates content for social media. Her favorite part about working here is that she is encouraged to command a room with her outgoing personality instead of blending in to the room.

If you have been to a conference in the southeast it’s likely you have met Philip. Philip has over 27 years of experience on construction projects in both the public and private sectors. Philip has met a lot of friends along the way and knows how to build a successful team that believes in partnering. At Summit, Philip enjoys creating and implementing our vision for growth through new opportunities and existing markets. He also enjoys spreading the word about Summit’s positive culture and fun work environment.

Randolph joined us on July 1 of 2017 with over 50 years of experience under his belt. If you’ve ever driven on a road in Virginia, chances are Randolph knows the person who built it. He would also be happy to introduce you to that person if it gives him an opportunity to further progress Virginias infrastructure while telling you how we can help. His favorite part about working for Summit is helping grow the business in new areas and telling our story to communities across Virginia.

Sarah joined Summit in 2007 and brings over 25 years of experience in accounts receivable, contracting, client relations, budgeting, audits and controls. You won’t see her out and about but she is behind the scenes making everything happen. Sarah is in a unique position where she gets to work with everyone and she really enjoys working with every department to ensure their success.

Troy is not your typical engineer. He enjoys meeting new people, finding new opportunities and spending whatever energy he has left on a long bike ride. Troy has been a key piece in charging Summit into the next level of growth. Although his true passion is pivot tables, he still manages to find time to lead the marketing and business development efforts for all of Summit’s services. Troy says “we’re building dreams” on a regular basis, so we all know his favorite parts about Summit are the limitless opportunities that go hand and hand with the entrepreneurial spirt of the firm.

Nikki Orie works as our recruiter and she lives for finding new talent and making new connections. If you meet Nikki in a crowded room you’ll know three things: first, she’s a civil engineer by trade, two: she has the best comebacks and three: she is the best person to have in your corner. Nikki moved into Human Resources as her career progressed because she loves people and can speak engineer. If you, your friend, your neighbor, your dog walker, or anyone you know is looking for an awesome opportunity, Nikki will find you.

When Sue started with Summit 4 years ago, she was the company’s first full-time HR professional. Since she started, she has been all about getting more people to work at Summit. Whether it’s architects, engineers or surveyors, Sue is our go-to for recruiting top talent across the country. This is no small task because Summit has been on the list for the Triangles top 50 fastest growing companies for the past 3 years, and we are still going strong! From employee orientation and career fairs to making sure our people get the best benefits possible, Sue stays very busy. Being a part of the continued growth and the numerous opportunities that go with it make her excited to be part of the Summit team.