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Juliette Peyroux, PE, SE, is a Principal at Magnusson Klemencic Associates and a member of the firm’s Aviation Specialist Group. Her work includes engineering and designing new and expanded airport terminals, such as San Diego (SAN) Terminal 1, Nashville (BNA) Expansion Concourse D and Terminal Wings, and San Francisco (SFO) Harvey Milk Terminal 1. Peyroux also leads MKA’s Earthquake Technical Specialist Team and teaches building safety evaluation classes.
STRUCTURE: Some of us know our careers from a very young age, and others stumble upon them later in life. Can you tell us about how you ended up as a structural engineer?
Peyroux: As a kid, I watched way too much CSI and wanted to be either a police detective or an FBI agent. However, my favorite subjects in school were math and science, and I quickly realized that my adolescent ideas for a career path probably weren’t the best fit for me. My dad was a computer science engineer, so I knew engineering was likely in my future. I had a great group of friends at the University of Washington (UW), and we all supported each other to get through the engineering pre-requisite classes. All seven of them decided to pursue civil engineering, and I decided to tag along to see what all the fuss was about. I ended up absolutely loving the technical aspects of structural engineering and the practical aspect of physically seeing what you design come to life. These sentiments were only reinforced by my time on the UW’s Steel Bridge Team.
STRUCTURE: What ought engineers be doing more of to educate and expose young people to the rewarding career opportunities in engineering?
Peyroux: Looking back at my personal experience, I was not exposed to engineering or construction careers and only happened to fall into structural engineering. I am embarrassed to admit that the first time I took a concrete class, I was shocked to learn that steel reinforcement was embedded in it! Luckily, it worked out for me, and I found something I love to do, but I worry that other people are missing opportunities. The Architecture Construction Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program for high school students is a wonderful opportunity for structural engineers to expose students to this industry and for the students to learn whether these career paths interest them. I volunteered for the program for many years and had multiple students I mentored end up in either structural engineering or construction careers, which was really rewarding. The program also takes donations for scholarships to students for their college education. Another way for engineers to get involved is to go to your local high school’s Career Day or speak in their STEM classes. I think it is important to get students interested in this industry before they head to college so they have time to explore this career path further when they pick their curriculum. Volunteering for ACE, donating to the program, or talking about structural engineering to your community’s students can make a big difference in providing much-needed exposure to our industry.
STRUCTURE: Congratulations on being recognized on the 2021 Forty Under Forty list. In the published Q&A, you mentioned MKA’s John Hooper as having played an important role in your career. Would you mind telling STRUCTURE’s readers too and how you benefited?
Peyroux: Thank you—I was thrilled to be recognized for such a prestigious honor. John Hooper has been an instrumental part of my career because he has encouraged me to pursue my passion for seismic engineering. Early in my career, I worked on a project at the San Francisco International Airport with tricky site conditions and liquefiable soil. This project sparked my interest in seismic hazards, which John recognized and helped me further develop by helping me get involved in code development. Most of your readers probably think code development sounds really boring, but that is absolutely not the case! Take seismic hazards, for example; as an industry, we are constantly getting smarter about hazards and how they affect building design. The Multi-Period Response Spectrum introduced in ASCE 7-22 is a good example of updating the code to improve the accuracy of design ground motions and enhance their reliability based on the latest science. By participating in code development, engineers become technical resources for their colleagues and can better explain the basis of changes to clients. I am very grateful to John for supporting my involvement in this endeavor.
STRUCTURE: You are also involved in SEAW’s Disaster Preparedness and Response Committee. Can you tell us why you decided to join?
Peyroux: A few years into my career, I was looking for a way to get more involved in the Seattle structural engineering community. I knew that SEAW had several committees and was always open to new people joining, so I looked them up and found that Disaster Preparedness and Response interested me. I had taken an ATC-20 course and found it fascinating how structural engineers can put our skills to use after a disaster to help communities bounce back by quickly evaluating buildings for safe occupancy. Studies have shown that the faster people can reoccupy buildings, the faster the community can recover. Through this committee, I have had the opportunity to help expand Washington State’s list of volunteer building safety evaluators (BSE) by training other structural engineers, building officials, and architects in WAsafe, Washington’s version of ATC-20.
Very few states have BSE registries that can be called upon after a disaster, so I think it is important and worthwhile to train as many people as possible and be ready to help our communities in the event of a large earthquake.
STRUCTURE: We asked you about John Hooper earlier. Please tell us about someone else whose mentorship and coaching helped make you the person you are today.
Peyroux: I would not be where I am in my career without MKA’s Aviation Specialist Group Leader, Terry Palmer. Terry has been tremendously successful in growing the group from small terminal projects and hangars to major international airport terminal additions and expansions. I have learned a lot from him, including business development strategies, how to apply structural engineering principles to turn client ambitions into reality, and the effective management of large teams on long projects. He has constantly supported my career growth and given me opportunities, from presenting my design ideas directly to clients to managing multi-billion-dollar projects. It is hard to succeed in any career without the meaningful support of colleagues and peers, so I strive to provide my own team of engineers with similar coaching to help them grow and support their careers, as Terry has helped me with mine.
STRUCTURE: You have developed a specialty in aviation projects. Do you mind our asking what excites you about them?
Peyroux: What I love the most about aviation projects are the people who work on them, from the clients to the project managers, design teams, and contractors. The aviation industry is a close-knit community of people who all live and breathe airports. The projects tend to be complex, long, and costly, in addition to involving many people, so you need to maintain good relationships with everyone to be successful. Typically, aviation projects require some level of co-location, which I enjoy because it helps form deep bonds within the team. The clients have owned and operated their buildings for decades, so they are truly invested in the outcome of the projects and care about supporting many aspects of their local communities. Our clients have admirable values, including promoting sustainability by requiring LEED certification and supporting equity and local businesses through DBE and WMBE programs. Many of the projects are design-build, which imparts a sense of teamwork between the design and contractor teams, and we all strive for mutual project success by bringing different ideas and perspectives to the table. Working with the same design team for years means many celebrations, including the typical project milestones, but also retirement festivities, team dinners, baby showers, and the occasional backyard tiki party. The people involved in these projects keep me engaged and excited about the future.
I'm also proud to be part of the positive impact airports have on their communities. Airports allow people to travel for business, visit friends and family, and explore new places. I really love facilitating travel for others and connecting people to the rest of the world.
STRUCTURE: Every project type has its own unique difficult design issues. What is the most challenging aspect of aviation projects? How did you learn how to deal with them?
Peyroux: There is a saying in the aviation industry: “If you’ve worked on one airport, you’ve worked on one airport.” That is to say that each airport project is unique and comes with its own complex challenges. Some airports want expansions of existing terminals, which means retrofitting existing structures up to new codes and can be very challenging in high-seismic areas. Some airports want to remain operational under construction, so phasing is key to the construction process and must be considered in design. Some airports have a tough time making decisions because there are so many stakeholders involved, which can slow down the design process or cause big changes late in the project schedule. And most projects include some version of all these challenges. For structural engineers, it means that we are constantly adapting our designs to meet the project’s needs while also addressing many constraints. For example, retrofitting an existing structure can require creative design to come up with the most structurally efficient solution that also works with phasing and airport operations.
Airports are also usually looking for future design flexibility because they are constantly moving concessions, updating restrooms, adjusting hold room spaces, and adding more mechanical equipment. Dealing with these challenges takes experience to anticipate constraints, listening to the stakeholders to understand their vision and their concerns, a strong team to work through them, and an open mind to develop innovative ideas. All these challenges keep designers on their toes and make every project feel fresh and interesting to tackle.
STRUCTURE: Starting a career at a major firm and competing to be successful in the long run isn’t easy. Ask anyone who has played competitive sports. If this seems like a daunting hill to climb, what advice would you give to young engineers just starting out?
Peyroux: I have two pieces of advice for engineers. First, I would tell engineers to find what they are passionate about and pursue that as part of their career. For example, there are so many technical aspects to structural engineering that once you find something that sparks your curiosity, discover more about it and become a subject matter expert for your peers. There is a lot of value in being a resource for others. Or, if you love a certain project type, then make sure to raise your hand and voice your interest when a new project comes along. Be an advocate for yourself, and when you get an opportunity, seize it and give it your all because often one opportunity leads to the next.
Second, MKA’s mission is to always strive for better. Everyone has areas where they could improve, and it can be daunting to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. I used to suffer from terrible stage fright and had a hard time speaking in public. To get past that, I signed up for MKA’s presentation training and started presenting WAsafe training courses. This helped me gain confidence with public speaking just in time to start making project presentations in front of clients. If your company has resources or there are other opportunities to help you with your weaknesses, don’t shy away from using them to improve yourself.
STRUCTURE: As a new parent, do you have any advice on balancing work and personal life?
Peyroux: This balance is something I am still working on myself, but I have found that it helps to have a strong team of engineers that is ready to support me. There comes a point in everyone’s career where you have to learn to delegate tasks to others and trust your team, which is easier said than done for a Type A personality like myself. Delegating tasks like coordination, managing other engineers, and documentation gives others opportunities to grow in their own careers. I think it is also important to set boundaries for yourself and be flexible. There are times when extra effort needs to be spent at work to meet deadlines or prepare for a meeting but remember to also take advantage when there is a bit of a lull to take some personal time. One manager early on in my career was leaving work one day and said, “The work will still be here when I come back tomorrow,” which stuck with me, and I think it helps put some perspective on achieving a balanced lifestyle. ■
