Nila Abubakar

38, Principal and Managing Director
Walter P Moore
Atlanta

Going to work for Norfolk Southern Co. at the height of the Great Recession after seeing layoffs at structural engineering firms where she had interned, perhaps was not an optimum career start.

“The intern sitting next to me was let go during summer term,” Abubakar remembers. “I was responsible for a lot.”

Overseeing design, project management, oversight, auditing and interface with contractors and consultants at Norfolk Southern, she was “doing everything required to maintain century-old rail infrastructure, including programming, budgeting, maintenance, capital repair projects and design in her territory.

Abubakar leveraged that expertise–and a drive to improve every process even with no promotion in sight or no appetite for change–into a new role as a consultant at Engineering Systems Inc.

“I knew that consulting was something I’d be good at,” she says. “It was listening to others and finding out what the problem is.”

At the same time she moved into the forensic space—excelling at deploying graphical elements to successfully relate to juries exactly how structures failed, while also managing the firm’s Atlanta corporate headquarters.

While enjoying that work, Abubakar began to miss the pure design aspect of engineering, which led her to Walter P Moore also in that city, where she says she has grown her seven-member team from the ground up.

As chair of a technical committee overseeing instruction and maintenance best practices of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, she drives advancements and sets industry standards, including work on an infrastructure repair manual tailored to field managers as well as designers.

Abubakar attributes her success to being an active listener. “I truly believe that others can contribute just as valuable, if not more valuable, opinions on whatever task is at hand,” she says.

“We have our structural design, we have our water resource group, and when all disciplines are brought in under one umbrella, being able to work between teams and bring everything together in one final, beautiful, elegant report,” is satisfying, she says. “Those are fun projects to work on.”

Abubakar’s family, including sons aged 3 and 7, keeps her motivated and inspired, helps her avoid burnout and bolsters her resilience. She says having children has forced her to “be hyper-efficient with every minute of the day.”

The biggest industry challenges Abubakar sees ahead are fostering a workforce that’s disciplined and dedicated to a career that doesn’t always lend itself to quick and easy solutions, especially as work is more automated.

“Having the wisdom to know what matters comes with experience,” she says. “So, it’s ensuring that the experience is happening.”

When Abubakar speaks with students about pursuing engineering careers, she works to relate it to things they’re interested in, and to provide a big-picture application—showing how it translates to virtually everything.

When it comes to women students specifically, Abubakar emphasizes that they can excel in the field and be leaders, pointing to traits for success such as empathy, understanding and conflict resolution.

“Different perspectives add value to any organization, any industry.” she says.