Meet Bruna Paranhos, PE, ENV SP, WEDG

Tell us a little bit about your career journey with Jacobs. 

I began my career with Jacobs in our Ports & Maritime group focusing on climate resilience and flood protection projects along the U.S. coast. I have worked on a variety of projects, including the first major flood protection project, East Side Coastal Resiliency, for lower Manhattan in New York. I have also expanded my focus to include sustainability and decarbonization, and support our clients on implementing their climate action plans. Most recently, I was a project manager for two decarbonization projects, in Detroit, Michigan and Long Beach, California. In Detroit, Jacobs, in partnership with Electreon, MDOT, and the City of Detroit is piloting the United States’ first public wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging roadway. In Long Beach, Jacobs is supporting the Port of Long Beach in evaluating the charging and refueling infrastructure needs to support the conversion of vehicles and boats to zero-emission technologies. 

Your expertise is in climate change mitigation and adaptation. What compelled you to pursue these areas as a career? 

I owe the spark of my passion for civil engineering to, of all people, my high school English teacher! At the time, he was leading a workforce preparation program, which helped me obtain an internship at a local civil engineering company. The experience was formative with the help of great mentors, which led me to study civil engineering in college. Early on, I knew I wanted to pursue climate-related work — I wanted to pursue a career that would have a positive impact on communities and the planet. I have always been naturally curious about how we design and build the infrastructure that enables our everyday lives, so civil engineering was a natural fit. I pursued a graduate degree in sustainable design and construction because I knew focusing on climate would be exciting and dynamic. At the time there were limited classes focused on climate, so I worked with my professors to craft independent studies to expand my knowledge on topics such as flood protection and sustainable materials. 

Tell us about a project in the space that’s changing how we think about sustainability and climate response.

Ports are busy places, with many operating 24/7.  Most people do not think about these mission critical pieces of infrastructure until supply chain issues arise and suddenly, we are not getting our Amazon deliveries as quickly as we were previously and people start talking about and wondering why. 

The Port of Long Beach is one of the busiest ports in the United States, handling 90 million metric tons of cargo valued at $200 billion each year. The Port is a leader in sustainability, setting an ambitious goal of achieving zero emission operations by 2030. As you can imagine, this transition must be thoughtfully done to prevent any impact on operations. Furthermore, the shift to zero emissions often demands a large increase in electricity needs and requires close coordination with utilities and other stakeholders. 

Together, Port of Long Beach and Jacobs worked on a master plan to determine the electrical demand and supply needed for the transition. As part of this, we designed a concept for charging infrastructure that does not require a new substation from the local utility. We were able to optimize the port’s operations to convert their fleet to zero emission. We are now exploring the viability of other technologies, such as hydrogen, to help manage cargo handling equipment as the Port looks to achieve its zero-emission goal by 2030. 

It is projects like these, where you can make a real impact on the planet and our communities, that make me proud to work at Jacobs.

What are you most proud of looking back on your career so far?

It is hard to pick, but perhaps it is the wireless EV charging project in Detroit, Michigan I mentioned earlier. As a project manager, I learned how to take a brand-new technology and work with different stakeholders to design and build it into a public roadway. On the engineering side, we had to be open to changing our processes and thinking about ways we could innovate. There has never been a wireless EV charging project on a public roadway in the U.S., so in many ways, we were figuring out solutions as the project progressed. 

Here’s an example: What should pavement markings look like on wireless charging EV roadways so drivers know that strip of road is electrified? That’s not in any code book. We worked with the state of Michigan and the U.S. Federal Highway Administration to come up with a design to be approved and tested. It’s nerdy, but those are the types of things that are really exciting because they literally pave the way into the future! Pun intended…

What is the most important thing you’ve learned on your career journey? 

The power of an organization is working with others, and you can’t progress your career alone. You need a robust network of thought partners and mentors, and you need to work well with others to be successful. I have learned the value of stepping outside of your comfort zone and honing your people and technical skills. We are better as a team, and the best solutions happen when we collaborate and brainstorm together. Plus, sustainability requires you to work with a variety of disciplines and project team members. To thrive in the world of sustainability, you need to stay connected. 

You were selected two years ago as an American Council of Engineering Companies’ Young Professional of the Year. Tell us a little bit about what that meant to you. 

What was the most memorable to me is that 2022 was the first year in which all five national ACEC awardees were women! What an honor to be named amongst these talented engineers, and to showcase strong women leaders in engineering. The award connected me to some impressive professionals, and also small businesses throughout the ACEC network, giving me a better understanding of how we partner and collaborate with other diverse companies. The recognition has also fostered a responsibility to mentor young professionals in engineering, bringing their different perspectives to the table.

What do you enjoy most about being part of #OurJacobs?

That’s easy - the people, for sure. I gravitated toward Jacobs because of the people and landmark projects, and I’ve stayed because of the high caliber of technical expertise my colleagues have, as well as the fun we have in meetings and workshops. I also like the mission of our company. All parts of our organization are focused on sustainability and climate response. It’s at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and I’m excited to be helping to deliver it.