Our People
Meet Ed Jackson
Florida, U.S.
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After spending nearly 35 years in uniformed military service, holding national leadership positions at the Headquarters for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Pentagon, as well as service around the world, to include combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ed Jackson’s career is an illustration of a lifetime of service.
Ed began his studies at Clemson University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in building science and management – since then he’s added an master's in business administration from Webster and a master's of strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is also a Registered Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, he is the Vice President and General Manager of Jacobs' Federal business, leading teams focused on solving some of the world’s most pressing national security and defence infrastructure challenges. Ed brings a “mission-first, people always” mentality to each interaction and challenge that comes his way.
“I’m so proud to have the opportunity to tell our employees ‘You're not just designing a building; you're not just delivering a solution – you’re actually contributing to national security’. Working for the U.S. Department of Defense is a bigger calling than just ‘architectural engineering design’. This is part of contributing to our nation’s well-being and prosperity, and it's something we should all be proud of at Jacobs.”
Ed Jackson
Get to know Ed
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32
(and counting!) years married to his dream girl
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20
moves as a married couple…five others before marriage, including five countries-Germany, Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan) and nine U.S. states (GA, FL, VA, MD, CO, NY, KS, MO and AR)
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3
kids and one grandson
What inspired your move from the U.S. Army to Jacobs in 2020?
For me it was the perfect transition. Jacobs had been working for some time to stand up a federal civil works practice, and my experience running national programs for the USACE made it a natural fit. In my previous role, I spent a lot of time developing requirements and securing resourcing for federal projects and now I get the opportunity to actually deliver them as part of the architectural engineering team, which is really exciting.
What’s special about the work we do for our federal clients?
Having been able to see both sides of the relationship makes the work even more exciting. The world we live in is increasingly complex and there are a lot of nuances in delivering projects in the federal space, from securing funding and understanding client requirements to working together as a team and delivering these projects together at a world-class level. This benefits the entire Department of Defense – our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines – and it benefits Jacobs and it impacts and affects our communities across the country.
What are the biggest infrastructure challenges our clients face – and how is Jacobs so well-positioned to meet them?
The number one challenge our federal clients face is aging infrastructure. The second is funding – funding the repair of that infrastructure and modernizing it. And the third is leveraging the latest technologies to provide integrated solutions that address global challenges like climate change, sea level rise and cybersecurity.
At Jacobs, we’re uniquely positioned at all echelons of our client base to make a profound impact in this space and strengthen the resilience and national and economic security of our country going forward. At the same time, we also have a great capability to understand where other sources of funding can be found in both public and private sectors – this helps us tailor financial packages for our clients that really help deliver some of these big infrastructure programs in areas where they might not typically have a direct line of appropriations. And finally, we can deliver global, cutting-edge expertise to these solutions, ensuring that they’re lasting, sustainable, and appropriate for the problems that our federal clients are looking to solve for their communities.
Why do these projects matter to our clients and communities?
They matter because they're important for economic security. They matter because they protect life and property, and they matter because they're important aspects of day-to-day life. Many of the works that we do either directly contribute to national security and our operational readiness of our fighting force or provide direct support to communities through projects like water treatment plants and flood prevention.
These projects matter because we all see benefit. We’re engineers, but first and foremost we’re people in the community – we have an ethical and moral obligation to be part of solutions that make our country a safer, better, and more resilient place.
When you’re not at work, what can we find you doing?
Having fun with my wife, cycling, kayaking, surf fishing, golfing and home improvement projects. When the opportunity presents itself, I also love to play music with my family (including my 88-year-old dad) and go hunting with old friends (pheasant, duck and deer so far)!