Joe Grubbs, P.E.
Airfield Design Director
“This is an exciting time for aviation. HDR is well-positioned to help our civilian and military clients by integrating our full-service offerings to meet their needs efficiently, creating value and cost savings for any program. Add in our growing technical capabilities, we continue to keep our clients’ holistic solutions at the forefront of innovation.”
Joe has designed 30 runways in the past three decades, which gives him one of the most extensive runway design resumes in the country. As aviation technical director, Joe focuses on combining our diverse aviation technical capabilities with our client-focused approach. He builds multidisciplinary teams that provide specific services to meet underserved demand throughout the industry.
Throughout his career, he gained expertise and first-hand experience on a broad range of aviation design projects, including pavement evaluation; concrete and bituminous pavement design; rehabilitation and de-icing collection system design. His experience also includes physical construction (as a contractor) of a runway and a runway extension as well as construction management and program management for airfield runway, taxiway and apron pavements, roadway pavements, drainage systems and airfield lighting systems.
Recently, Joe employed his diverse background to oversee the landside and airside design for new terminals at Pittsburgh International Airport and John Glenn Columbus International Airport. He also contributed to the airfield design of the new runway at Tucson International Airport and the reconstruction of an existing runway at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Regarded as a leader throughout the aviation industry, he is an active participant in the Airport Consultants Council, Airports Council International, the American Association of Airport Executives and the American Society of Civil Engineering.
