Tommy Walker Reflects on Building His Career and Connections for a Sustainable Future

Opportunity Details

Tommy Walker is a principal engineering geologist at Tetra Tech and serves as project and technical manager.

Since joining Tetra Tech, he co-leads a technical team of five people to support a major framework project for a major utilities provider across Cheshire, Cumbria, and Merseyside. He spends his time driving commercial and delivery improvements, including internal business relationships and connections with prospective clients as well as technical reporting. Tommy also serves as North Chair with Association for Consulting and Engineering (ACE) Emerging Professionals where he organises events, promotes inter-business collaboration, and focusses on the role of industry sustainability, low-carbon solutions, health and safety practices, and inclusivity in the workplace.

In this interview, Tommy shares what has shaped his career so far, the work he enjoys most, and why sustainability, rewilding, and low-carbon thinking continue to inspire him.

What does your current role involve?

I profile ground risk for complex brownfield and infrastructure projects by assessing geo-environmental and geotechnical data at development sites. This includes ground investigations carefully designed to collect site specific ground condition data including contamination status and groundwater profile to support outline and detailed design. A large part of my role is also focussed on supporting junior staff development as well as our health and safety, technical, and training working groups to better our internal processes. I also enjoy championing Tetra Tech’s brand through business development and my work at the ACE. framework where I oversee delivery across 22 sites in Cheshire and Cumbria.

What are you most proud of in your career?

I’m very proud of how quickly I’ve progressed in my career, reaching Principal Engineering Geologist in six years. In this time, I have learnt the importance of a proactive approach to technical development. It’s about asking questions constantly and challenging the existing way of working to see if we can make it better. Along with developing technical leadership skills and commercial awareness, I’ve also learnt the power of saying ‘yes’ to opportunities to help me grow.

What kind of work do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy projects where I can bring together different disciplines, manage risk, and help shape practical solutions and it has been great having the opportunity to do this at Tetra Tech. I like being trusted to represent the business with clients, regulators and multidisciplinary teams, and making sure technical risks are communicated clearly. At Tetra Tech, I have space and encouragement to chase new ideas and to engage with business leaders. This gives me the confidence to grow and take initiative in business development. Outside of Tetra Tech, the ACE network has allowed me to spend time with like-minded professionals, learn from them, and actively shape the conversations that are important to our industry.

What are you passionate about outside of project delivery?

I’m a massive advocate for rewilding and sustainability. In my current work, I’m really focussed on innovative ways to improve river health, reduce flood risk, and support biodiversity. It is rewarding to be supporting developments which will improve quality of natural environments. I’ve also enjoyed leading conversations on what engineering consultancy can learn from beaver reintroduction in the UK, a space I have been following and advocating since the River Otter trial began when I was university.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Be curious, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to take responsibility when the opportunity comes, even if it means stepping outside your comfort zone and taking on a new challenge. A few years back, someone offered me an opportunity to work in the Kazakh Steppe, in northern Kazakhstan, leading a technical delivery of a ground investigation project. I jumped at the chance, and it’s had such a positive impact on how I value the work I do. This industry rewards people who can combine technical thinking and problem solving with strong communication and a willingness to challenge the status quo.

What’s next for you?

I’ve been nominated for two awards this year, including Future Leader of the Year at the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) Awards 2026 and shortlisted for the Best Early Career Brownfield Professional at the Brownfield Awards 2026. I’m now looking forward to the results with excitement and optimism.

Beyond this I will continue my commitment to further professional development, including working towards Chartered Geologist status with the Geological Society. I am very much looking forward to developing our team’s capabilities in leveraging AI and QGIS (an open-source geographic information system) to deliver larger volumes of work for clients. I want to keep contributing to advocacy of more sustainable land use, low-carbon infrastructure and improved health and safety practices.

Internally, my goal for the next year is to continue to jump at opportunities to learn from business leaders internally. And I’d love to participate in more professional development initiatives like Tetra Tech’s Leadership Academy, led by corporate leaders of the company.

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