Inside PRIME
Join an award-winning architecture and engineering firm that thrives on building long-term relationships with our employees, clients, and teaming partners.
At PRIME, you will have the opportunity to work with talented professionals who work towards one unified goal, to improve the infrastructure that enhances the lives of our communities.
We know that our staff is our greatest asset. By providing opportunities for professional growth and advancement, we create the ideal environment for our staff to excel in their career at PRIME.
PRIME AE Group, Inc. ensures nondiscrimination in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need more information or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, contact Tim McKindles at 614.591.0288.
Benefits
PRIME has developed a comprehensive benefits package that delivers quality and value while satisfying the diverse needs of our workforce.
- Three medical offerings
- Dental
- Vision
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- 401(K) savings
Our employees enjoy paid time off, access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), professional development, flex-time, health and wellness programs, and more!
- Flex-Time
- Tele-Work
- Casual Dress Fridays
- Company-wide Annual Holiday Celebration
- Monthly celebrations of employee work anniversaries/birthdays/professional achievements
PRIME’s corporate commitment to civic involvement and social responsibility is felt through sustainable design practices which conserve our natural resources, and in engaging our employees outside of the office to impact the community with positive change including charitable donations, volunteering, teaching, and sponsorships.
Our Stories
Doug Cole, PE
Director of Wastewater Systems, NY Division
Shandale Forbes, EIT
Senior Engineering Technician/Designer
Lance Parshall
Senior Construction Inspector
Doug Cole
Director of Wastewater Systems, NY Division
How did you come to PRIME?
I worked for John M. McDonald Engineering P.C. during my entire career until that firm was acquired by PRIME in 2015.
Describe your role and what you do at PRIME?
I am the Director of Water and Wastewater in NY, and I work on a wide-variety of projects for our clients that have project budgets ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of millions of dollars.
What do you enjoy and find most rewarding about your job?
As primarily a wastewater engineer, I get to solve problems that help to increase the quality of life for a lot of people and design projects that improve the environment.
What was your proudest moment at PRIME?
Last year, when I designed a small project at the Town of Rotterdam Great Flats Nature Trail that included a porous pavement parking lot and rain garden. This tied in directly with my son Daniel’s Eagle Scout project to update the trail brochure, restore the trail markers, and repair five wooden bridges on the 1.5 mile nature trail.
What advice would you give to recent new hires?
Learn all you can from others around you and ask as many questions as necessary for you to understand the task at hand. Also, hone your writing skills as conveying your thoughts in an easy to read and understand manner is essential.
What are your hopes for the industry?
I see the Civil Engineering field continuing to grow in the future as our infrastructure ages and as more stringent Federal and State requirements continue to be issued.
How are you involved in your community?
Many ways… I have been a Boy Scout leader for the past 10 years. Additionally, I am a member of the Oldsmobile Club of America and Tri-City Muscle Car Club, vice-chairman of the Schenectady County Water Quality Coordinating Committee, past president and current director of the Capital District Chapter of the New York State Professional Engineering Society, and a voting member of the New York State Canal Recreationway Commission.
When you retire, what do you hope people will say about you at your retirement party?
Who says I am going to retire? I thought once you become an engineer, you are one for life!?
People would be surprised to know?
That this year is my 25th wedding anniversary with my high school sweetheart, Tina.
What do you do for fun?
Work on restoring my ’65, ’68 and ’86 Olds 442’s. I have a media blaster, a welder and compressor with painting equipment, among other specialty tools, so I hope that I can complete most of the work myself.
Shandale Forbes
Senior Engineering Technician/Designer
How did you come to PRIME?
I was referred by a colleague.
Just what is it that you do here?
I am a water resources engineer.
What do you enjoy and find most rewarding about your job?
Seeing a project completed successfully. Especially one that has a lot of challenges.
What are your hopes for the industry?
My hopes for the industry are that creativity will not be suppressed and new technologies and innovative ways of doing things will be encouraged and accepted.
What is your favorite thing to do in the wonderful city of Baltimore?
Discovering “hidden” recreational parks.
What do you do for fun?
I like going to museums or historical sites, nature trails, and anywhere there is water (and not just because I am a water resources engineer)! I also enjoy reading and traveling.
If you had $30,000 to donate to a non-profit, who/what would you choose and why?
An organization that funds education for underprivileged girls around the world.
Lance Parshall
Senior Construction Inspector
What brought you to PRIME?
I was, at the time, a student at Columbus State Community College working towards my degree in Civil Engineering and in and out of work. I went to PRIME to interview as an AutoCad technician when I was hired into the material testing division.
Just what is it that you do at PRIME?
I am a Senior Construction Inspector and work on construction projects for the City of Columbus and ODOT. I perform inspections, complete daily reports, track quantities, verify that the contractors are performing the contract work under the current specifications and to plan. I also fill in for material testing when needed.
How would you describe the firms’ culture and work environment?
Genuine people work for PRIME. The environment is relaxed, and everyone works as a team. One of the best companies I have had the pleasure to work for.
What do you enjoy and find most rewarding about your job?
After the job is over and seeing the final product in construction. It’s that feeling of knowing that I was involved in making it happen for the public. It makes me proud to say, “yeah, I helped build that bridge.”
What was your proudest moment at PRIME?
Wow, I am a pretty humble person and feel it takes a team to work in this industry. I guess I would have to say after my first project working as a project inspector with the City of Columbus Division of Water. After completing the project, the City was impressed with my work and requested a meeting with my supervisor to talk about the quality of work and to request that I work on an additional project in a sensitive area that would require a lot of attention and working side-by-side with the community.
What are your hopes for the industry?
That we can continue re-building our infrastructure using inventions that help improve how our work is accomplished cheaper and faster.
What is the weirdest job experience you have ever had?
Probably the time when we placed fresh concrete pavement on East Main Street and despite the warning signs, three separate vehicles drove into the concrete and needed to be towed out. The road had to be repaired again!
What do you do for fun?
Enjoying time with my family including our newborn baby girl, Nicole. I also like kayak fishing, hunting, and enjoying the outdoors.
Michelle Kazanow
Senior Marketing Specialist
Hugh Neenan
Director of Operations
Michelle Kazanow
Senior Marketing Specialist
How did you come to PRIME?
A 2013 Toyota Camry. I still come to PRIME that way. Transportation aside, I was ready to expand my career endeavors, and found a job opening for a proposal coordinator through CareerBuilder.com. I applied, interviewed with Kumar and Jenna several days later, and the rest, as they say, is history.
What was your first impression of PRIME?
I thought we had some great, hardworking people here – and I still do. I also had this feeling that the company was on the cusp of something big: still a small firm, but growing – ready to start redefining itself and its place in the A/E industry.
Just what is it that you do here?
I help our technical staff develop proposals and other communications that help build relationships with clients and acquire business for the company. I also work hard to make everyone around me laugh. Laughing burns calories.
What do you enjoy and find most rewarding about your job?
It’s always a great moment when you finally finish a proposal and you hold the completed copy in your hands (assuming it’s a hard copy submittal). You think back on all the weeks prior that were spent planning, positioning, writing, revising, and writing again, and all that hard work is done and you have something you’re proud of. Of course, when that proposal is the winning proposal, that’s the ultimate reward!
What are your hopes for the industry?
I hope that sustainable design and water conservation techniques become consistent mainstream practices in the industry – both nationally and internationally. Earth is a closed system; the materials we have here are all we’re going to get. It’s up to us to preserve them the best we can.
What is your favorite thing to do in the wonderful city of Baltimore?
I love visiting the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland and walking by the water. I love taking my young daughter to Port Discovery and the Aquarium. And the crab cakes at G&M are the best!
What do you do for fun?
I love cooking and baking. I enjoy reading, and I dabble in short story writing when I can. Mostly I try to spend as much time as I can with my husband and daughter.
Motto or Personal Mantra?
If every pork crop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs.
Hugh Neenan
Director of Operations
What was your first impression of PRIME?
That Kumar and Jay were honest, hardworking, and easy to deal with.
What advice would you give to a recent new hire?
Learn as much as you can.
How has PRIME changed since you joined?
It has increased in both size and capabilities. Originally, I knew everyone who worked here! We are now much more diversified.
If there was one person you could meet, dead or alive, who would it be?
The Project Engineer for the Great Pyramid in Giza.
Describe yourself in three words.
As my kids call me “Nerd, Nerd, Nerd”
Our Stories
Doug Cole, PE
Director of Wastewater Systems, NY Division
Shandale Forbes, EIT
Senior Engineering Technician/Designer
Doug Cole
Director of Wastewater Systems, NY Division
How did you come to PRIME?
I worked for John M. McDonald Engineering P.C. during my entire career until that firm was acquired by PRIME in 2015.
Describe your role and what you do at PRIME?
I am the Director of Water and Wastewater in NY, and I work on a wide-variety of projects for our clients that have project budgets ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of millions of dollars.
What do you enjoy and find most rewarding about your job?
As primarily a wastewater engineer, I get to solve problems that help to increase the quality of life for a lot of people and design projects that improve the environment.
What was your proudest moment at PRIME?
Last year, when I designed a small project at the Town of Rotterdam Great Flats Nature Trail that included a porous pavement parking lot and rain garden. This tied in directly with my son Daniel’s Eagle Scout project to update the trail brochure, restore the trail markers, and repair five wooden bridges on the 1.5 mile nature trail.
What advice would you give to recent new hires?
Learn all you can from others around you and ask as many questions as necessary for you to understand the task at hand. Also, hone your writing skills as conveying your thoughts in an easy to read and understand manner is essential.
What are your hopes for the industry?
I see the Civil Engineering field continuing to grow in the future as our infrastructure ages and as more stringent Federal and State requirements continue to be issued.
How are you involved in your community?
Many ways… I have been a Boy Scout leader for the past 10 years. Additionally, I am a member of the Oldsmobile Club of America and Tri-City Muscle Car Club, vice-chairman of the Schenectady County Water Quality Coordinating Committee, past president and current director of the Capital District Chapter of the New York State Professional Engineering Society, and a voting member of the New York State Canal Recreationway Commission.
When you retire, what do you hope people will say about you at your retirement party?
Who says I am going to retire? I thought once you become an engineer, you are one for life!?
People would be surprised to know?
That this year is my 25th wedding anniversary with my high school sweetheart, Tina.
What do you do for fun?
Work on restoring my ’65, ’68 and ’86 Olds 442’s. I have a media blaster, a welder and compressor with painting equipment, among other specialty tools, so I hope that I can complete most of the work myself.
Shandale Forbes
Senior Engineering Technician/Designer
How did you come to PRIME?
I was referred by a colleague.
Just what is it that you do here?
I am a water resources engineer.
What do you enjoy and find most rewarding about your job?
Seeing a project completed successfully. Especially one that has a lot of challenges.
What are your hopes for the industry?
My hopes for the industry are that creativity will not be suppressed and new technologies and innovative ways of doing things will be encouraged and accepted.
What is your favorite thing to do in the wonderful city of Baltimore?
Discovering “hidden” recreational parks.
What do you do for fun?
I like going to museums or historical sites, nature trails, and anywhere there is water (and not just because I am a water resources engineer)! I also enjoy reading and traveling.
If you had $30,000 to donate to a non-profit, who/what would you choose and why?
An organization that funds education for underprivileged girls around the world.
Lance Parshall
Senior Construction Inspector
Michelle Kazanow
Senior Marketing Specialist
Lance Parshall
Senior Construction Inspector
What brought you to PRIME?
I was, at the time, a student at Columbus State Community College working towards my degree in Civil Engineering and in and out of work. I went to PRIME to interview as an AutoCad technician when I was hired into the material testing division.
Just what is it that you do at PRIME?
I am a Senior Construction Inspector and work on construction projects for the City of Columbus and ODOT. I perform inspections, complete daily reports, track quantities, verify that the contractors are performing the contract work under the current specifications and to plan. I also fill in for material testing when needed.
How would you describe the firms’ culture and work environment?
Genuine people work for PRIME. The environment is relaxed, and everyone works as a team. One of the best companies I have had the pleasure to work for.
What do you enjoy and find most rewarding about your job?
After the job is over and seeing the final product in construction. It’s that feeling of knowing that I was involved in making it happen for the public. It makes me proud to say, “yeah, I helped build that bridge.”
What was your proudest moment at PRIME?
Wow, I am a pretty humble person and feel it takes a team to work in this industry. I guess I would have to say after my first project working as a project inspector with the City of Columbus Division of Water. After completing the project, the City was impressed with my work and requested a meeting with my supervisor to talk about the quality of work and to request that I work on an additional project in a sensitive area that would require a lot of attention and working side-by-side with the community.
What are your hopes for the industry?
That we can continue re-building our infrastructure using inventions that help improve how our work is accomplished cheaper and faster.
What is the weirdest job experience you have ever had?
Probably the time when we placed fresh concrete pavement on East Main Street and despite the warning signs, three separate vehicles drove into the concrete and needed to be towed out. The road had to be repaired again!
What do you do for fun?
Enjoying time with my family including our newborn baby girl, Nicole. I also like kayak fishing, hunting, and enjoying the outdoors.
Michelle Kazanow
Senior Marketing Specialist
How did you come to PRIME?
A 2013 Toyota Camry. I still come to PRIME that way. Transportation aside, I was ready to expand my career endeavors, and found a job opening for a proposal coordinator through CareerBuilder.com. I applied, interviewed with Kumar and Jenna several days later, and the rest, as they say, is history.
What was your first impression of PRIME?
I thought we had some great, hardworking people here – and I still do. I also had this feeling that the company was on the cusp of something big: still a small firm, but growing – ready to start redefining itself and its place in the A/E industry.
Just what is it that you do here?
I help our technical staff develop proposals and other communications that help build relationships with clients and acquire business for the company. I also work hard to make everyone around me laugh. Laughing burns calories.
What do you enjoy and find most rewarding about your job?
It’s always a great moment when you finally finish a proposal and you hold the completed copy in your hands (assuming it’s a hard copy submittal). You think back on all the weeks prior that were spent planning, positioning, writing, revising, and writing again, and all that hard work is done and you have something you’re proud of. Of course, when that proposal is the winning proposal, that’s the ultimate reward!
What are your hopes for the industry?
I hope that sustainable design and water conservation techniques become consistent mainstream practices in the industry – both nationally and internationally. Earth is a closed system; the materials we have here are all we’re going to get. It’s up to us to preserve them the best we can.
What is your favorite thing to do in the wonderful city of Baltimore?
I love visiting the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland and walking by the water. I love taking my young daughter to Port Discovery and the Aquarium. And the crab cakes at G&M are the best!
What do you do for fun?
I love cooking and baking. I enjoy reading, and I dabble in short story writing when I can. Mostly I try to spend as much time as I can with my husband and daughter.
Motto or Personal Mantra?
If every pork crop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs.
Hugh Neenan
Director of Operations
Hugh Neenan
Director of Operations
What was your first impression of PRIME?
That Kumar and Jay were honest, hardworking, and easy to deal with.
What advice would you give to a recent new hire?
Learn as much as you can.
How has PRIME changed since you joined?
It has increased in both size and capabilities. Originally, I knew everyone who worked here! We are now much more diversified.
If there was one person you could meet, dead or alive, who would it be?
The Project Engineer for the Great Pyramid in Giza.
Describe yourself in three words.
As my kids call me “Nerd, Nerd, Nerd”