Age: 36
Occupation: Vice president, Martin Engineering Co.
Email: twalker@martinengineeringco.com
Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Family: Wife, Elise; three kids, Wyatt, 8, Olivia, 5, Luke, 2 months
Affiliations/community activities: We live in Rochester where I enjoy helping coach some of my son’s sports teams and spending time with friends and family. We are members of Rochester Christian Church.
What led you to your career? I worked at MEC in high school doing a variety of tasks. Also, as a summer intern during college working as a construction inspector and engineering tech. Providing local surveying and civil engineering services is rewarding, especially when you see the projects being built and used by the community.
What is your greatest hope for Springfield? I hope Springfield and the surrounding area continues to be a great place to live, work and raise a family. I hope Springfield continues to support new and existing businesses. Springfield has good momentum going, and I hope that continues.
What has been your greatest professional achievement? In 2021, dad (Steven Walker, MEC executive vice president) and Phil (Martin, MEC president) approached Adam (Pallai, MEC vice president) and I about purchasing the business, and we started that process in 2023. They retire later this year, and the final transition will take place. I am very thankful for how smooth the process has been to this point and am looking forward to the future of MEC.
What would you like your life to look like in five or 10 years? I hope Adam and I are continuing to manage MEC with success and integrity as dad and Phil have for the past 20 years. I would like for us to continue to grow while still being the local firm that our community trusts.
Has any one event of the past year affected you and how? My wife and I decided to try for one more child and had a happy, healthy boy on April 3. With an 8-year-old and 5-year-old it has been fun to watch them with the new baby, and we are looking forward to making new memories as a family of five.
What’s the worst career advice you’ve ever received? A friend and mentor of mine said that the worst words in business are: “That’s the way we’ve always done it.” I believe that holds true, especially in the current market in surveying and engineering. The next 10 years are going to be interesting, and we will need to adapt to keep up with new technologies and practices.
This article appears in July SBJ 2026.