Meet Philip Johnson

Intrigue and dedication to the environment set up Phil’s career path

As a young man living on Block Island, Rhode Island, Phil enjoyed surfing and spending time on the Island’s 17 miles of sandy beaches. During this time, he also worked on a construction project for the Island’s wastewater treatment plant expansion where he labored and ran equipment.

“The plant discharged into the ocean, which was near and dear to me as a surfer,” explains Phil. “I did a plant tour on a break with the superintendent, and I was hooked. The biological, mechanical and chemical processes intrigued me to no end.”

Phil loved the behind-the-scenes concepts and realized this career path could create opportunities to provide for his family's future and be a steward for our environment.

Herein lies our protagonist’s origin story: a day laborer and avid surfer who sees an opportunity to protect the environment and provide for his family.

Phil worked his way up through the ranks, gaining knowledge, building relationships and putting in the long hours. His cheerful and understanding nature made for an excellent negotiator, project manager and team cheerleader.

In 2021, Phil joined Jacobs to run the Farmington water (WTP) and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) – the project’s management situation needed some extra care and stability, and Phil stepped up to make immense and noticeable changes for the better. He re-established and improved client relationships and drastically boosted team morale.

Know-how and hands-on create a strong leader

He credits his time as a laborer as the main reason for his successful management style and recognizes that being in such a position is a “double-edged sword” – in his own words. 

“I’ve had the opportunity to work my way up through ranks,” he explains. “This keeps perspective and understanding in the forefront when I make requests of my teams. I would not ask someone to complete a task I would not be willing to do myself.”

Phil uses his generation of industry experience and a few other tricks to determine the best path forward.

“I manage myself first,” says Phil. “How I engage, perceive and receive information from my team is the cornerstone of my management style, which is the foundation we build on. We can control ourselves and actions, thus directing our environment.”

He also drives home two points: Be honest and patient, and ratchet up your game. 

“We are all works in progress – give yourself a break – and when an opportunity presents itself, run at it and meet your own metric,” adds Phil. “Set a standard for yourself that doesn't feel comfortable because fire tempers steel.”

Phil’s three-year repertoire raises green flags 

Phil’s attitude and observations continually carry him and his team across the finish lines, raking in the wins and accolades. In the few short years since joining Jacobs, Phil has made monumental strides, anchoring down our portfolio in the Southwest.

Achieving success during tense times

In addition to his hiring as the project director role of Farmington, which was a key hire for Jacobs, demonstrating strong project leadership to position the company for a successful competitive renewal, he earned the respect and trust of our client and established a leadership structure that ensures consistent and reliable service delivery and excellence.

The competitive renewal took place during most of 2023, and Phil played a key role as a co-chief negotiator – alongside Geographic Manager of Operations Matt Kear – in the successful negotiation of the five-year contract with an auto-renewal for five additional years.

“What made this achievement even more significant were the changes in OMFS-executive and project-delivery leadership during the middle of this competitive process,” explains Southwest Director of Operations Craig Faessler. “This required Phil to not only continue to lead daily service delivery but also manage a client through a very challenging, successful negotiation.”

Stepping up and offering up

Phil dual hats as project director and project manager for the Cutter project for the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) concurrently with his daily duties at Farmington. He willingly stepped in to lead the Cutter project as the then project manager needed to leave the role due to health reasons. Phil continues to manage the project and mentor staff into more advanced roles that will lead to eventual project management.

He also recently served as a delivery subject matter expert and member of the interview panel for the design-build-operate pursuit on the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BoR) San Juan 18.8-million-gallons-per-day WTP. Because of his success leading the Cutter project, Phil is very well known and respected by the BoR and NTUA, providing Jacobs a competitive advantage.

Award-winning excellence

And we can’t forget how Phil consistently leans into safety – demonstrated by the strong safety record at the Farmington project. The team culture developed through Phil’s leadership is evident in the emergency lake rescue incident his team proactively engaged in, which received the Jacobs CEO BeyondZero Leadership award for “We do things right.” Phil and his team always lead with safety, making it integral to their project culture.

The team also earned major accolades in late 2022, when the Water Environment Federation (WEF) awarded them with its 2022 Utility of the Future Today (UotFT). UotFT honorees demonstrate innovation and forward thinking to advance operations and leadership of wastewater utilities. UotFT recognized Farmington for executing a new program to create Class-A biosolids, which increased vegetation growth, decreased fuel usage and achieved a cost savings for the City. 

It’s all about community

Community can be seen as a dual topic: the physical environment in which we exist and the symbolic relationships we build. It goes without saying that Phil has created an environment that empowers his team and encourages them to work together in a safe space. But it also spills into the local community – Jacobs provides Farmington citizens core infrastructure services.

“The work we do allows for healthy and successful towns and cities,” adds Phil. “We are stewards of our environment. What we do creates a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.”

As the old adage goes, there is no I in team. Phil is as humble as they come and knows his project’s success solely relies on his team. But it takes a strong leader who recognizes the trials and tribulations our laborers face every day to right the ship; keeps our people safe; provides support and encouragement; improves client relations and keeps the ultimate goal in mind.

“Most would say that even with the many roles and obligations Phil has, he still finds the time to smile and lend an ear to anyone who needs to be heard or just desires some support,” adds Craig.

Phil is the guy who can do it all.