Thomas D. Gambino, P.E., S.E., F.ASCE, a professional engineer and founder of Prime Engineering Inc., has been named a fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Gambino has exemplified what it means to be engineer, mentor, leader, and servant to his profession. As the founder of Prime Engineering and a visionary voice in Georgia’s engineering community, his career is a story of relentless innovation, integrity-driven leadership, and the quiet, steady shaping of people, projects, and purpose.
He founded Prime in 1990 as a consulting engineering, architecture, and construction firm – developing a firm that would become a powerhouse across aviation, energy, water, and industrial sectors. Under his leadership, the firm delivered projects like aircraft refueling systems nationwide, resort hotels in the Caribbean, food and beverage manufacturing facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, and cutting-edge aviation and logistics facilities worldwide.
Throughout his career, he has worked to advance engineering as a profession, as an economic engine, and as a means to a better quality of life for the public. His mentoring shaped a generation of professionals, many of whom have gone on to lead, innovate, and give back in their own right. He believes in growth through learning – supporting 50 hours of annual continuing education per staff member, encouraging risk-taking like international expansion proposals, and sponsoring scholarships at Georgia Tech. His service on the Institute’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Advisory Board, participation in the quarterly GT Capstone Design competition, and as a mentor to young engineers speaks to his tireless investment in education and the profession’s future.
Gambino has extensive experience in capital planning, project master planning, and engineering design and construction. His international experience with several project delivery methods provides clients with a unique project implementation perspective. From designing and installing Coca-Cola’s first Dasani production line in record time to designing zero-discharge municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities, his engineering has been marked by clarity, scalability, and trust. Clients, competitors, and colleagues alike speak of his integrity, transparency, and quiet brilliance. He is the kind of leader who not only brings structure to chaos, but makes you feel safe and inspired within it.
Yet his enduring legacy is not in engineering or project management – it’s in people. Known for practicing “open-book management,” believing that if employees understood how to run the business, they would make better decisions while executing their individual jobs, Gambino shared Prime’s financials with staff not just as information, but as education. He empowered engineers to think like owners, to act with purpose, and to lead with courage.
Gambino earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1979. After graduating from Georgia Tech, he joined Camp Dresser & McKee as a project engineer. Later, he was employed by W.L. Thompson Consulting Engineers, where he worked on numerous large-scale high-rise projects. His career as a civil engineer in 34 states and Puerto Rico, as a Georgia structural engineer, and as Georgia register general contractor spans 45 years.
