About Us

Our Past

Engineered Solutions, Inc. was established in Nashville, TN in 1987 by five young engineers who met on a large control room redesign project at Duane Arnold Energy Center in the 1980s.

On this project they learned firsthand that a good team could be much more than the sum of its parts. They also saw how many teams went their separate ways at a project's conclusion only to start the team-building process over on a new project.
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​They set out to change this by creating a company that would keep small teams together long-term to harness the efficiency of an effective team from the start of each project. 

Our Present

ESI currently has approximately forty employees at its home office in Athens, AL, and smaller teams onsite supporting core customers throughout the Southeast. 

Beyond the Southeast ESI has recently supported projects in Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and the United Kingdom and is fully capable of supporting projects anywhere in the US or UK. 

ESI maintains an ASME NQA-1 and ISO 9001 compliant quality program and has a stellar safety record, with zero lost time accidents. ESI is also certified as a veteran-owned small business by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Our Future

ESI is proud to have been a part of the construction and startup of the first new commercial reactor in 20 years at Watts Bar and looks forward to bringing its expertise and lessons learned to support new construction in the Southeast and elsewhere.

ESI will also continue to support upgrades and modifications as well as power uprates to extend the life and increase the generating capacity of existing units.

We are excited for the future of the nuclear industry and even more excited to be a part of it.

Management

Mark Watson
President / Principal Engineer

One of ESI's original founders, Mark Watson is a US Navy veteran and holds a BS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Tennessee. He has over 35 years of nuclear experience and specializes in I&C Design and Human Factors Engineering. 

Barry Hargis
Principal Engineer

Barry Hargis holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University and an Alabama PE License. He has over 30 years of experience in the nuclear industry and specializes in I&C Design.

Kim Hill
Business Manager / Principal Engineer

Another of ESI's original founders, Kimuel Hill holds a BS and MS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Tennessee and an Alabama PE License. He has over 30 years of experience in the nuclear industry, specializing in I&C Design and Digital Upgrades.

Gaylon Hicks
Principal Engineer

Gaylon Hicks holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama and an Alabama PE License. He has over 25 years of experience in the nuclear industry and specializes in I&C Design.

Tim Hayes
​​Engineering Manager / Principal Engineer

Tim Hayes is a US Navy veteran and holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University. He has over 35 years of navy and commercial nuclear experience and specializes in I&C Design and Implementation Support.

Mark Austin
Financial Controller / Quality Assurance Manager

Mark Austin holds a BSBA in Economics and MBA from Auburn University. He has over a decade of accounting experience and is qualified as an ISO 9001:2015 Internal Auditor and ASME NQA-1/10CFR50 App. B Lead Auditor.