Civil Engineer Wendy Contner reviews parking lot plans to make sure they are meeting code compliance.

“One day, a co-worker showed me an ad for a civil engineer job opening,” said Wendy. “I had done some stormwater inspections for Publix and had no idea they had a design department. I immediately thought it was a unique opportunity at a company I have always admired. I knew of their culture. It was my dream job.”

Wendy “found” the path to engineering at the University of South Florida, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. She excelled in math and science but was told by an adviser, “I don’t think engineering is right for you.”

“I said, ‘Sir, I think you’re wrong. I think it’s perfect for me.’ I took my 1st engineering class and fell in love. It lit a fire under me; I knew that the adviser was wrong,” said Wendy.

Civil engineers design plans for everything from roads and parking to sewage and drainage. “It’s everything underground and the pavement,” she said.

But at Publix, where she’s worked since 2016, Wendy reviews plans to ensure the Publix standards are met for things like the width of parking spaces and how the parking lot is laid out.

“I look to see if we can get our parking lot in there, get our trucks in and out of this site,” she said. “They have to get my signoff on that before they can proceed with presenting the site to the real estate committee. Once they pick a site and it’s fully designed, I review it in more detail.”

During the process, she ensures there is space for trucks to come in and out and make proper turns. “I’m responsible for ensuring that these new stores are laid out so our trucks can enter and exit. Trucks take a lot of room to make turns. That’s a big item I have to vet,” she said. “I work with our fleet safety department very closely and ask: Can a truck actually do this? How much room do they need?”

Wendy also acts as a resource for the company, answering questions from our teams on everything from potholes to customer complaints about the parking lot. “I give them guidance and recommendations on what we need to do to solve those problems,” she said.

Wendy loves her co-workers. “They’re passionate about Publix and keeping Publix great. They are talented people who care about you personally as well as professionally. It’s more of a family environment,” she said.

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