BATON ROUGE, La. – Waggoner Engineering, a leading civil engineering and professional consulting firm, announces the promotion of Vice President Robbie Lear, Jr., PE, LSI, to Transportation Market Sector Leader, a key strategic leadership role focused on advancing transportation infrastructure across the firm’s Southeast footprint.
In this role, Lear will lead the vision, strategic direction, and technical performance of Waggoner’s transportation market sector, guiding growth across planning, design, and program delivery for public-sector clients.
He will be responsible for expanding the firm’s presence with priority transportation agencies, strengthening relationships with key clients, and building high-performing, client-focused teams that deliver consistent, high-quality outcomes. Working across business units and service lines, Lear will align resources and capabilities for complex, multidisciplinary transportation programs.
This appointment reflects Waggoner’s strategic vision and commitment to scalable growth, cross-firm collaboration, and market leadership through differentiated expertise and exceptional client service—particularly in the delivery of resilient, future-ready transportation infrastructure systems.
Lear succeeds Miles Williams, PE, whose decades of leadership helped establish a strong foundation for Waggoner’s transportation practice.
With 30 years of experience, Lear has led major transportation infrastructure projects, including roadway and highway systems, interchange improvements, and corridor enhancements across Louisiana and the broader region. His expertise spans planning through construction, serving federal, state, and local transportation agencies. He has successfully guided multidisciplinary teams through all phases of project development, including alternative delivery methods such as Design-Build and Construction Manager at Risk.
Beyond technical leadership, Lear has built a strong reputation as a trusted client partner, known for developing strong relationships and aligning teams around clear goals and outcomes.
“Robbie’s leadership reflects where we are going as a firm,” said Scott Phillips, President and Chief Executive Officer. “He has the ability to translate transportation market opportunity into strategy, align teams across our firm, and deliver consistent results for our clients. That is exactly what we need as we continue to grow our transportation infrastructure platform across the Southeast.”
“Robbie sets the standard for how we lead and deliver. He is fiercely committed to our people and our clients, and he has a relentless drive to bring clarity to complex challenges,” said Ben Rauschenbach, PE, Vice President of Business Operations for Louisiana. “His ability to cut through noise, align teams, and execute is what makes him exceptional. We’re fortunate to have him leading this effort.”
Lear remains actively engaged in the engineering community through professional organizations, speaking engagements, and mentorship initiatives that support the next generation of engineers. He is a licensed professional engineer in multiple states.
This leadership transition positions Waggoner to expand its transportation infrastructure capabilities, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and deliver innovative, resilient solutions that support growing communities across the Southeast.
About Waggoner
Founded in 1976, Waggoner Engineering is a civil engineering and professional consulting firm dedicated to helping communities reach their full potential. With multiple office locations across the Southeast United States, Waggoner is known for its innovative, multi-disciplinary services that extend beyond traditional engineering to deliver holistic, forward-looking solutions for clients.