Congratulations on Retirement, Shawn Murphy!

Congratulations to Shawn Murphy, Construction Finals Engineer on Retirement!

When Shawn retired, he heard several compliments of how respected he was in the contractor community and by our field staff.?The Construction Finals Engineer for the Bureau of Construction is responsible for making sure that all Construction projects receive a complete audit and supervisory review. That entails verifying that all quantity items are calculated and paid according to the plans and specifications.?Once all the quantities are verified as being accurate, the Final Estimate for the Contractor is prepared.?What Shawn likes best about this position is that he gets to check other people’s work and interact with the field staff.?

As a Civil Engineer in the Bureau of Construction, the Construction Finals Engineer assigns and tracks all the projects once they are submitted to the Construction Services Section, making sure that they go through the complete audit process in a timely manner.?Working for the State of NH for over 35 years, Shawn has many favorite projects.?He likes all the “big ones” such as the Franconia Notch Parkway, the Route 101 expansion from Manchester to Hampton, the FE Everett Turnpike expansion in Nashua, the Hillsborough Bypass, the Newington-Dover, and the I-93 expansion from Manchester to Salem.?In a typical day, Shawn would review quantities that are calculated by our field staff. He would not only check the math, but also verify that the quantities are calculated per DOT’s plans and specifications. This position also answers a lot of questions from field staff and others in the Department by phone, emails, and walk-ins.

He first learned about the NHDOT from his cousin, Richard Pucci, who worked in the Commissioner’s Office. With Richard’s guidance, Shawn got an interview and was hired right out of college. In 1984, our agency was “named the Department of Public Works and Highways.?The name was changed in the late eighties to the Department of Transportation.?Computers are the biggest change. In the mid-to-late nineties is when computers started showing up in people’s homes and workplace. When it comes to Project Records, we went from strictly paper in 1984 to fully digital in 2023,” Shawn said.

Shawn feels proud that he represents the people of New Hampshire in his State position.?He enjoys the people he has worked with, and he likes the fact that we are all focused on making our roads and bridges the best that they can be for our traveling public.?When asked what he has gained from working at NHDOT, Shawn has 2 answers: “I gained a comfortable retirement. I also gained my wife. We met here in 1985 and have been married for 35 years.”?He said that it’s been easy to balance his career at NHDOT and his family.?Once he puts in his 8-hour day, he never takes work home with him, it’s all family time.?In his spare time Shawn likes to visit breweries, golf, hike, make improvements to his home and property, and have “Game Nights” with his family.??On his days off, he might go to the ocean or go hiking.

His advice to prospective candidates and new hires is to take advantage of the opportunities NHDOT provides.?He said that “although the pay is lower than the private sector, we have great benefits and a great retirement system.?The people that work at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation care a lot about their work and about each other, so it is enjoyable to work here.”?The 3 words Shawn says best describes NHDOT are: Caring, Family and Hard-Working.

If you or someone you know would like to learn more about the Construction Finals Engineer position, please contact NHDOT Recruiter, Krista Robichaud: [email protected] or 603-271-8026 or visit the State of NH website: https://das.nh.gov/jobsearch/ and search for Job ID # 29997 to review the job specifications and qualifications.