Zaida Morillo

Zaida leads Primera’s structural group with a strong determination to mentor and guide junior engineers, coupled with a desire to boost the client experience. As a life-long scholar, Zaida’s role at Primera is a perfect fit. Each day, she is challenged to help the company, and her team, maximize their potential. “Primera is such a multifaceted company offering a wide range of services covering multiple industries; She is inspired to step out of the comfort zone and gain a deeper understanding of how she can make a difference across the civil engineering profession,” she states. Her expertise is the result of more than 15 years of experience performing structural design and analysis for new construction, widening and rehabilitation of highway, movable and railroad bridge structures using Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD), Load Factor Design (LFD) and American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) specifications. She has managed and led projects for a number of clients including Departments of Transportation (DOT’s) and Tollways in several states, Class 1 Railroads and municipalities.

Zaida studied civil engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and later earned her master’s degree in structural engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). While at UCF, she was appointed the President of the civil engineering honor society, Chi Epsilon, where she found her passion for group leadership. Since then, she has continued to leverage her leadership skills as an active member of professional organizations. Most notably, she served as Chair of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) Illinois Chapter and co-chaired sessions of the SEI-IL Biennial Lecture Series, which covered structural engineering specialty topics through recognized speakers from around the country. She is a member of the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and flexes her give-back muscles through Engineers Without Borders (EWB) by mentoring young students. Zaida’s impressive engineering achievements together with her outgoing nature allows her to focus on maintaining strong client relationships while guiding and growing the talented structural team.