Jacob 'Jake' Pauley serves as the Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District.
As the Deputy District Engineer, Pauley serves in the highest civilian position within the Albuquerque District and as the senior advisor to the District Commander and management staff. He also provides leadership in establishing and maintaining effective management processes to plan and accomplish the civil works, military, environmental, and interagency and international support programs within the district’s area of responsibility that covers the entire state of New Mexico and portions of Texas and Colorado. Additionally, the Deputy District Engineer leads the Tribal Nations Technical Center of Expertise, an entity that provides technical assistance to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers organizations and other federal agencies for work with Indigenous people. In fiscal year 2022 alone, the Albuquerque District obligated an estimated $285 million in civil works and military programs.
Pauley most recently served as the Chief of Operations for the Albuquerque District and was responsible for the operation and maintenance of nine dams that delivered flood risk management, recreation, environmental stewardship, and water supply missions to the New Mexico and Colorado water basins.
He also served as the chairman of the Operations Project Managers, Board of Advisors for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters (advising the Chief of Operations for HQUSACE and serving as the leader of the OPM’s Community of Practice for the organization). He advised and facilitated many HQUSACE-level directives during the COVID-19 response, as well as several other national initiatives impacting the enterprise.
Pauley served in the Huntington District for 17 years before moving to Albuquerque. He started at the district as a GS-1 student and subsequently served in a variety of different leadership roles, including managing multiple repair fleet activities at locks, dams, and reservoirs and serving as the assistant OPM for the Ohio and Kanawha River locks, Chief Management Support Branch, and the Deputy Chief of Operations.
He also served as an Asset Management Specialist for HQUSACE and as the Chief of Navigation for the Louisville District, a position that included organizational supervision of over 424 employees and a budget of $200 million. He has led numerous congressional engagements and worked closely with the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works prior to the development of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Pauley has served on multiple national and regional Project Delivery Teams and as a PROSPECT instructor for the Operations Project Manager and the Operations & Maintenance Service Contracts courses.
Pauley is married to his wife Dr. Karah Markins and has two miniature dachshunds, two cats and a small sheep farm still in West Virginia. He is a graduate of Marshall University and has degrees in Clinical Medical Technology and Manufacturing Engineering Technology. He likes working with his hands; he completed a frame-off restoration of a 1984 Chevy K10 and recently purchased a 1968 Pontiac Firebird with the intentions of autocross racing.