"Have an impact. Be proud of it. Enjoy it."

Chris Turnbull is the founder and managing director of Turnbull Engineering, which specialises in the design of civil infrastructure, including transport, energy and water and mining assets.

Starting his own engineering company was not an early ambition. In fact, young Chris  wanted to pursue a career in physics, but eventually the idea of being swaddled in a white coat was not how he saw his life’s trajectory.  He enrolled in civil engineering at UNSW and graduated with Honours in 2005.  He didn’t find the course easy but then and now he really appreciated the rigour and the high standards set by the School. “Engineering has the right mix of challenge and reward,” he says, just like his study at UNSW. 

A UNSW Master of Commerce (Finance) followed in 2006.  From 2006 to 2016, he was employed at Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) who combined with Jacobs in 2014.  After a ten year stint at SKM/Jacobs in their roads and highways section, Chris felt he was ready to set out on his own and in 2016 founded Turnbull Engineering. 

By 2018, the new company had achieved the Transport for NSW Registration for Road Design, employed more staff and moved the office to 56 Pitt Street Sydney.  In 2019, they won their first multimillion dollar TfNSW design contract and were recognised by the Australian Financial Review as one of the fastest growing companies in Australia.  In November 2022. Turnbull Engineering began work on the Mulgoa Road Upgrade Alliance project as the design lead.

In 2024 they moved to new offices at 400 George St, Sydney and commenced operations in Queensland.  In 2025 they started in South Australia and Victoria.  In 2026, they opened an office in Abu Dhabi and now employ over one hundred people in Australia and the UAE. 

Turnbull Engineering had its beginnings in Road Design.  But Chris soon realised that he led a group of very smart people who were capable of applying their skills in more adaptive, broader ways.   “Everyone in the company has different motivations that are driving them, but those ‘drivers’ result in people being very committed to learning, delivering and making the most out of the experience.”

Very soon, the company began to diversify and their longstanding renewable energy practice grew with major commissions on transmission, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), solar and wind farm projects across Australia. They are currently heavily involved in the delivery of NSW’s first Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in Central West Orana, an area of approximately 20,000 square kilometres centred by Dubbo and Dunedoo (on the land of the Wiradjuri, Wailwan and Kamilaroi people).  This is the first of the State’s planned renewable energy zones.

“Allow engineers to do engineering.”

Collaboration is key to what they do at Turnbull.  The team has highly diverse skills, but all actively work to aligned values. 

“We’re strong believers in doing what you love. Having a workspace that is free of bureaucracy allows us to work as a collective rather than as individuals,” Chris says.  It is also a company that prides itself on “unleashing people to do their best work, removing all hindrances.  Allow engineers to do engineering.” 

Apart from operating an ever-expanding company, Chris loves the challenge of long distance running.  In 2023, he ran from Perth to Sydney averaging 100km a day over 39 days, setting a Guiness World Record.  “It’s the experience of the run, and what you learn on the way,” he says.  He thinks long distance running and big complex engineering projects have a lot in common. 

“A good goal is worth having even if you miss it, because it points you in the right direction. A record might slip out of reach because of the weather, but you’re still heading where you wanted to go – so you keep going.” 

His biggest work/life lesson – so far! – is consistency.  Chris says it starts with thinking hard about where you want to go, then putting in the consistent effort to get there. “Often, just practising being who you want to be is what makes you that person,” he says. “The most meaningful achievements usually come from persistent hard work, not from looking for a shortcut.” 

When Chris started Turnbull Engineering, he felt the deep need to “Have an impact.  Be proud of it.  Enjoy it.”  This has now become the whole company ethos.

These are values he thinks lead to positive challenge and reward, and they have attracted a lot of like-minded people to the company.  “We choose projects that are world-improving – work we’re proud to be part of. There’s also a moral compass in there, but it’s really just a check that our impact and behaviours are a force for good.”

Turnbull Engineering is still at the start of its journey, with a lot more to do and a bigger impact still to make – and to be proud of.