Pivotal Engineering is led by the following staff with extensive design and compliance experience

​

​

​

Avinash Mehta PE, President

M.S., Environmental Engineering, 2003- University of Central Florida

B.S., Civil Engineering 2000- North Maharashtra University, India

 

Mr. Mehta serves as the principal of Pivotal Engineering and the Business Manager in charge of all of the Civil engineering projects and marketing pursuits of the firm. He has over 14 years of experience managing engineering projects including project budget, schedule and scope, coordination of resources, business development and client liaison activities. His experience includes the design of streets, drainage design, permitting, wastewater system design, potable water system design and conceptual planning and design for coastal restoration projects. Mr. Mehta has strong familiarity with project procurement approaches for private, local, state and federal clients and experience in defining long-term organizational strategic goals, building and nurturing key client relationships, identifying business opportunities, negotiating projects and maintaining extensive knowledge of current market conditions.

​​​​

 

Bassam Mekari, PE Principal

​

Mr. Mekari is a Professional Engineer and the Founder and Principal of Pivotal Engineering LLC, a full-service Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing (MEP), and Environmental Engineering and Construction firm. Pivotal Engineering is also licensed as a General Contractor in Building Construction and Residential Construction in Louisiana.

​

For nearly four decades, Mr. Mekari has designed, engineered, constructed, commissioned, and operated highly complex industrial and commercial systems throughout North and South America, the Middle East, and Central Asia, including projects in the United States, Canada, Russia (Siberia), Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. His work has required expertise across multiple engineering disciplines, including building envelopes, structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, chemical, thermal, metallurgical, combustion, hydrology, and environmental engineering. 

​

One of his landmark projects was the design of an innovative pilot thermal reactor to remediate petroleum-contaminated beach sand following the 1991 Gulf War after Iraqi forces destroyed Kuwait's offshore oil facilities. The project was administered under the auspices of the United Nations and monitored by Bechtel and other leading international engineering firms. Mr. Mekari's design successfully demonstrated the remediation process, and the results were presented at an international conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

​

Mr. Mekari's nearly four decades of designing, constructing, and commissioning complex multidisciplinary engineering systems provides him with a distinct advantage in forensic engineering. His experience extends across structural, civil, building envelope, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, environmental, and industrial systems, giving him a comprehensive understanding of how these disciplines interact and influence building performance. This broad engineering background enables him to accurately determine damage causation, identify failure mechanisms, distinguish between pre-existing conditions and event-related damage, and develop technically sound, well-supported engineering opinions. His unique combination of design, construction, and forensic experience allows him to evaluate failures from both an engineering design and real-world construction perspective, particularly in complex commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities.

 

Mr. Mekari is authorized by the Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board (LAPELS) to perform post-catastrophe forensic engineering inspections. As Principal of Pivotal Engineering, he has personally inspected or supervised the forensic evaluation of more than 1,000 residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional properties damaged by major hurricanes, including Katrina, Rita, Zeta, and Ida throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, and New Jersey. His services include structural evaluations, damage causation analysis, building envelope assessments, engineering cost evaluations, sealed engineering reports, expert witness testimony, depositions, and litigation support for complex insurance and construction disputes.

​

Yoseph Shifare PE, Principal

M.S., 2014 Civil Engineering (Transportation Engineering), University of Louisville

B.S., 2001 Civil Engineering, University of Asmara, Eritrea

 

Mr. Shifare serves as a Project Director of Pivotal Engineering in charge of Civil/Transportation engineering projects. He has over 17 years engineering, project and construction management experience for public infrastructures, industrial, commercial and private facilities. As a project director he designs, leads and manages the day to day efforts of engineers on projects that include roadway, traffic, drainage/storm water management, water and wastewater, and landfills. Mr. Shifare is responsible to client liaison, manage the strategic aspects of project engagement, review high-level project deliverables, provides leadership, project accounting and ensures the engineering practice meets or exceeds industry standard.

​

​

Irish Jones

1967. University of Texas at Arlington

​

Mr. Jones has more than 40 years of experience in Electrical Design and Construction. His experience spans from design of interior and exterior lighting, building power supply and distribution and system automation. His experience includes large industrial and commercial facilities.  His insights provide invaluable improvement to Pivotal's design and contructability.  

 

​