Pursuit Engineering is an innovative design firm with offices in Georgia and Alabama. Pursuit pledges to provide first class design solutions that are also cost-effective while focusing on the client’s primary needs. We provide full MEP Design and Consulting Services for Contractors, Architects, Engineers, Facility Managers, Builders, and Homeowners including HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection Designs as well as LEED Modeling and Documentation, Energy Auditing, Field Installation Verification, and Solar PV and Energy Storage System Design and Commissioning Services.

Principal Electrical Engineer
Jeffrey B. Hires, P.E.
LEED AP BD+C, RCDD, NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional™

Jeff Hires is a Professional Engineer registered in multiple states and with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. He is a LEED Accredited Professional specializing in Building Design and Construction, Registered Communications Distribution Designer, and a Certified PV Installation Professional by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. Mr. Hires is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Mr. Hires earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida. He worked part-time for an MEP consulting engineering firm in Gainesville, FL during college and full time after college before relocating to the Atlanta area in 2005. He worked for an MEP consulting engineering firm in Atlanta until 2010, gaining experience on a variety of project types. In 2010, Mr. Hires changed jobs and started working for an international battery company as Engineering Manager, furthering his expertise in power and energy systems as well as learning manufacturing quality systems and the importance to always strive to be better and improve efficiencies. During this same time period, he started JBH Consulting Engineers, an electrical design and consulting firm. Having worked on many projects with PCE as a consultant, Mr. Hires joined forces with Mr. Payne in late 2014 and created Pursuit Engineering, Inc. He brings over 14 years of experience to Pursuit Engineering and has a special interest in sustainable electrical design including solar PV and energy storage systems.

Mr. Hires and his wife have a son and daughter and currently reside in Cumming, GA. He enjoys the outdoors, camping, boating, amateur radio, college football, and spending time with his young children.

Principal Mechanical Engineer
J. Chase Payne, P.E.
LEED AP

Chase Payne is a Professional Engineer registered in multiple states and with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. Mr. Payne is a LEED Accredited Professional specializing in Building Design and Construction with experience on multiple LEED Projects including Energy Modeling. He is also a Member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers, Senior Member of the Association of Energy Engineers, and the United States Green Building Council.

Mr. Payne earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University before beginning his career in the Atlanta Metro area. There he worked for multiple firms with projects all across the US gaining experience in the Industrial/Distribution, K-12, Government/Corrections, and Commercial industries. Mr. Payne moved back to the Auburn/Opelika Alabama area in 2008 where his work focused primarily on projects in the Southeast covering the Aviation, Multifamily Residential, Commercial, and Higher Education industries. Mr. Payne created Payne Consulting Engineering (PCE), a full service MEP Consulting Firm, from the ground-up in 2011.  In his eighteen years of experience prior to co-developing Pursuit Engineering, he has overseen the completion of numerous successful PCE projects from North Carolina to Texas and all points in-between.

Mr. Payne and his wife Brandee, along with their daughter Laney, reside in Valley, Alabama.