ABOUT DESIGNEDGE
DesignEdge Structural Solutions is a specialty structural engineering practice serving clients across the United States. We work in two modes: as a trusted subconsultant to established prime firms, and as prime engineer of record on direct owner and developer projects. Our project mix spans new design and existing-building work in structural steel, wood, and reinforced concrete, including seismic evaluation and retrofit, healthcare and essential facilities, mid-rise residential, industrial and mission-critical facilities, equipment anchorage, and construction-phase engineering.
What sets us apart is not size, it is depth. We are a small, senior team that takes engineering seriously: rigorous first-principles calculations, defensible documentation, and custom-built workflows and automation that let us deliver at a level of clarity and speed larger organizations struggle to match. Our clients return because our calculation packages, drawings, and narratives hold up under plan review, peer review, and scrutiny.
THE ROLE
We are hiring an experienced Structural Engineer with 6 to 10 years of US project experience to take ownership of design and analysis work from concept through construction administration. This is a delivery role with real autonomy, not a role where you fill in a template someone else built. You will run your own calculations, size and detail your own members, coordinate directly with architects and prime firms, and stand behind your work.
You will report directly to the firm's founder, a licensed P.E. and S.E. Because the team is small, your work is visible and your judgment matters from day one. There is no layer of insulation between you and the project, and no ceiling on what you can grow into.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Perform structural analysis and design of buildings and structural components in structural steel, wood, and reinforced concrete, for both new construction and existing-building modification
- Develop complete, self-checking calculation packages: load derivation, gravity and lateral analysis, member design, connection design, and foundation design, documented so a reviewer can follow every step.
- Build and interrogate analysis models in ETABS, SAP2000, RISA-3D, RISAFloor, RISAFoundation, RAM Structural System, and RAM Concept, including debugging instabilities and validating results against hand calculations rather than trusting output.
- Produce and mark up structural drawings and details, general notes, and specifications, and coordinate the set with architectural, mechanical, and civil disciplines.
- Perform seismic evaluation and retrofit design of existing structures per ASCE 41, including as-built review, deficiency identification, and strengthening schemes such as FRP composites, supplemental framing, and collector and diaphragm upgrades.
- Design anchorage and bracing for nonstructural components and mechanical equipment per ASCE 7 Chapter 13.
- Support construction-phase engineering: shoring and reshoring, crane and heavy-lift load evaluations on existing structures, temporary conditions, RFIs, submittals, and shop drawing review.
- Write clear technical narratives, evaluation reports, and responses to plan review and peer review comments.
- Coordinate directly with prime consultants, architects, contractors, and owners, and communicate engineering conclusions to non-engineers without losing the substance.
- Contribute to the firm's calculation templates, spreadsheets, and automation tools so that solved problems stay solved.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree in Civil or Structural Engineering. Master's degree in Structural Engineering preferred.
- 6 to 10 years of structural design experience on projects in the United States, designed and documented to US codes and standards.
- Demonstrated, hands-on design experience in all three primary materials: structural steel, wood (light-frame plus heavy timber or mass timber), and reinforced concrete. We will ask you to walk us through specific designs you have done in each.
- Working command of the governing US standards: IBC, ASCE 7, ACI 318, AISC 360 and AISC 341, NDS and SDPWS, AISI S100 and S240, and TMS 402.
- Strong fundamentals in structural mechanics and load path: you can derive gravity, wind, and seismic loads by hand, sketch the load path, and estimate the answer before you build the model. This is non-negotiable and is the core of our technical interview.
- Proficiency in structural analysis software (any combination of ETABS, SAP2000, the RISA suite, RAM, SAFE) and in Microsoft Excel for engineering calculations.
- Ability to produce clear, well-organized calculation packages and to read and mark up drawings (Bluebeam Revu or equivalent).
- Excellent written and spoken English, and the discipline to document assumptions, limitations, and scope clearly.
- Ability to manage several concurrent projects, hold deadlines, and flag problems early rather than late.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- P.E. license in a US jurisdiction, or active progress toward it. S.E. licensure or eligibility is a strong plus.
- Existing-building experience: ASCE 41 evaluation and retrofit, ACI 562, condition assessment, and working from incomplete as-built information.
- Healthcare or other essential facilities experience, including HCAI (formerly OSHPD) or comparable agency review.
- Cold-formed steel design, including non-load-bearing interior and exterior wall framing and ceiling support and bracing systems.
- Post-tensioned concrete, podium and transfer structures, or mid-rise wood-over-podium residential buildings.
- Data center, industrial, or mission-critical facility structures.
- Nonlinear analysis experience (PERFORM-3D or equivalent).
- Mathcad or similar for calculation package development.
- Automation and tooling ability: Excel VBA, Python, or similar, used for results extraction, model post-processing, calculation automation, or QA/QC checking. You do not need to be a software developer, but if you have ever built a tool because doing a task by hand twice annoyed you, tell us about it.
- Revit or AutoCAD proficiency for structural documentation.
WHO SUCCEEDS HERE
- Engineers who are honest about what they know and what they do not, and who ask before assuming.
- Engineers whose fundamentals hold up in production, not only in interviews. Depth beats credentials here.
- Engineers who own their work end to end, check it themselves before anyone else has to, and treat a returned markup as information rather than as criticism.
- Engineers who are comfortable with ambiguity: incomplete as-builts, missing drawings, and clients who need an answer before all the information exists.
- Engineers who want to build something, not just bill hours. A small firm rewards initiative immediately and visibly.
POSITION DETAILS
Employment type: Full-time.
Reports to: Founder and Principal Engineer (P.E., S.E.).
Compensation: Competitive and commensurate with experience, licensure, and demonstrated capability. Discussed openly early in the process.
