Civil 3D Designer / Technician

PRI Engineering; Surrey; Hybrid; CAD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

PRI Engineering in Surrey, BC is seeking a strong Civil 3D Designer / Technician to support our civil practice and infrastructure work. This hands‑on role is for an experienced technician who can take a project from survey and geotechnical data to a complete 3D civil model and issued drawing set, with the depth to handle surface‑heavy, structure‑integrated work.

You will build 3D models, produce drawing sets for permitting and construction, and serve as the drafting backbone for hydrotechnical

Qualifications

• Diploma or certificate in Civil Engineering Technology, CAD/Drafting Technology, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of Civil 3D drafting and modelling experience in a civil engineering consulting or heavy‑civil environment.
• Deep, hands‑on Civil 3D command — surfaces, grading, corridors, alignments, profiles, pipe networks, data shortcuts, and plan production.
• Genuine fluency in complex 3D surface and grading modelling and earthworks beyond standard drafting.
• Strong grasp of CAD standards, layer and style management, sheet setup, and drawing quality control.
• Ability to take a project from survey and design input through a complete, issue‑ready drawing set with minimal supervision.
• Solid civil design literacy — understanding enough to catch issues.
• Strong attention to detail, organization, and commitment to drawing quality and accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Civil 3D modelling of dams and water resources, building complex 3D surfaces and terrain models.
• Model grading and earthworks for dams and water‑resources structures, and produce cut/fill and earthwork volume calculations.
• Produce detailing for hydraulic and concrete structures — spillways, outlets, intakes, and control structures — coordinating with structural drafting where overlaps occur.
• Integrate geotechnical and survey data into models and drawings.
• Develop cross‑sections, profiles, and details for embankments, channels, and water‑resources works.
• Apply Civil 3D to transportation and linear‑infrastructure work — alignments, profiles, corridors, grading for roads and site development.
• Produce plan‑and‑profile sheets, grading plans, and cross‑sections for infrastructure projects.
• Support land‑development and municipal civil work across the firm where drafting capacity is needed.
• Produce complete, issue‑ready construction drawing sets — plans, profiles, sections, details, and general arrangement sheets.
• Set up sheets, layouts, viewports, annotation, and plan production from the model.
• Maintain CAD/Civil 3D standards — templates, layers, styles, and title blocks.
• Manage the Civil 3D project structure and data shortcuts for collaborative work.
• Quality‑check drawings for completeness and accuracy before issue; manage revisions and version control.
• Generate quantities and material takeoffs from the model.
• Work with engineers and project managers to interpret markups and design intent.
• Coordinate shared base data and references across disciplines, including survey inputs.
• Incorporate redlines through the design cycle and support client/submission standards.

Job description

PRI is seeking a strong Civil 3D Designer / Technician in Surrey, BC to support our Civil practice and related infrastructure work. This is a hands‑on modelling and drafting role for an experienced technician who can take a project from survey and geotechnical data through a complete 3D civil model and issued drawing set, with the depth to handle the complex, surface‑heavy, structure‑integrated work that dam and water‑resources design demands.

This role is central to delivering that work well. You will build and manage the 3D civil models and terrain surfaces behind these projects, produce the drawing sets that get them permitted and built, and be the drafting backbone the hydrotechnical engineers rely on. You will also support the firm’s transportation and infrastructure work, applying your Civil 3D skills to roads, linear works, and site development as project demands shift.

This is a technical‑production role reporting to the Civil Practice Lead. You will work closely with hydrotechnical, geotechnical, and structural engineers, and with survey staff, translating design intent and markups into accurate, standards‑compliant models and drawings. It is a role for someone who takes real pride in the quality and precision of their drafting.

What you’ll do

Civil 3D modelling — dams and water resources

• Build and manage complex 3D surfaces and terrain models — embankments, spillways, channels, reservoir grading, and existing‑conditions surfaces from survey and LiDAR data.
• Model grading and earthworks for dams and water‑resources structures, and produce cut/fill and earthwork volume calculations.
• Produce detailing for hydraulic and concrete structures — spillways, outlet works, intakes, and control structures — coordinating with structural drafting where the work overlaps.
• Integrate geotechnical and survey data into models and drawings, working from subsurface information and field data.
• Develop cross‑sections, profiles, and details for embankments, channels, and water‑resources works.

Civil 3D modelling — transportation and infrastructure

• Apply Civil 3D to transportation and linear‑infrastructure work as project demands require — alignments, profiles, corridors, and grading for roads, access works, and site development.
• Produce plan‑and‑profile sheets, grading plans, and cross‑sections for infrastructure projects.
• Support land‑development and municipal civil work across the firm where drafting capacity is needed.

Drawing production and standards

• Produce complete, issue‑ready construction drawing sets — plans, profiles, sections, details, and general arrangement sheets.
• Set up sheets, layouts, viewports, annotation, and plan production from the model.
• Work to and help maintain the firm’s CAD and Civil 3D standards — templates, layers, styles, and title blocks.
• Manage the Civil 3D project structure and data shortcuts so multiple team members can work on a project cleanly.
• Quality‑check drawings for consistency, completeness, and accuracy before issue, and manage revisions, issue records, and version control.
• Generate quantities and material takeoffs from the model.

Coordination

• Work directly with hydrotechnical, geotechnical, and structural engineers and project managers to interpret markups and design intent.
• Coordinate shared base data and reference files across disciplines, including survey and geotechnical inputs.
• Incorporate redlines and revisions accurately through the design cycle.
• Support drawing submission to meet client, municipal, and regulatory standards.

Who we’re looking for

We are looking for a strong, experienced Civil 3D technician who is genuinely fluent in complex surface and grading modelling, not just plan production, and who takes pride in producing clean, accurate, standards‑compliant drawings with minimal supervision. Experience with dams, water resources, or heavy‑civil earthworks is what sets the ideal candidate apart.

Required

• Diploma or certificate in Civil Engineering Technology, CAD/Drafting Technology, or a related field — or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 5 years of Civil 3D drafting and modelling experience in a civil engineering consulting or heavy‑civil environment.
• Deep, hands‑on Civil 3D command — surfaces, grading, corridors, alignments, profiles, pipe networks, data shortcuts, and plan production.
• Genuine fluency in complex 3D surface and grading modelling and earthworks, beyond standard plan‑and‑profile production.
• Strong grasp of CAD standards, layer and style management, sheet setup, and drawing quality control.
• Ability to take a project from survey and design input through a complete, issue‑ready drawing set with minimal supervision.
• Solid civil design literacy — enough understanding of the engineering to catch issues rather than blindly drafting.
• Strong attention to detail, organization, and a genuine commitment to drawing quality and accuracy.

Preferred

• Experience drafting for dams, spillways, water‑resources structures, hydraulic structures, or heavy‑civil earthworks.
• Transportation and linear‑infrastructure experience — road corridors, alignments, and profiles.
• Experience with structural or hydraulic‑structure detailing, or coordinating with structural drafting.
• Experience integrating point‑cloud, LiDAR, and survey data into Civil 3D models.
• Familiarity with municipal and provincial drafting and submission standards (such as MMCD).
• Exposure to related Autodesk tools — Autodesk Construction Cloud / BIM 360, Vault, InfraWorks, Navisworks, or Revit.
• C.Tech. or A.Sc.T. designation (or eligibility) through a provincial technology association (ASTTBC, ASET, OACETT).

Why PRI

At PRI, we believe exceptional consulting begins with exceptional people. We empower our technical staff with meaningful work, strong support, and the tools to do their best.

As a Civil 3D Designer / Technician, you’ll find:

• Varied, technically interesting work — from dams and water‑resources structures to transportation and infrastructure — rather than the same repetitive drafting.
• A central role on a hydrotechnical team with a strong and growing project pipeline.
• A multidisciplinary environment that lets you work alongside hydrotechnical, geotechnical, structural, and survey professionals.
• A firm that is actively investing in modern tools and technology, including AI‑enabled and digital‑delivery methods.
• Competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and genuine support for ongoing professional development and technologist designation.

PRI is a multidisciplinary engineering and natural sciences consulting firm with offices across British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. We are an equal‑opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, and we particularly encourage applications from Indigenous professionals.