Tunnel Engineer – Tunnelling & Trenchless Infrastructure

Parsons; Toronto; On-site; CAD 74,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Vision & Dental

Pension Plan

TFSA

RRSP

Life insurance

Paid time off

Sick leave

Holiday entitlement

Gym membership discounts

Job summary

Parsons, a leader in underground infrastructure, seeks a Tunnel Engineer to support planning, design, and delivery of tunnelling and trenchless projects across Canada. The role suits intermediate to senior candidates with a strong foundation in underground construction and good communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

The position offers exposure to major water, wastewater, transit, and utility projects, with opportunities to lead technical tasks, mentor staff, and contribute to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Structural, Geotechnical, Construction Engineering or related discipline.
• P.Eng. designation or eligibility for registration in Canada.
• Typically 5+ years of relevant tunnelling, trenchless, underground infrastructure, or heavy civil experience.
• Strong understanding of engineering design principles and construction practices.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary project teams.
• Strong problem-solving skills and sound engineering judgement.

Responsibilities

• Support the planning, design, and delivery of tunnelling and trenchless infrastructure projects from concept through detailed design and construction support.
• Participate in feasibility studies, alternative assessments, preliminary design, detailed design, procurement support, and construction-phase engineering services.
• Contribute to alignment development, constructability assessments, staging plans, risk evaluations, cost estimates, technical specifications, and contract documentation.
• Review geotechnical information, design reports, contractor submissions, construction methodologies, drawings, and specifications from a tunnelling perspective.
• Coordinate with structural, geotechnical, hydraulic, civil, utility, transit, construction management, and estimating disciplines.
• Support proposal development, technical writing, presentations, client-facing deliverables, and business development initiatives.
• Participate in technical discussions with clients, contractors, specialty tunnelling partners, and project stakeholders.
• Support construction activities through engineering reviews, site observations, responses to RFIs, and evaluation of contractor means and methods.
• Contribute to Parsons' continued growth and technical leadership in the tunnelling industry.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Teamwork

Problem solving

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil/Structural/Geotechnical Engineering

Tools

PLAXIS

Rocscience

FLAC

SAP2000

STAAD

Civil 3D

AutoCAD

Job description

In a world of possibilities, pursue one with endless opportunities. Imagine Next!

At Parsons, you can imagine a career where you thrive, work with exceptional people, and be yourself. Guided by our leadership vision of valuing people, embracing agility, and fostering growth, we cultivate an innovative culture that empowers you to achieve your full potential. Unleash your talent and redefine what’s possible.

Job Description:

Parsons is a leader in the planning, design, and delivery of complex underground infrastructure projects throughout Canada and around the world. As our tunnelling practice continues to grow, we are seeking a Tunnel Engineer to join our team and help deliver major water, wastewater, transit, utility, and transportation infrastructure projects.

This position is intended to be flexible for strong intermediate to senior-level candidates. We recognize that tunnelling professionals come from a variety of backgrounds, including civil, structural, geotechnical, and construction engineering. We are not looking for someone who has experience in every tunnelling method, design discipline, or construction technique. Rather, we are looking for an engineer with a strong foundation in underground infrastructure, sound engineering judgment, and a desire to continue growing their expertise within a multidisciplinary environment.

What You'll Be Doing

• Support the planning, design, and delivery of tunnelling and trenchless infrastructure projects from concept development through detailed design and construction support.

• Participate in feasibility studies, alternative assessments, preliminary design, detailed design, procurement support, and construction-phase engineering services.

• Contribute to alignment development, constructability assessments, staging plans, risk evaluations, cost estimates, technical specifications, and contract documentation.

• Review geotechnical information, design reports, contractor submissions, construction methodologies, drawings, and specifications from a tunnelling perspective.

• Coordinate with structural, geotechnical, hydraulic, civil, utility, transit, construction management, and estimating disciplines.

• Support proposal development, technical writing, presentations, client-facing deliverables, and business development initiatives.

• Participate in technical discussions with clients, contractors, specialty tunnelling partners, and project stakeholders.

• Support construction activities through engineering reviews, site observations, responses to RFIs, and evaluation of contractor means and methods.

• Contribute to Parsons' continued growth and technical leadership in the tunnelling industry.

Relevant Experience

• Candidates should possess experience with tunnelling and/ or trenchless construction methods and understand the associated construction processes, equipment, risks, and design considerations. Relevant experience may include rock TBM, EPB TBM, slurry TBM, microtunnelling, pipe jacking, horizontal directional drilling (HDD), jack-and-bore, pipe ramming, or other underground construction methods.

• Experience with municipal, water, wastewater, transit, utility, transportation, or heavy civil infrastructure projects is considered an asset.

• Experience with underground structures and temporary works associated with tunnelling projects is highly valued. This may include shafts, launch and retrieval structures, portals, support of excavation systems, groundwater control measures, temporary works, and construction staging; Relevant experience may include secant pile walls, soldier pile and lagging systems, sheet piling, sinking caissons, diaphragm walls, groundwater management systems, and other excavation support techniques.

• Familiarity with ground treatment and ground improvement techniques used to support tunnelling and excavation projects is beneficial. Examples include ground freezing, jet grouting, compensation grouting, permeation grouting, deep soil mixing, dewatering systems, and other methods used to manage groundwater and ground stability risks.

• Experience with industry-standard software such as PLAXIS, Rocscience, FLAC, SAP2000, STAAD, Civil 3D, AutoCAD, or similar engineering tools would be considered an asset.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Construction Engineering, or a related discipline.

• Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation or eligibility for registration in Canada.

• Typically 5-+ years of relevant experience in tunnelling, trenchless, underground infrastructure, or heavy civil projects.

• Strong understanding of engineering design principles and construction practices.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary project teams.

• Strong problem-solving skills and sound engineering judgment.

The successful candidate will be technically curious, collaborative, and passionate about underground infrastructure. They will possess a strong foundation in tunnelling or trenchless engineering, a willingness to learn, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to project delivery and technical excellence.

Depending on experience level, the successful candidate may support or lead technical tasks, coordinate multidisciplinary teams, contribute to proposals and business development efforts, support project delivery, and help mentor junior staff.

We value engineers who take initiative, embrace challenges, pursue continuous learning, and are motivated to advance the state of practice within the tunnelling industry.

This position is part of our Critical Infrastructure team.

For more than 80 years, our experts have designed and delivered the critical infrastructure that connects and protects communities around the world. We work in collaborative teams, both within the company and with our partners and customers, to plan, design, build, and modernize infrastructure. We take special pride in projects and solutions that improve communities as well as people’s quality of life by promoting economic growth, enhancing mobility, and increasing sustainability and resiliency. Powered by our people, we provide the imagination necessary to support our customers’ visions—and to help them see what's next!

Salary Range: $74,000 - $137,500

This job posting is for a current addition or replacement opportunity within Parsons.

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as health, vision, dental, employer paid provincial care premiums, Defined Contribution Pension Plan (DCPP), Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), life insurance, paid time off, sick leave, all province observed holidays off, and gym membership discounts to fit your busy lifestyle!

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace. Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels for indigenous peoples, women, individuals with disabilities, and visible minorities.

Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer to https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/ .

About Us

Parsons is a digitally enabled solutions provider focused on the defense, security, and infrastructure markets. With nearly 75 years of experience, Parsons is uniquely qualified to deliver cyber/converged security, technology-based intellectual property, and other innovative services to federal, regional, and local government agencies, as well as to private industrial customers worldwide.

Parsons is an equal opportunity, drug-free employer committed to diversity in the workplace. Minority/Female/Disabled/Protected Veteran/LGBTQ+.

For more about Parsons, visit parsons.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.