Civil Designer / Engineer-in-Training (EIT)

AXE Engineering Services; Arlington (OR); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan

PTO & holidays

Job summary

Axe Engineering is seeking an early-career civil engineer to work directly with licensed PEs on active land development projects across Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties. You'll produce real design work—grading plans, utility layouts, drainage design—on projects that go to permit and get built.

This hands-on role has a clear path toward full project engineering responsibility, with mentorship, ownership, and opportunities to advance from project engineer to lead or senior engineer.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or related field (required).
• EIT certification (required, or actively pursuing).
• 0–3 years of experience in site civil engineering or land development (new grads encouraged to apply).
• Proficiency or working knowledge of Civil 3D or comparable design software.
• Basic understanding of site grading, drainage, and utility systems.

Responsibilities

• Produce grading plans, utility layouts, drainage design on active land development projects.
• Work directly with licensed PEs from day one on projects that go to permit and get built.

Skills

B.S. in Civil Eng

EIT

0-3 years exp

Civil 3D

Attention to detail

Education

B.S. in Civil Eng

Tools

Civil 3D

Job description

Position Overview

Are you early in your engineering career and already frustrated by firms where junior staff spend two years redlining the same detail sheet? Are you the person in the office who stays late — not because you were told to, but because you actually want to figure out the problem? Are you ready to do real work, on real projects, faster than you thought possible?

If the answer is yes — this is the role for you.

At Axe Engineering, there is no back bench. From day one, you will be working directly alongside licensed PEs on active land development projects for private builders and developers across Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties. You will produce real design work — grading plans, utility layouts, drainage design, civil construction details — on projects that go to permit and get built.

This role is a hands-on design and production position, with a clear path toward full project engineering responsibility.

You will develop quickly because you will be surrounded by experienced engineers who expect you to grow, ask questions, and take initiative. One month, you may be drafting a grading plan for a short plat in Whatcom County. The next, you\'re running stormwater calculations for a commercial site in Snohomish. The month after that, you\'re coordinating a permit submittal and learning exactly what it takes to get a project approved.

We are building a team for the long term. This position can grow into:

• Project Engineer (upon PE licensure)
• Project Lead / Project Manager
• Senior Engineer — if you\'re exceptional, the ceiling here is high

We don\'t believe in stagnant roles. If you\'re not operating at a meaningfully higher level within 12–18 months, something isn\'t working — and we\'ll figure that out together long before then.

Before you get excited, we have to be straight with you.

This is not a firm where you\'ll disappear into a production team and produce drawings no one explains to you. But it\'s also not an easy ride. You will be expected to take ownership of your work, ask smart questions, and care about quality. You will be expected to show up ready to learn — and to be honest when you don\'t know something, rather than guessing your way through it.

We invest in people who invest in themselves.

If that\'s you — keep reading.

Skills & Qualifications

Here\'s what we believe is required to succeed in this role:

• Bachelor\'s degree in Civil Engineering or related field (required)
• EIT certification (required, or actively pursuing)
• 0–3 years of experience in site civil engineering or land development (new grads encouraged to apply)
• Proficiency or working knowledge of Civil 3D or comparable design software
• Basic understanding of site grading, drainage, and utility systems
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to producing accurate, complete work products
• Ability to take direction, ask good questions, and follow through independently
• Familiarity with Pacific Northwest jurisdictional requirements is a plus — not required

We\'re not just looking at your résumé. We\'re looking for someone with the right instincts — someone who cares about getting it right, communicates clearly, and wants to grow. Technical skills can be taught. Work ethic and judgment can\'t.

Who We Are

Big firms have more people. We have better ones.

We operate out of Bellingham and Arlington with a lean team of engineers and designers who run circles around the big regional players on local private development. Our land-use practice is deep, our clients keep coming back, and our work shows up in the communities around us.

If you\'re early in your career, the firm you join first shapes everything — what you learn, how fast you grow, and what kind of engineer you become. At a big firm, you might spend your first two years drafting details that get handed off before you ever see the project permitted. Here, you\'ll understand the whole project from day one because you\'ll be working it from day one.

We are not a government agency. We are not a 200-person firm where junior staff spend years waiting for their turn. We are a small, high-performing team where what you do shows up — in the work, in the culture, and in the results we deliver for our clients.

Here, you\'ll see your designs get built. That\'s not something most designers at big firms can say.

The Axe Creed

• Cutting Through Project Barriers

We find a way. Every time. No exceptions.

Most projects don\'t die because of bad engineering. They die because someone accepted “no” from an agency, a neighbor, a jurisdiction, or a process — and stopped pushing. We don\'t stop pushing.

Our pledge to every client: “we treat your project like it has our name on it — because it does.”

The words we live by. On every project. Every day.

Teamwork — We don\'t hand off. We collaborate all the way through. The best answer on any project comes from the whole team thinking together — engineers, designers, land-use, and client in the same room, working the same problem.

Freedom — Flexible schedules. Real work-life balance. We care about what you produce, not when you clock in. Do great work. Live a great life. Those two things aren\'t in conflict here.

Empowerment — Every person on this team has the authority to make decisions that move projects forward. You don\'t need three levels of approval to serve a client well. You need judgment — and we hire people who have it.

Sense of Urgency — Time is a competitive advantage — for our clients and for us. We return calls the same day. We turn comments fast. We don\'t let things sit. In this business, speed and quality aren\'t opposites. We deliver both.

Commitment to Client Satisfaction — We don\'t just meet expectations. We set them, then exceed them. If we make a promise, it\'s kept. If something goes sideways, we own it and fix it — no excuses, no finger-pointing.

If those resonate — you might belong here.

Who Thrives Here

You Might Be a Fit If

• You\'ve redone something on your own time because you knew it wasn\'t right — even though no one would have noticed
• You ask “why” before you ask “how” — because you want to understand the problem, not just complete the task
• You're embarrassed by sloppy work — yours or anyone else\'s
• You\'ve sought out feedback instead of waiting for a performance review
• You want to understand the whole project, not just your piece of it
• You're studying for your PE because you want to — not just because it\'s required

You're Probably Not a Fit If

• You're looking for a job where you can keep your head down and avoid accountability
• You wait to be told what to do next rather than looking for what needs to be done
• You think attention to detail is someone else\'s job
• You measure a good week by how little you were bothered, not how much you accomplished

What You Get

• Real Experience — Real project work from day one. No busywork, no back-bench production grind.
• PE Licensure Support — Mentorship from PEs who are invested in your licensure and your growth — not just your output. We\'ve supported exam fees and study materials in the past and will continue to do so on a case-by-case basis. Pass your PE and you\'ll see it reflected immediately in your paycheck.
• Compensation That Grows With You — Starting pay that reflects your experience level, with meaningful and frequent increases as you grow and take on more. Engineers who develop fast get compensated accordingly — we don\'t make you wait for an annual review to recognize results.
• Growth Path — A clear path to PE-level responsibility. We promote from within and build roles around people who earn it.
• Work That Matters — Local projects you\'ll drive past and point to. Your work shows up in the real world, fast.
• Flexibility — We care about output, not when you swipe in. Results are the currency here.

Benefits

All benefits begin Day 1.

• 100% company-paid health, dental, and vision for all team members (option to add dependents)
• PTO, sick time, 7 paid US holidays, and flex-time which allows for unlimited PTO opportunities
• On-time direct deposit bi-weekly
• 401(k) option with company match

Ready?

Stop waiting for a firm that will actually invest in you.

If you\'ve read this far and you\'re nodding your head — we want to hear from you. Send us your résumé and a brief note on something you\'ve worked on that you\'re proud of. It doesn\'t have to be a landmark project. It just has to be real.

We\'re not looking for a perfect application. We\'re looking for the right person.