Electrical Designer - Recent Graduate

Summer Consultants Inc.; McLean (VA); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental and vision insurance

401(k) with company contributions

Paid holidays and PTO

Parental leave

Licensure support

Education assistance

Flexible scheduling

Hybrid work options

Life and disability coverage

Job summary

Summer Consultants in McLean, VA is seeking a recent graduate or early-career Electrical Designer to join our team, focusing on renovation and existing-building projects for federal, institutional, and higher-education facilities.

You will work in the field and in the office, applying lighting and power design concepts, performing calculations, and documenting conditions to develop practical, buildable solutions with mentorship from experienced engineers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, or Architectural Engineering (Electrical/Lighting focus).
• Interest in power, lighting, electrical distribution, and building systems.
• Willingness to spend meaningful time in the field surveying existing conditions.
• Ability to learn from experienced engineers and take increasing ownership.

Responsibilities

• Support electrical design for renovation and existing-building projects.
• Participate in field surveys to observe, investigate, document, and understand existing building conditions and systems.
• Assist with lighting and power design, calculations, layouts.
• Help turn survey findings into practical design solutions.
• Support development of drawings, calculations, reports, specifications, and other project documentation.
• Coordinate with engineers from other disciplines.
• Think about constructability and operability in designs.
• Pursue EIT certification if not completed.

Skills

Curiosity

Field surveys

Communication skills

Willingness to travel

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, or Architectural Engineering (Electrical/Lighting focus)

Tools

AutoCAD

Revit

Lighting calculation software

Electrical analysis software

Job description

Description

When you walk into a building, do you wonder how it actually works? We do too.

Summer Consultants is looking for a recent graduate or early-career Electrical Designer with up to three years of experience to join our McLean, VA team. This is a strong opportunity for someone who is curious about building systems, wants hands‑on project and field experience, and is ready to learn the MEP/FP consulting industry from experienced engineers.

At Summer Consultants, we design the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems that make buildings safe, comfortable, functional, and reliable. Much of our work involves renovating and modernizing existing federal, institutional, higher education, and historic facilities. That means our projects are technical, hands‑on, and rarely routine.

Existing buildings do not give you a clean sheet of paper. Our engineers spend real time in the field walking buildings, surveying and documenting existing conditions, tracing systems, observing constraints, and figuring out how a new design can actually work within the building that is already there.

The challenge of renovation work is solving real problems: how existing electrical infrastructure affects a new design, how to work within limited space and capacity, how to support active building operations, how electrical systems interact with other building systems, and how to develop a design that a contractor can actually build.

Field surveys are an important part of how our engineers learn. You will develop the ability to look at a building, ask the right questions, understand how electrical systems are installed and operated, recognize constraints, document what you find, and translate those observations into practical design decisions. That field experience helps build the judgment needed to become a well‑rounded consulting engineer.

Curious about building systems? Let’s see what we can do together.

WHAT SUMMER CONSULTANTS CAN DO FOR YOU

Summer Consultants will help you:

• Learn the ins and outs of the MEP/FP consulting industry through real project experience.
• Gain hands‑on experience with lighting and power design, calculations, layouts, documentation, and existing‑building surveys.
• Learn how to survey buildings, understand and document existing conditions, and translate field observations into practical design decisions.
• Build experience with tools such as Revit, AutoCAD, lighting calculation software, and applicable electrical analysis software.
• Work on varied projects. We rarely have "typical" projects because buildings are unique, and so are their systems and constraints.
• Develop into a well‑rounded consulting engineer through mentoring, project exposure, field experience, feedback, and increasing responsibility from experienced engineers.
• Collaborate across disciplines in a small, technically engaged environment where you can ask questions and build real competence.
• Build the technical foundation for professional licensure and long‑term growth in the engineering profession.

COMPANY BENEFITS

• Medical insurance: Options where Summer pays 100% of the employee‑only premium.
• Dental and vision insurance.
• 401(k): 3% automatic Company contribution, plus up to a 2% additional match, with additional profit‑sharing contributions historically made based on Company performance.
• Eleven (11) paid holidays and seventeen (17) to twenty‑two (22) days of PTO per year, based on professional experience.
• Paid Parental Leave for eligible employees.
• Professional licensure support: FE and PE exam and registration reimbursement, preparation support, test‑day leave, and recognition payments.
• Education Assistance up to $5,000 annually for qualifying job‑related coursework.
• Flexible scheduling, including a 4.5‑day compressed workweek option for eligible employees.
• Flexible work environment, including hybrid work options after six months with the company, based on role, project, and client needs.
• Company‑paid life, short‑term disability, and long‑term disability coverage.

Requirements

WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR SUMMER CONSULTANTS

• Support electrical design for renovation and existing‑building projects.
• Participate in field surveys to observe, investigate, document, and understand existing building conditions and systems.
• Assist with lighting and power design, electrical calculations, lighting calculations, electrical distribution, and system layouts.
• Help turn survey findings, calculations, client requirements, and existing constraints into practical design solutions.
• Support the development of drawings, calculations, reports, specifications, and other project documentation.
• Coordinate with engineers and designers from other disciplines as part of integrated project teams.
• Think about how designs will actually be constructed and operated, not simply how they appear on drawings.
• Help solve client problems with curiosity, precision, quality, and follow‑through.
• Pursue EIT certification, if not already completed.

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING WITH YOU

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Technology, or Architectural Engineering (Electrical/Lighting focus).
• Genuine interest in power, lighting, electrical distribution, building systems, existing‑building renovation, and learning how systems work in the field.
• Curiosity about how buildings are constructed, operated, maintained, and modified over time.
• Willingness to spend meaningful time in the field surveying existing conditions.
• Ability to learn from experienced engineers, ask questions, seek and apply feedback, and take increasing ownership as experience grows.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong Microsoft Word and Excel skills.
• AutoCAD and Revit experience preferred.
• Ability to support day‑long field surveys outdoors and indoors, including conditioned and unconditioned spaces, with or without reasonable accommodation. Field work may include walking 10,000 to 20,000 steps in a day, climbing up and down a 6‑foot ladder, kneeling, squatting, and bending.
• Ability to obtain site access at client locations, including federal facilities, as required by project assignments.
• Ability to travel up to 10 nights per year, in addition to day‑long field surveys.