Field Engineer

Garrison Steel; Pell City (AL); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Garrison Steel seeks a field-oriented Engineer/Surveyor to manage dimensional control for structural steel erection. You will establish and maintain site control, verify anchor bolt layouts, and measure erected steel to ensure tolerances align with plans, producing reports for resolution.

The role requires reading structural drawings, coordinating with field teams, and traveling regionally across the Southeast to support projects. This is a full-time field position on active job sites.

Qualifications

• Experience in field survey or dimensional control on construction sites.
• Strong understanding of building grids, control lines, benchmarks, and elevations.
• Ability to read structural drawings, anchor bolt plans, and RFIs.
• Proficiency with survey/layout instruments; total stations preferred.
• Willingness to travel regionally across the Southeast.

Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain site control for steel layout.
• Verify anchor bolt locations and elevations against plans.
• Measure erected steel for alignment, plumb, and elevation.
• Produce clear reports with coordinates, elevations, and variance calls.
• Coordinate with field teams to minimize rework.

Skills

Field survey experience

Dimensional control

Building grids/elevations

Read structural drawings

Survey instruments

Travel regionally

Tools

Total station

Robotic total station

GPS

Job description

Company Description: Garrison Steel is an open shop contractor delivering structural steel erection and fabrication projects across the southeastern United States. The company specializes in two core areas: structural steel erection and steel fabrication for a wide range of commercial and industrial projects. Garrison Steel is committed to completing projects on schedule, within budget, and to a high standard of quality that consistently meets and exceeds client expectations. Team members work in a performance-driven environment that values reliability, craftsmanship, and safety on every job site.

What this role does

This is a field-forward engineering and survey role focused on dimensional control for structural steel erection. The role establishes and maintains site control, including benchmarks, control points, and building grid/control lines; verifies anchor bolt layouts set by others; and measures erected steel to confirm the structure meets required tolerances in plan view and elevation. The position produces clear, professional reports that support erection accuracy, issue resolution, and project documentation.

Key responsibilities

Establish site control

• Set and maintain jobsite benchmarks, control points, and building grid/control lines used for steel layout and erection.
• Tie site control to the project coordinate system and verify closure checks to ensure reliable control over time.
• Maintain control through project phases, including rechecks after earthwork, concrete placements, impacts, or other conditions that could disturb control.

Anchor bolt verification set by others

• Perform pre-erection surveys of anchor bolt locations, projections, spacing, and elevations.
• Compare results to contract documents and provided control; identify out-of-tolerance conditions early.
• Prepare concise anchor bolt verification reports with sketches/photos, coordinates/elevations, and clear variance callouts for resolution.

Erection control and steel verification

• Establish erection control lines for column lines, elevation benchmarks, and critical offsets.
• Provide layout support for column lines, and key geometry transitions.
• Measure erected steel for alignment, plumb, elevation, and plan position per project requirements.
• Support troubleshooting to help isolate whether dimensional issues are related to anchors, concrete fabrication, erection, or survey control.

Dimensional tolerance checks and reporting

• Perform periodic and milestone tolerance checks.
• Produce professional reports documenting control points used, instrument method, date/time, conditions, as-built vs. design comparisons, and out-of-tolerance items.
• Recommend next steps clearly when issues are identified, such as hold, adjust, rework, or RFI.

Coordination with field and project team

• Work closely with superintendents, foremen, PMs, detailers, and GC survey teams.
• Coordinate around critical picks and sequences so layout and verification happen at the right time.
• Communicate findings clearly and early to keep production moving and avoid rework.

What success looks like

• Reliable site control that crews trust and can work from every day.
• Anchor issues are identified before steel shows up with clear documentation.
• Steel is erected to AISC and specific project tolerances.

Reports are clear, consistent, and useful for resolving disputes and protecting schedule/cost.

Required qualifications

• Field survey or dimensional control experience in construction.
• Strong understanding of building grids, control lines, benchmarks, elevations, and plan layout.
• Ability to read and interpret structural drawings, anchor bolt plans, shop/erection drawings, RFIs, and sketches.
• Proficiency with survey/layout instruments and workflows; total station/robotic total station preferred, GPS as applicable.
• Strong documentation skills, including written reports, marked‑up plans, sketches, coordinates/elevations, and photo documentation.
• Willingness and ability to travel regionally across the Southeast.

Preferred, not required

• Structural steel erection experience, including layout for columns/frames and multi‑level steel.
• Experience with digital layout and as‑built workflows, including CAD‑based layout, point files, data collectors, and BIM field points.
• Familiarity with tolerance standards and contractor coordination on survey responsibility splits.

Physical / field expectations

• Frequent work on active jobsites in outdoor conditions typical of the Southeast.
• Walking, climbing stairs/ladders, working around lifts/cranes, and working at elevation areas as permitted.
• Ability to access steel frame structure from elevated work platforms when available and walking structure when required.
• Familiarity with fall protection measures when working at heights.
• Flex schedule for critical erection activities, including early starts and occasional nights/weekends.