Geotechnical Research Engineer II

Twenty8 Technology, LLC; McLean (VA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Geotechnical Research Engineer - Level 2 at the FHWA Geotechnical Laboratory in McLean, VA, supports soil-structure research and data-driven analysis for transportation infrastructure. You will apply ML/AI tools and numerical modeling to advance pavement, scour, and foundation studies.

This role emphasizes laboratory and field testing, data interpretation, and publication-ready reporting, with collaboration across multidisciplinary geotechnical teams.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in civil engineering with Geotechnical focus.
• Experience in bridge-related geotechnical engineering and soil-structure interaction.
• Hands-on lab work: planning, conducting, and reporting geotechnical tests.
• Record of publications and presentations in the field.
• Proficiency with MATLAB, Python or R for analytics.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of research workplans focused on bridge soil-structure interaction.
• Conduct geotechnical lab tests (triaxial, direct shear, modulus, etc.) per standards.
• Analyze data, prepare plots and summaries.
• Perform numerical modeling (e.g., FEM) for soil-structure interaction.
• Document procedures with notes, photos, and schematics.
• Support FHWA reports, TechBriefs, and publications.

Skills

Geotechnical engineering

Bridge geotech

Data analysis

MATLAB

Python

R

Communication

Publications

Education

Master’s degree in civil engineering (Geotechnical)

Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering (preferred)

Tools

PLAXIS

Abaqus

FLAC

MATLAB

Python

R

Job description

The Geotechnical Research Engineer - Level 2 at the FHWA Geotechnical Laboratory in McLean, VA, supports soil-structure research and data-driven analysis for transportation infrastructure. You will apply ML/AI tools and numerical modeling to advance pavement, scour, and foundation studies.

This role emphasizes laboratory and field testing, data interpretation, and publication-ready reporting, with collaboration across multidisciplinary geotechnical teams.