Manager - Structural Design

Jordan Sitter; Virginia Beach (VA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Jordan Sitter Associates in Virginia Beach is seeking a hands-on Manager to own the full structural design lifecycle for ultra-class rigid-frame haul trucks, 250 to 375 ton machines. You will lead a 4–6 engineer team and raise engineering rigor.

Responsibilities include fatigue life analysis, weld design, 3D modeling in Creo, mentoring staff, and collaborating with cross-functional teams; travel up to 20%. This is a leadership role with real engineering autonomy.

Qualifications

• Hands-on structural engineering with welded fabrications and heavy machinery.
• Fatigue life analysis using cyclic loading and S-N curves.
• Experience using 3D CAD tools (Creo preferred).
• Minimum 2 years of directly managing technical staff (reviews, coaching).

Responsibilities

• Lead the Structural Design department (4–6 engineers) and conduct performance reviews.
• Own full structural system design: superstructure, dump body, running gear and castings.
• Drive fatigue life analysis and weld joint designs.
• Develop and review weld designs and geometry considerations.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams; up to 20% travel.
• Contribute to root cause and warranty investigations.

Skills

Fatigue analysis

Weld design

3D modeling

Leadership

Free body diagrams

FEA basics

Tools

Creo/Pro-E

SolidWorks

CATIA

Siemens NX

Job description

Manager - Structural Design- VA, Virginia Beach- Permanent (Full-Time)- About 2 days ago---* Own full structural system: frame, dump body, running gear & castings* Lead & mentor a team of 4-6 structural engineers* Fatigue-critical design work with real engineering autonomy**Role Overview** Hands-on engineering leader to own the full structural design lifecycle for the company's ultra-class rigid-frame haul trucks (250 to 375 ton machines) built for the world's most demanding mining environments. This is not a caretaker role. The mandate is to elevate a tenured team and set a higher bar for engineering rigor, while personally engaging with the technical challenges that make this work genuinely interesting: fatigue life, weld design, and structural weight optimization. **Responsibilities** * Lead the Structural Design department (4–6 engineers), including performance reviews, coaching, and personnel decisions* Own full structural system design: superstructure, dump body, front/rear running gear, castings, and weld design* Drive fatigue life analysis using cyclic load profiles and S-N curves; designing to finite fatigue life, not just static ultimate load* Develop and review weld joint designs, including full-penetration welds, fillet vs. groove tradeoffs, and toe geometry* Apply 3D modeling using PTC Creo (preferred) or equivalent platform; strong preference for top-down methodology* Mentor engineers to understand the physics behind FEA outputs, not just produce results* Develop business cases and written justifications to unlock resources and support across the organization* Collaborate with cross-functional teams and international counterparts; up to 20% travel* Contribute to root cause analysis, failure analysis, and field warranty investigations as needed**Requirements** * Hands-on structural engineering experience with welded fabrications, castings, and/or heavy machined structures; must have designed or co-designed real hardware* Fatigue life analysis depth: cyclic loading, S-N curves, finite fatigue life design* Weld design knowledge: full-penetration welds, joint selection, and fatigue impact of geometry decisions* Free body diagram fluency; can trace force flow independently from software output* Proficiency in 3D modeling (Creo/Pro-E, SolidWorks, CATIA, or Siemens NX)* Minimum 2 years directly managing technical staff (reviews, coaching, personnel decisions)**Strong Preferences** * Heavy equipment structural experience: mining, construction, crane, agriculture, or similar cyclic-loading environment* Material selection experience with HSLA steel - weldability, tensile strength, and cold-weather properties* Top-down 3D modeling methodology - must be able to discuss and demonstrate approach* Sand casting design experience with wall thickness and fatigue geometry considerations* Ability to write clear business cases and engineering justificationsStructural EngineeringMechanical EngineeringEngineering LeadershipStructural DesignFEAFatigue AnalysisHeavy EquipmentMining