Principal Structural Engineer
Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc
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Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc in Chicago, Illinois is seeking a Structural Engineer to evaluate and design solutions for buildings. You will lead complex evaluations, ensure compliance with codes, and drive project management successfully.
The ideal candidate will have over 15 years of experience, a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, and strength in leading teams and technical documentation. The salary range is competitive at $130,100 – $195,100 annually.
Qualifications
- 15+ years of progressive structural engineering experience.
- Expert knowledge of commercial and residential structural systems.
- Ability to manage project scope, schedules, and budgets.
Responsibilities
- Lead preparation and review of construction drawings.
- Ensure deliverables comply with building codes.
- Manage budgets and prepare project plans.
Skills
Education
Tools
Job description
At Rimkus, our Built Environment Solutions team operates on a global scale with the advantage of local expertise. Our licensed engineers, architects, and technical specialists bring deep knowledge of regional requirements and industry best practices, enabling us to deliver customized, high‑quality solutions that maximize the success of our clients' investments. With a comprehensive portfolio that spans nearly every engineering and architectural discipline, we help organizations plan, build, and manage assets with confidence.
We integrate carbon footprint reduction, resiliency, maintainability, and long‑term sustainability into everything we do to help clients not just meet today's needs but prepare for tomorrow's challenges. From design and pre‑construction through construction, closeout, and ongoing operations, we provide tailored support at every stage. By identifying potential issues before they arise, we mitigate risks, extend asset life, and reduce costly unplanned repairs. Whether an asset is newly constructed, leased, or purchased, our innovative solutions empower clients to operate more efficiently and sustainably.
In this position, you will use your technical knowledge to evaluate new and existing buildings and design solutions for the complex and unique problems for our clients. New projects consist of residential, multi‑family, commercial, retail, industrial, and hospitality properties. Repairs include buildings damaged by fire, wind, flood, and impact. The candidate must have experience with adaptive reuse of older buildings and enhancements to existing facilities to accommodate changes in use and implementation of equipment and machinery.
The salary range for this position is $130,100 – $195,100 and is dependent on education, experience, location and certifications/licensure.
- Lead the preparation and review of construction drawings, specifications, and structural calculations for new and existing structures.
- Oversee complex structural evaluations of existing (and sometimes damaged) buildings, including load path verification and stability assessments.
- Direct investigations and condition assessments to determine appropriate repair or retrofit strategies for damaged, deteriorated, or underperforming structural systems.
- Lead design assignment for upgrades, maintenance, restoration, adaptive reuse, and rehabilitation of existing buildings (including phased construction planning).
- Apply advanced engineering judgment to resolve technically challenging issues involving constructability, sequencing, and risk reduction.
- Develop and review repair details and technical specifications (means/methods considerations where appropriate and within professional role boundaries).
- Ensure all deliverables comply with applicable building codes, standards, and industry best practices (local and national as applicable).
- Research current and historical codes, zoning/ordinance impacts (when relevant), and determine applicable code upgrades for renovation/retrofit scopes.
- Establish quality control standards for the team (checklists, calculation templates, drawing standards, peer review processes).
- Perform senior‑level technical reviews of calculations, drawings, reports, and specifications produced by others (QA/QC sign‑off).
- Serve as Engineer of Record (EOR) where appropriate, including sealing/signing documents in accordance with licensure requirements and firm policy.
- Plan and lead field assessments, including working from ladders, lifts, scaffolds, rooftops, and within confined spaces as required (following safety protocols).
- Coordinate and direct site investigations (openings, probes, material sampling, NDT, monitoring), including managing specialty subconsultants when needed.
- Provide construction‑phase engineering support, including responses to RFIs and submittal reviews, site observations and field reports, evaluation of unforeseen conditions and design modifications, review of temporary works interfaces (as required/appropriate), and communicating technical findings clearly to clients, contractors, and internal stakeholders to support timely decision‑making.
- Act as team leader responsible for delivering projects successfully across scope, schedule, budget, and quality.
- Assign and manage work across project engineers, designers, and drafters; balance utilization and capability development.
- Mentor and coach staff, including technical development, report‑writing, design approach, and professional growth planning.
- Lead internal coordination between disciplines (architecture, MEP, envelope, Geotech, etc.) to ensure integrated project delivery.
- Support hiring and onboarding as needed (interviews, role definition, training plans).
- Build a strong safety and quality culture, reinforcing field safety, ethical decision‑making, and documentation standards.
- Develop and manage project plans, including execution strategy, deliverable schedules, and milestone tracking.
- Prepare and manage budgets, including staffing forecasts, burn‑rate tracking, and change management.
- Lead scope definition and change control, including change orders, additional services, and managing client expectations.
- Manage project risk, including technical risk, safety risk, and contractual risk (in coordination with leadership/PMO).
- Serve as a practice‑area expert in client meetings, providing technical insight, options analysis, and recommendations.
- Support Business Development efforts by participating in pursuit strategy and interviews, reviewing/authoring technical proposals, developing fee estimates and scope assumptions, presenting qualifications and project approaches.
- Maintain and grow client relationships through responsiveness, technical credibility, and consistent delivery.
- Prepare and/or review technical reports (assessment reports, feasibility studies, repair recommendations, load ratings, basis‑of‑design narratives).
- Document field observations and investigations with clear photos, sketches, and defensible engineering conclusions.
- Ensure compliance with professional ethics, licensure obligations, and firm standards for record‑keeping and document control.
- Perform other duties as assigned, consistent with senior leadership responsibilities.
- Lead lessons‑learned reviews and continuously improve standards, tools, and workflows.
- Develop technical thought leadership (white papers, conference presentations, internal training).
- Champion innovation (analysis tools, BIM coordination, standard details, automation of calculations/deliverables).
- Expert knowledge of commercial and residential structural systems, including gravity/lateral systems across common materials (steel, concrete, masonry, wood, light gauge, etc.).
- Strong material and system selection ability, choosing appropriate solutions based on building use/occupancy and performance requirements, site conditions and location (wind/seismic/snow, corrosion, exposure), constructability, lifecycle cost, and maintainability.
- Ability to perform and/or oversee: load determination and combinations, performance criteria definition (serviceability, strength, drift/deflection/vibration), member sizing/selection and connection concepts, retrofit/repair design strategy development, strong diagnostic/forensic mindset for existing buildings: interpreting distress, damage mechanisms, and load‑path behavior.
- Codes, Standards & Technical Quality (QA/QC): proficiency with building codes and referenced standards (current and historical where needed), including the ability to interpret intent and apply to existing‑building scenarios.
- Establishing calculation/drawing/report standards.
- Performing senior technical reviews and constructability reviews.
- Coaching others on quality expectations and risk reduction.
- Managing engineering risk, making defensible decisions supported by documentation and sound judgment.
- Excellent technical writing skills, producing clear and defensible condition assessments and investigation reports, repair/retrofit recommendations and basis‑of‑design narratives, technical memoranda, summaries, and client‑facing deliverables.
- Ability to translate complex findings into practical options, impacts, and recommendations for clients and stakeholders.
- Strong presentation and meeting leadership skills, including communicating scope assumptions, risks, and next steps.
- Proven ability to develop and manage project scope, schedules, and staffing plans.
- Experience with budgets, burn rates, and forecasting.
- Change management (additional services, change orders, re‑scoping).
- Technical condition reports, repair designs and bid documents, addenda, construction documentation, and revisions during construction.
- Ability to lead teams across new and existing construction, coordinating internal resources and subconsultants to deliver on time and within budget.
- Team leadership, collaboration & professional presence: strong people‑leadership capability, delegation, mentorship, and performance support for engineers/designers; collaborative, approachable leadership style across disciplines; client‑facing confidence and professionalism.
- Client development and relationship management: initiate, build, and maintain trusted client relationships, creating repeat work through reliability and technical credibility.
- Participating in client meetings and pursuits, helping define scope and fee assumptions, contributing technical content for proposals/interviews, maintaining a consultative mindset focused on solving client problems.
- Ability to work independently with strong judgment, critical thinking, and decision‑making in ambiguous conditions.
- Comfort operating under pressure, prioritizing effectively and meeting deadlines without sacrificing safety or quality.
- Highly organized and adaptable, managing competing priorities across multiple active projects.
- Common "Team Leader" Skill Additions (Recommended): strategic planning ability, process improvement and standardization skills, coaching and talent development focus.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Civil/Structural) is required.
- Advanced degree (M.S. Structural Engineering or similar) is a plus.
- Professional Engineer (P.E.) license (Civil Engineering) – required (active and in good standing).
- Structural Engineer (S.E.) license – preferred (or ability/intent to obtain where applicable).
- Ability to obtain comity licensure in additional states/jurisdictions as project needs require – preferred.
- OSHA/Safety training (e.g., OSHA 10/30) – preferred for field‑intensive roles.
- 15+ years of progressive structural engineering experience – required, including: structural design for new and existing buildings; condition assessments/investigations and development of repair/retrofit concepts; preparation and review of calculations, drawings, and technical reports.
- Demonstrated team leadership experience (formal or informal) – preferred/strongly desired: task leadership, mentoring, QA/QC reviews, and coordinating deliverables across disciplines; contributing to scope/budget/schedule management and change control.
- AutoCAD proficiency – required.
- BIM proficiency (e.g., Revit) and coordination workflows – preferred.
- Experience with common structural analysis/design tools (firm standard) – preferred.
- Valid driver's license and reliable transportation.
- Ability to perform field work in active construction and existing‑building environments (rooftops, ladders/lifts, confined spaces as needed), subject to safety policies.
While performing this job, employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, climb, bend, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, talk, hear, and drive a motor vehicle to client sites or job sites. Employee may lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Clear vision and depth perception are also necessary.
In addition to physical requirements, employee must be sharp, focused, and alert when performing duties and when speaking and interacting with clients, preparing written reports of findings, and testifying in deposition or trial. This includes possessing the mental aptitude, cognition, concentration, and state of mind necessary to perform duties without distractions that could jeopardize productivity, quality, or safety.
This position is classified as salaried with an exempt FLSA status. Regular working hours are 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with one hour for lunch. Overtime may be required to meet demands of the position.
This position requires up to 25% travel. Some out‑of‑area and overnight travel may be required.
- Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
- Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
- Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
- Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
- Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
- Short Term & Long Term Disability
- Training & Development
- Work From Home
Rimkus is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer and will make all employment‑related decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.
THIS JOB DESCRIPTION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A CONTRACT FOR EMPLOYMENT OR A GUARANTEE OF CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT.
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