Senior Design Engineer

Knife River Prestress; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Life insurance

Employee assistance program

Professional development

Job summary

Knife River Prestress seeks a Senior Design Engineer to lead complex precast and prestressed design work, reporting to Engineering leadership. This role serves as a senior technical resource, mentors engineers and drafters, and represents KRPI in customer discussions while enforcing PCI standards and best practices.

The candidate will oversee design work, review calculations, ensure constructability, and drive standardization across KRPI projects with emphasis on safety, quality, and engineering

Qualifications

• B.S. in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering or related discipline.
• Ability to interpret drawings, specs, codes, and lead technical discussions.
• Advanced knowledge of reinforced/prestressed concrete, PCI standards, and design.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Proficient with common engineering software and tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex precast/prestressed projects; review plans and calculations.
• Apply advanced judgement on precast behavior, load paths, and constructability.
• Represent KRPI in customer-facing technical discussions and reviews.
• Mentor engineers and drafters; promote standard tools and practices.
• Perform senior quality reviews and provide final engineering guidance.

Skills

Civil/Structural design

Lead technical discussions

Mentoring

Code compliance

Client-facing communication

Education

B.S. in Civil Engineering

Tools

Revit

Tekla Structures

Inventor

AutoCAD

Job description

• Pay or shift range: $100,000 USD to $130,000 USD

Description

At Knife River, we take care of our teams because we know they are the foundation of our success. We are one of the nation’s largest construction materials producers and contractors, and our goal is to build strong teams that, in turn, build strong communities. Join us and make an impact that will last for generations.

Job Summary:

SeniorDesignEngineersreportto the Vice President of Engineering andserveas senior technicalresourcesforKRPI’sprecast and prestressed concretedesignwork.Unlike DesignEngineersfocused primarily on executing assigned tasks under guidance,Senior Design Engineersindependentlyleadcomplex designwork,makedefensible engineering decisions,performsenior technicalreviews,guidenon-standard solutions,representKRPI in customer-facing technical discussions,mentorengineers and drafters, andhelpstandardize engineering tools, methods,and practices.

Responsibilities Include:

• Lead complex precast/prestressed projects; review plans, specifications, design criteria, and project requirements;establishengineering approach; andprepare ordirect calculations and support drawings.
• Applyadvanced judgment inprecast/prestressed behavior, reinforced concrete design, connections, load paths, lifting, bracing, shipping, erection sequencing, tolerances, safety, code compliance, and constructability.
• Serve asasenior technicalvoicefor KRPI with Engineering leadership, project managers, drafting, production, quality, field teams, external engineers, architects, contractors, customers, and industry experts.
• Evaluate non-standard conditions, alternate details, field issues, technical risks, design assumptions, specifications, codes, and PCI standards to recommend practical, safe, and commercially aware solutions.
• Perform senior quality reviews of drawings, calculations, submittals, and engineering documents; verify compliance with KRPI, Knife River, project, code, and PCI standards;andprovidefinal engineering guidance where assigned.
• Mentor junior engineers and drafting team members while building engineering judgment, code understanding, review discipline, design-tool capability, and professional readiness.
• Improve and standardize engineering tools, templates, calculation methods, detailing practices, review processes, and design standards across KRPI projects and locations.
• Support KRPI’s safety commitment, continuous improvement, and related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

• B.S. in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, or closely related engineering discipline.
• Ability to interpret and apply drawings, specifications, design criteria, codes, and project documentswhileleading technical discussions with customers, consultants, contractors, and internal teams.
• Advanced knowledge of structural engineering, reinforced/prestressed concrete design, precast behavior, connection design, load paths,constructability, tolerances,temporaryworksconsiderations, and building code requirements.
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills; able to explain and defend engineering decisions, code requirements, assumptions,risks, and precast concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Proficient with common business and engineering software; self-motivated, professional, courteous, schedule-driven, and effective with customers, managers, engineers, drafters, production, and field teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Multiple state PE licensespreferred, or achievable within24 months.
• Significant precast/prestressed design experience with structural and architectural components, connections, production constraints, transportation, handling, erection, field coordination, and PCI standards.
• Experience with Revit, Tekla Structures, Inventor, AutoCAD, or other BIM/modeling platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers anddrafterswhile improving standards, review discipline, design tools, templates, and process consistency.

Why Engineers Choose KRPI:

• Design structures that are built, not just drawn, with exposure from concept through manufacturing, delivery, erection, and completed construction.
• Work directly with production, quality, project management, field installation, contractors, engineers, and customerson major regional datacenter, industrial, parking, commercial, education, and infrastructure projects.
• Develop specialized precast/prestressedexpertisein a culture focused on safety, quality, accountability, employee development, continuous improvement, and long-term advancement across KRPI and Knife River.
• Medical, dental, vision, HSA/FSA options, 401(k) with company match and profit sharing.
• Paid time off, paid holidays, life insurance, EAP, training, professional development, career advancement, and licensure support where applicable.

Subject to pre-employment drug testing and background check.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.