Substation Project Structural Engineer

HDR; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering firm in Arlington, Virginia, is seeking a Substation Project Structural Engineer to join its Power Delivery team. The role requires strong knowledge in structural design for high voltage electrical projects up to 500kV, along with a Bachelor's degree in Civil or Structural Engineering and a professional engineering license. The ideal candidate will have at least 5 years of experience, strong collaboration skills, and abilities to independently manage multiple projects concurrently. This position may require some travel.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of technical design experience with high voltage electrical switchyard and substation projects.
• Professional engineering license recognized by the licensing board.
• Previous structural engineer experience required.

Responsibilities

• Execute structural engineering tasks for various substation members.
• Prepare and review specifications for construction and materials.
• Coordinate quality checks for project deliverables.

Skills

Technical design experience

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Ability to work independently and in a team

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil or Structural Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

STAAD

RISA

Mathcad Prime

Job description

Substation Project Structural Engineer

HDR Engineering is looking for a Substation Project Structural Engineer to join our growing and nationally ranked team of Power Delivery professionals. The Substation Project Structural Engineer has broad technical knowledge and experience with the structural design components of high voltage electrical switchyard and substation projects up to 500kV, including steel structure and foundation analysis & design. Leveraging that knowledge and experience, they work in close coordination with Project Managers (PM) and project teams across multiple office locations to execute the structural engineering and design components of substation projects.

Responsibilities

• Execute structural engineering tasks for a variety of substation structural members such as rolled steel shapes, lattice steel framing, and folded plate tubular steel shapes. Engineering duties include detailed design, calculations, and detailing for fabrication or development of loading and concept drawings for submittal to a steel fabricator to design and fabricate.
• Execute foundation design tasks for substation structures, including drilled piers, spread footings, driven piles, and potentially other types, using industry standard software.
• Prepare and/or review specifications for construction & materials.
• Assign project tasks to EIT’s and provide technical guidance to non-structural project team members.
• Coordinate and/or perform quality checks and reviews for project deliverables per the HDR Quality Management Systems (QMS) requirements, processes, and procedures to deliver a world-class quality product to the client. Perform quality checks and/or reviews of projects from other teams on an as-needed basis.
• Collaborate with other engineers to develop and maintain standards.
• Work independently and mentor and train one or more EIT’s and Designers.
• Ability to execute multiple projects concurrently, collaborating with teams in different locations.
• Participate in project reviews as needed.
• Some travel may be required.

Preferred / Desired Qualifications

• Technical design experience with physical/outdoor design of high voltage electrical switchyard and substation projects of varying complexity.
• Familiarity with the latest NESC, NEC, IEEE, ANSI, ASCE-113 and other industry standards.
• Experience using industry standard design software, including PLS-Tower and Mathcad Prime, AutoCAD or MicroStation.
• Minimum 5 years of technical design experience with high voltage electrical switchyard and substation projects, including foundation and steel structural design.
• Working knowledge of the latest AISC-360, ASCE-7, ACI-318, and other industry standards.
• Experience using industry standard design software, including STAAD, RISA, MFAD, L-Pile, or equivalent.
• Self-starter with strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong conceptual, organizational, problem solving, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil or Structural Engineering.
• Professional engineering license recognized by the licensing board for the location of the position offered (Example: Professional Engineer (PE or P.Eng) license).
• Previous structural engineer experience.
• Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, RISA, Staad, SAP, Tedds, RAM, ETABS, SAFE or similar.
• Previous experience with an architectural/engineering or engineering consulting firm.
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must.

At HDR, we are committed to the principles of employment equity. We are an Aff... (full EEO statement here).

Job Posting: Nov 24, 2025