Substation Structural Engineer

HDR, Inc.; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

HDR, Inc. is seeking a Substation Structural Engineer to join our Power Delivery Team in North Carolina and nearby offices. The role involves leading structural design for substation components, including foundations, steel framing, and layout integration, with partner engagement across disciplines.

You will use industry standards and software to develop drawings, perform checks, and support fabrication and commissioning. Travel may be required as projects progress.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil or Structural Engineering and PE license.
• Experience designing high‑voltage substation structures and foundations.
• Familiarity with industry standards and design software.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee structural tasks for substation components and foundations.
• Develop calculations and drawings for fabrication and submittals.
• Coordinate with engineers and designers across teams.
• Review specs, perform quality checks, and ensure HDR QMS compliance.
• Mentor EITs/CADD designers and support multiple projects.
• Travel as required to client sites or project offices.

Skills

High-voltage design

Team collaboration

Independent work

Strong communication

Problem solving

Local candidates preferred

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil or Structural Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

RISA

STAAD

ETABS

SAFE

RAM

Tedds

MS Office

Job description

Substation Structural Engineer

HDR is looking for a Substation Structural Engineer to join our Power Delivery Team. This position may be based out of our Charlotte, Raleigh, or Fort Mill (SC) office. The role supports HDR's mission to deliver safe, resilient, and high-quality infrastructure solutions for utility and energy clients. The engineer will work in a collaborative, multi‑discipline environment and contribute to projects across their full lifecycle from conceptual design through construction and commissioning support.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead, oversee, review, and/or 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.
• Lead, oversee, review, and/or execute foundation design tasks for substation structures, including drilled piers, spread footings, driven piles, and potentially other types, using industry standard software.
• Work with physical substation layout designs, plans, elevations/sections, details, and associated bills of materials.
• Prepare and/or review specifications for construction & materials.
• 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 transmission line civil/structural engineers to cross‑train and share resources.
• Collaborate with other engineers to develop and maintain standards.
• Work independently and direct, mentor, train, and/or supervise one or more EITs or CADD/Designers.
• Support multiple projects concurrently, utilizing teams in different locations.
• Assist with developing technical papers and/or presentations that showcase HDR's technical capabilities at industry conferences or other events.
• Participate in project reviews as needed.
• Some travel may be required.

Preferred 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 Risa 3D, RisaFoundation, L-Pile, MFAD, 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.
• 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; local candidates are preferred.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil or Structural Engineering.
• Requires 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.