Senior Structural Engineer

STV is seeking a Senior Structural Engineer to join our Transportation department at our Chicago, IL office.

Your New Role

Join STV’s Illinois Transportation practice as a Senior Structural Engineer (S.E.) and help deliver bridge, highway, transit, and rail infrastructure across the Chicago region. Apply your Illinois Structural Engineer license and bridge design expertise to complex steel and concrete structures while collaborating with a multidisciplinary firm consistently ranked among ENR’s leading transportation, mass transit, and rail engineering providers.

The Opportunity

Lead and deliver structural engineering assignments for highway, transit, freight rail, and passenger rail bridges, along with retaining walls, culverts, foundations, and related transportation structures. Provide senior technical direction, coordinate multidisciplinary design teams, mentor engineers, and work directly with Illinois agencies and clients from planning and preliminary engineering through final design and construction.

Your Impact

• Lead structural engineering tasks and projects for highway, transit, freight rail, and passenger rail infrastructure from planning through construction.

• Develop and oversee designs for steel and concrete bridge superstructures, substructures, foundations, retaining walls, culverts, sign structures, and related assets.

• Prepare and review structural calculations, design memoranda, Bridge Condition Reports, feasibility studies, plans, specifications, quantities, and cost estimates.

• Perform structural evaluations, rehabilitation analyses, load ratings, and bridge inspections.

• Resolve complex design issues, conduct quality-control reviews, and confirm compliance with AASHTO LRFD, IDOT, Illinois Tollway, and applicable rail standards.

• Coordinate with roadway, rail, geotechnical, drainage, traffic, architecture, CADD, and construction teams to produce complete, constructible packages.

• Manage assigned scope, fees, schedules, staffing, deliverables, risk, and technical quality.

• Partner with IDOT, Illinois Tollway, CDOT, CTA, Metra, Amtrak, Class I railroads, municipalities, contractors, and project stakeholders.

• Support construction through shop-drawing reviews, RFI responses, field observations, and resolution of structural issues.

• Mentor junior and mid-level structural engineers and coordinate CADD and technical staff.

• Contribute technical approaches, scopes, fee estimates, proposals, interviews, and capture planning for bridge and rail pursuits.

• Advance design standards, reusable tools, technical innovation, and continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or Structural Engineering from an accredited program.

• Active Illinois Structural Engineer (S.E.) license.

• 10+ years of progressive structural or bridge engineering experience, including the design of steel and concrete transportation structures.

• Experience designing bridge superstructures, substructures, foundations, retaining walls, and culverts using AASHTO LRFD and applicable AISC and ACI standards.

• Familiarity with IDOT and Illinois Tollway standards, procedures, and design deliverables.

• Demonstrated ability to prepare and review structural calculations, plans, specifications, technical reports, quantities, and cost estimates.

• Experience leading design tasks, coordinating multidisciplinary work, performing quality reviews, and mentoring engineering staff.

• Proficiency with MicroStation and structural analysis/design software used for bridge engineering.

• Strong technical writing, communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability and willingness to attend client meetings and perform project-site and field visits as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Civil or Structural Engineering.

• Active Professional Engineer (P.E.) license and ability to obtain additional state registrations.

• Experience with CDOT, CTA, Metra, Amtrak, Class I railroads, municipalities, or other Illinois transportation clients.

• Rail bridge design experience and working knowledge of AREMA standards.

• Experience with bridge inspection, NBIS requirements, Bridge Condition Reports, load rating, rehabilitation design, or Illinois inspection Team Leader credentials.

• Project management experience involving scope, budget, schedule, staffing, client coordination, and financial performance.

• Experience supporting proposals, technical approaches, client interviews, and business development activities.

• Experience with OpenBridge Modeler or OpenBridge Designer, Mathcad, Midas Civil, LARSA 4D, CSiBridge, SAP2000, STAAD.Pro, LEAP Bridge, MDX, or comparable bridge design software.

• Construction-phase engineering, field inspection, and shop-drawing review experience.

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Compensation Range:

STV offers the following benefits • Health insurance, including an option with a Health Savings Account • Dental insurance • Vision insurance • Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare, Dependent Care and Transit and Parking where applicable) • Disability insurance • Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment • 401(k) Plan • Retirement Counseling • Employee Assistance Program • Paid Time Off • Paid Holidays • Back-Up Dependent Care • Parental Leave • Continuing Education Program • Professional Licensure and Society Memberships

STV is committed to paying all of its employees in a fair, equitable, and transparent manner. The listed pay range is STV’s good-faith salary estimate for this position. Please note that the final salary offered for this position may be outside of this published range based on many factors, including but not limited to geography, education, experience, and/or certifications.

Not sure this role is the perfect match? We encourage you to apply if STV’s work and values resonate with you. We know great candidates don’t always meet every qualification, and research shows women and people of color are less likely to apply unless they do. At STV, we believe strong talent comes from a wide range of backgrounds, and your skills and experience may align with this or another opportunity as we continue to grow.