Staff Engineer

Staff Engineer

At UES, we're a team of more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, geologists, inspectors, technicians, and drillers united by a shared purpose—to make a meaningful impact in the communities we serve. As a national leader in geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, and materials testing and inspection, we collaborate on transformative projects across transportation, energy, water, healthcare, and more.

Position Overview

As a Staff Engineer, you will be responsible for planning, designing, and directing engineering testing projects such as predevelopment, geotechnical design, and when necessary, civil design support.

Responsibilities

• Performs or monitors dynamic load tests or PDA (Pile Driving Analyzer) on concrete or steel piles to evaluate the shaft integrity, driving stresses, and hammer energy in the field.
• Strains transducers and accelerometers are connected to the pilings, and a full array of parameters including capacity, stresses, pile, integrity, hammer energy, and stroke height are monitored for every blow during installation.
• Utilizes data to perform various forms of analyses to determine specific soil parameters (such as quake and damping values) with signal matching software and wave equation software to model the hammer /soil interface and create driving criteria for remaining production piles.
• Provides lateral earth pressure design parameters to aid the structural engineer in the design of retaining earth structures
• Ensures that all work is completed in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations
• Attends project meetings with clients to guarantee project specifications are being met
• Completes daily time and labor reports in accordance with company policy
• Turns in required paperwork daily
• Must be flexible to changing schedules and hours to support business needs.
• Overnight and weekend schedules may be necessary to support business needs
• Follows all company safety procedures and policies
• Other duties may be assigned

Qualifications

• Engineer In Training (E.I.T) Certification
• Ability to earn P.E. (Professional Engineer)
• Bachelor's degree (B.S.) in civil, geotechnical, or environmental engineering from a four-year college or university; one to two years of related experience and/or training
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for documenting findings and working with project teams.
• Basic understanding of construction methods, site safety, and environmental regulations is helpful.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Willingness to work in both field and office environments and travel to project sites as needed.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team and demonstrate a proactive, collaborative mindset.

Travel Requirements

This position requires extensive travel, approximately up to 70% of the time, in support of business objectives and client engagements. Travel may be both scheduled and on short notice, depending on project needs. Destinations typically include job sites, field locations, or regional offices, where work may be conducted in outdoor or operational environments. Adherence to all company safety protocols and use of PPE is required during travel and on-site work

Physical Demands & Work Environment

• Work is primarily conducted outdoors with exposure to outdoor conditions, including:
• Sites that may not be accessible by vehicle, requiring travel on foot through wetlands, swamps, grasslands, construction zones, and other uneven or rugged terrain with natural and man-made obstacles such as sand, brush, and debris.
• Moderate to loud noise levels due to lab equipment, field operations, and construction environments.
• Exposure to dirt, dust, chemicals, sun, heat, humidity, and varying weather conditions as part of field sample collection and testing.
• Physical requirements include:
• Ability to lift and carry between 35 and 75 lbs. over distances up to 75 feet, involving regular repetitive motion.
• Ability to stand, walk, drive, and operate laboratory and field equipment for extended periods.
• Ability to bend, twist, reach, stoop, pull, kneel, climb, balance, lift, carry, and push as required for laboratory and fieldwork.
• Ability to use your senses to see (including close, distant, and peripheral vison, depth vision, and ability to focus) smell, hear, touch (use hands to reach climb or balance, crouch, stoop, crawl, kneel and sit).
• Ability to communicate effectively through verbal and written means in a lab and field environment, often requiring the use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).

EEO Statement

UES is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is proud to recruit the most qualified candidates. Please see our full EEO Statement at the bottom of the page here