Associate Structural Engineer

Your next role

You will participate in the development and championing of the team's strategy and plans to achieve the team's business targets and brand goals while supporting the overall long-term strategy, growth, and pipeline development of multi discipline engineering work for Buro Happold within the region through customer-focused work winning. You will also bring exceptional technical leadership, support and mentoring to the wider team with a dynamic and determined commitment to project delivery and commercial performance while maintaining the highest standards of technical quality.

Your key

Duties

Develop the reputation of Buro Happold structural engineering as the best in class across a range of size and project types in region.

Develop project proposals and fee estimates for all project types and ensure projects are delivered profitably, on schedule, and within scope and budget.

Set a strong example of client care and general consultancy and support the regional team to do the same.

Represent Buro Happold at design team meetings, both internally and externally, providing project leadership and taking responsibility for sustained and productive client relationships across the region.

Participate in project technical/quality reviews of specifications, reports and drawings

Manage relationships with internal and external clients, Engineers and other stakeholders. Utilizing opportunities to further work, win new commissions and grow the team.

Represent Buro Happold externally by engaging in local industry groups or events that align with the LA Structures team's goals.

Your

Skills and experience

As an established Structural Engineer, we expect that you will be able to demonstrate:

10+ years of significant experience leading structural and multi-disciplinary projects or teams across a variety of sectors

Master's Degree

Licensed as PE and / or SE

Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders including senior management, clients, and company-wide staff

Confident, proactive character, with a track record of taking the lead

Proven track record of client relationship management and project delivery

Strong interest in work-winning

Candidates are encouraged to apply even if they don't meet all

Requirements

Job description

Job insights Screening questions Candidate pipeline Avoid duplicate Remove from worklist

Account manager information:

Name: Nate Bagby

Email: nate.bagby@the company.com

Phone: 855-573-3545 ext 230

Must Have

10+ years of significant experience leading structural and multi-disciplinary projects or teams across a variety of sectors

Master's Degree

Licensed as PE and / or SE

Ability to elicit cooperation from a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders including senior management, clients, and company-wide staff

Confident, proactive character, with a track record of taking the lead

Proven track record of client relationship management and project delivery

Strong interest in work-winning

Candidates are encouraged to apply even if they don't meet all

Requirements

What we offer

This will be determined based on factors such as geographic location, skills, education, and/or experience

Generous benefits

Package

Annual discretionary bonus

Generous PTO (4 weeks) in addition to 10 paid holidays

401k with company match

Hybrid working & summer hours

Reimbursement for certain professional licenses and associated renewals and exam fees

Connection to global network of experts on the forefront of industry initiatives

Access to wide range of learning and development opportunities

Be a part of supporting our diverse company culture through open engagement with our Young Employees Forum, Diversity and Inclusion Forum, Buro Happold Women's Network, and/or our Black at Buro Happold Employee Resource Groups

[BETA]

AI-generated to support your search—please use them as guidance and apply your own best judgment when making decisions.

Screening Criterion Relevance What to look for when Sourcing/Screening

Industry & Domain Knowledge Medium - Domain: Prior experience in structural engineering consulting, leading multidisciplinary projects or teams, client/contractor coordination, technical quality review, and project delivery-ideally including construction-phase/site representation. Adjacent architecture/engineering, construction management, or other building-design environments may be acceptable if structural leadership is demonstrated. - Industry: Experience across multiple built-environment sectors is useful, but no single sector is required; candidates from commercial, institutional, residential, infrastructure, or other structural engineering practices could qualify. - Market: Los Angeles or California market familiarity is a minor advantage for client relationships and local industry engagement, but the JD does not require California-specific regulations, licensing, or an established local relationship book.

Rationale

Company Size Background Low - Prior experience in a multidisciplinary structural engineering consultancy with regional or multi-office coordination is helpful, but not a strict company-size requirement. - Acceptable substitutes include leadership of complex, multi-disciplinary projects and teams at a smaller firm, public agency, contractor, or other organization with comparable stakeholder and delivery complexity. - Verify evidence of coordinating senior clients, design teams, contractors, and internal stakeholders; managing proposals, fees, schedules, budgets, quality reviews, and project delivery.

Rationale

Key Responsibilities & Years of Experience High - 10+ years of substantial experience leading structural engineering and multidisciplinary projects or teams across varied building or infrastructure sectors, with responsibility for project execution and team leadership. - Prior delivery of structural engineering commissions from proposal and fee development through design coordination, technical/quality review, and completion on schedule, within scope, budget, and commercial targets. - Demonstrated experience leading client and design-team relationships, representing the structural discipline in project meetings, coordinating contractors and stakeholders, developing repeat business or new commissions, and mentoring or guiding engineering staff.

Rationale

Career Stability Medium - Stable enough means demonstrating several multi-year tenures, typically about 3+ years in recent permanent roles, with sustained ownership of complex structural projects, client relationships, teams, and delivery outcomes. - Watch for repeated short stays of roughly 12-24 months without clear progression, completed project impact, or credible explanations; assess whether departures occurred before meaningful project or client-cycle ownership. - Accept mitigators such as promotions, expanded responsibilities, strategic moves between respected AEC firms, layoffs, project cancellations, or a clear progression toward technical, client-development, and team-leadership responsibility.

Rationale

Must-have skills High - Structural engineering design judgment and technical quality review across varied project types and multidisciplinary interfaces - Technical/project leadership, including guiding engineering teams and coordinating complex stakeholder requirements - Client relationship management and work-winning/business-development capability, including developing proposals and supporting new commissions

Rationale

Educational

Qualifications

Medium - Master's degree in engineering is the stated educational preference for this senior structural-engineering role. - A bachelor's degree in engineering combined with an active PE and/or SE license, 10+ years of relevant leadership experience, and strong project-delivery credentials is a practical substitute for the Master's requirement. - The non-negotiable qualification is the applicable professional licensure and engineering education foundation, not necessarily the graduate degree itself.

Rationale

Software Tools and Technology Not Relevant Software/tool proficiency should not be a primary screening filter for this role.

Rationale

Certifications & Licenses High - Verify an active Professional Engineer (PE) and/or Structural Engineer (SE) license, as explicitly required by the role. - Confirm the issuing jurisdiction and current license status; screen for a documented path to obtaining the applicable California authorization only if the employer accepts eligibility rather than an active license.

Rationale

Managerial Experience Not Relevant - Do not use prior formal people-management experience as a screening filter for this role; the JD does not require direct reports, hiring, performance management, staffing, or employee-retention accountability. - Evaluate structural/project leadership, client relationship management, technical quality, mentoring, and work-winning separately. - Leading projects or teams, coordinating stakeholders, and mentoring engineers should not be treated as substitutes for formal people management.

Rationale

Preference for Local Candidate Medium - Onsite role in Downtown Los Angeles, CA 90071; regular in-person presence is expected, with client/design-team meetings and regional industry engagement. - Practical search zone: Downtown and central Los Angeles, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, West Hollywood, Culver City, and nearby South Bay communities, generally targeting a commute of about 30-60 minutes each way; transit-accessible candidates may reasonably extend toward cities connected to Downtown LA by Metro or Metrolink. - Relocation is feasible but not frictionless: this is a permanent, relatively high-compensation role, but no relocation assistance is offered. Non-local candidates should have a concrete relocation plan and be prepared for an onsite commute rather than relying on remote work.

Rationale