Lead Structural Engineer 1 - Nuclear

Sargent & Lundy•Chicago, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a lead design engineering position that offers a variety of interesting and challenging opportunities in structural engineering and will provide an excellent opportunity to advance your career. You will guide a team of structural engineers, interface with engineers from other disciplines, and interface directly with clients. You will have the opportunity to lead and mentor a structural engineering team on engineering projects for new nuclear facilities and upgrades and modifications to nuclear power plants. This position will offer you the ability to directly apply your knowledge of materials, structural analysis, structural steel design, and reinforced concrete design. As a member of an engineering and design team, you will work on a wide range of projects for various clients. You will prepare, review, and provide guidance for design calculations, develop specifications, and work with designers for drawing development. You will prepare, review, or guide the structural analysis and design of steel frames, connections, concrete members, and foundations. There is the potential for you to travel to client and vendor offices for design reviews and to plant site locations for construction coordination and field verification of designs. In this role, you are expected to lead others in taking engineering problems from issue to solution by setting expectations for using data and modern tools such as automation and AI to improve workflows, reduce rework, and deliver cost-effective designs. Leaders in these roles often direct automation and process-improvement work, for example, how teams automate calculations, summarize technical documents, or generate design documentation and guiding when and how AI or agentic AI tools are used while ensuring results are checked.

Requirements

BSCE with emphasis in Structural Engineering from an ABET-accredited program
Ten or more years of experience working as a member of a project team in the design and analysis of industrial / heavy commercial or nuclear facility structures
Proficiency with structural analysis software such as STAAD, SAP2000, SAFE, STRUDL, or ANSYS
Proficiency with design codes and standards such as ASCE 7, AISC, and ACI
Good written and verbal communication skills
PE or SE license

Nice To Haves

MSCE degree
On site construction support experience
Overseeing engineers who program or script (e.g., Python, MATLAB, advanced Excel) to automate engineering tasks, with review of automated outputs
Additional learning, such as a minor, certificate, or other experience in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, or related fields that enables effective oversight of automation and agentic AI-enabled engineering workflows

Responsibilities

Guide a team of structural engineers
Interface with engineers from other disciplines
Interface directly with clients
Lead and mentor a structural engineering team on engineering projects for new nuclear facilities and upgrades and modifications to nuclear power plants
Directly apply knowledge of materials, structural analysis, structural steel design, and reinforced concrete design
Prepare, review, and provide guidance for design calculations
Develop specifications
Work with designers for drawing development
Prepare, review, or guide the structural analysis and design of steel frames, connections, concrete members, and foundations
Travel to client and vendor offices for design reviews and to plant site locations for construction coordination and field verification of designs
Lead others in taking engineering problems from issue to solution by setting expectations for using data and modern tools such as automation and AI to improve workflows, reduce rework, and deliver cost-effective designs
Direct automation and process-improvement work (e.g., how teams automate calculations, summarize technical documents, or generate design documentation)
Guide when and how AI or agentic AI tools are used while ensuring results are checked