Staff Design Associate - Geostructures

Bunnell-Lammons Engineering • Charlotte, NC

4d

About The Position

BLE's Geostructures team is growing. We are seeking a staff associate to support the delivery of Geostructural services with typical day-to-day activities consisting primarily of preliminary Geostructural design, Geostructural plan development, and limited construction oversight. The ideal candidate is a proactive engineer who communicates well, collaborates effectively, and is eager to grow within a dynamic, multidisciplinary team.

Requirements

• Associate's degree in Civil Engineering Geotechnical / Structural emphasis preferred or a closely related field of study from an ABET-accredited institution.
• 0-2 years of progressively responsible professional experience in relevant fields
• Currently in progress towards obtaining Engineer-in-Training (EIT)
• Required to travel regularly to local and regional project sites (typically within South Carolina and surrounding states) , potentially including overnight stays and perform extensive fieldwork under varying environmental conditions, including adverse weather, uneven terrain, and potentially hazardous environments, while adhering strictly to health and safety protocols.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Attention to detail in drawings and calculations.
• Eagerness to learn Geostructural design principles and software tools (e.g., LPile, GROUP, RSPile, SNAP-2, DeepEx, GEO5).
• Professional, dependable, and curious.
• Highly organized with a commitment to meeting deadlines and delivering value.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a drive to take initiative, identify opportunities, and help grow a specialized service line within a dynamic, multidisciplinary firm.

Responsibilities

• Observe and participate in team discussions to understand project workflows.
• Receive mentoring from senior engineers on design, drafting, and field procedures.
• Develop foundational skills in collaborative engineering environments.
• Support project managers in preparing client communications and deliverables.
• Attend client meetings with supervision to build communication awareness.
• Maintain professionalism in all correspondence and interactions.
• Incorporate redlines and edits from senior reviewers.
• Learn BLE's QA/QC process through internal document review exercises.
• Support basic document checks and calculation verifications.
• Track personal task progress and provide status updates to team leads.
• Learn how project milestones are defined and monitored.
• Assist in organizing drawing packages and file systems.
• Learn applicable design codes and construction safety standards.
• Identify obvious risks during site visits and escalate to supervisors.
• Coordinate with drafters and geotechnical staff under guidance.
• Attend internal coordination meetings to understand multidisciplinary roles.
• Help integrate boring logs and testing data into design files.
• Observe interactions with specialty contractors and design team clients.
• Assist in organizing documentation from specialty contractors and design team clients.
• Learn standard contract and submittal procedures.
• Contribute to resumes and team qualifications packets.
• Maintain organized records of relevant project experience for future pursuits.
• Support proposal formatting and simple data entry.
• Log time accurately in the project tracking system.
• Understand basic metrics like billable rate and utilization.
• Participate in debriefs to learn from completed projects.

Benefits

• Medical/Vision/Dental
• 401(K) with partial company matching
• Life Insurance
• Short/long term disability
• Paid vacation
• Paid sick leave
• Eight (8) paid holidays
• Educational re-imbursement programs (conditions apply)
• Vehicle allowance (conditions apply)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree