Structural Engineer Resume Examples & Templates for 2025
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 6% employment growth for civil and structural engineers through 2033, with approximately 22,900 annual openings driven by infrastructure investment and retirements across the profession (BLS, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024). Licensed structural engineers command a significant premium: ASCE's 2024 Salary Survey reports a $135,000 median primary income for civil engineering disciplines, with PE holders earning roughly $42,000 more per year than unlicensed peers. Whether you are an EIT completing your first year of calculations or a Principal Engineer stamping drawings on seismic-critical projects, a resume built around quantified structural achievements and ATS-friendly formatting separates candidates who get interviews from those who get filtered out.
Table of Contents
- Why This Role Matters
- Entry-Level Structural Engineer Resume Example
- Mid-Level Structural Engineer Resume Example
- Senior / Principal Structural Engineer Resume Example
- Key Skills & ATS Keywords
- Professional Summary Examples
- Common Mistakes on Structural Engineer Resumes
- ATS Optimization Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Citations & Sources
Why This Role Matters
Structural engineers safeguard every occupied building, bridge, and critical facility against gravity, wind, seismic, and blast loads. The discipline sits at the intersection of physics, materials science, and building code interpretation, and errors carry consequences measured in lives rather than dollars. The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2021 Infrastructure Report Card assigned U.S. infrastructure a cumulative grade of C-, identifying $2.59 trillion in deferred maintenance needs. Structural engineers are central to the design teams addressing that deficit, from seismic retrofits on aging highway bridges to new data center campuses requiring column-free spans exceeding 80 feet. The profession's economic trajectory reflects this demand. BLS data shows a median annual wage of $99,590 for civil engineers (SOC 17-2051), though structural specialists with PE or SE licensure consistently report higher compensation. ASCE's 2024 Salary Survey found that members with a Professional Engineer license earn a median of approximately $140,000 annually. Entry-level engineers start near $76,000, with rapid salary acceleration tied to licensure milestones and project leadership. Deloitte's 2026 Engineering & Construction Industry Outlook projects a modest recovery in structures investment (+1.8% growth) after a 2025 dip, with data center and energy infrastructure projects creating sustained demand for structural talent. Hiring managers at firms like Thornton Tomasetti, Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM), Walter P Moore, and mid-market regional practices consistently report that qualified structural engineers remain difficult to recruit. The E&C industry projects a need for 499,000 new workers by 2026 according to Deloitte, up from 439,000 in 2025. For job seekers, this means a well-constructed resume highlighting licensure status, software proficiency, code expertise, and quantified project outcomes translates directly into interview volume and competing offers.
Entry-Level Structural Engineer Resume Example
**Maya R. Castillo, EIT** Houston, TX 77056 | (713) 555-0194 | [email protected] | linkedin.com/in/mayacastillo-eit
Professional Summary
Structural Engineer-in-Training with 1.5 years of experience in steel and concrete design for commercial and industrial facilities. Performed gravity and lateral analysis on 6 projects totaling $38M in construction value using ETABS and RAM Structural System under direct PE supervision at Walter P Moore. Passed the FE exam on the first attempt and hold OSHA 30-Hour Construction Safety certification. Seeking a staff engineer role where I can progress toward PE licensure while contributing to complex lateral system design.
Education
**Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (Structural Concentration)** University of Texas at Austin | May 2023 | GPA: 3.72/4.00 - Senior Capstone: Designed a 4-story steel moment-frame office building (42,000 SF) per AISC 360 and ASCE 7-22 load combinations - ASCE Student Chapter, Structural Engineering Institute Member - Dean's List: 6 of 8 semesters
Certifications & Licensure
- **Engineer-in-Training (EIT)** — Texas Board of Professional Engineers, License #142857, 2023
- **OSHA 30-Hour Construction Safety** — 2023
- **ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician, Grade I** — American Concrete Institute, 2024
Technical Skills
| Category | Proficiencies |
|---|---|
| Analysis Software | ETABS v21, RAM Structural System, RISA-3D, SAP2000 |
| Drafting/BIM | Revit Structure 2024, AutoCAD 2024, Bluebeam Revu |
| Design Codes | AISC 360/341, ACI 318-19, ASCE 7-22, IBC 2021, TMS 402 |
| Materials | Structural steel (wide flange, HSS, angles), reinforced concrete, CMU |
| Other | Mathcad, Excel VBA for calculation automation, Tekla Tedds |
| --- | |
| ### Professional Experience | |
| **Staff Structural Engineer (EIT)** | |
| Walter P Moore | Houston, TX |
| - Performed gravity and lateral load analysis on 4 tilt-wall warehouse structures (18,000--62,000 SF each) using RAM Structural System, delivering complete calculation packages within 2 weeks of assignment per project | |
| - Designed steel connections (shear tabs, extended end plates, gusset plates) for a 3-story, $14M medical office building, producing 47 connection detail sheets checked by the project PE | |
| - Modeled a 5-story concrete moment-frame parking garage (320,000 SF, 1,200 spaces) in ETABS, identifying a 12% overstress in two transfer beams that led to a revised framing layout saving $180K in concrete volume | |
| - Prepared 85% of the construction document set (22 sheets of S-series drawings) for a $9M retail development using Revit Structure, coordinating 14 RFIs with the MEP team during construction administration | |
| - Conducted wind load calculations per ASCE 7-22 Chapter 26-30 for a 140-foot industrial stack, accounting for vortex shedding and dynamic amplification | |
| - Assisted with field observations on 3 active construction sites, documenting rebar placement, anchor bolt surveys, and concrete pour inspections against approved shop drawings | |
| **Structural Engineering Intern** | |
| Kiewit Engineering Group | Omaha, NE |
| - Developed Excel-based spreadsheets automating AISC steel beam and column checks for 8 standard loading conditions, reducing manual calculation time by 35% for the bridge group | |
| - Drafted 12 sheets of reinforced concrete retaining wall details in AutoCAD for a $6.2M highway interchange project | |
| - Reviewed 19 sets of structural steel shop drawings against contract documents, flagging 7 discrepancies in connection geometry before fabrication | |
| --- | |
| ### Professional Affiliations | |
| - American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), Associate Member | |
| - Structural Engineers Association of Texas (SEAoT) | |
| - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Structural Engineering Institute | |
| --- | |
| ## Mid-Level Structural Engineer Resume Example | |
| **James T. Nakamura, PE** | |
| Denver, CO 80202 | (720) 555-0387 |
| --- | |
| ### Professional Summary | |
| Licensed Professional Engineer with 6 years of structural design experience spanning healthcare, higher education, and mixed-use commercial projects from $5M to $85M in construction value. Led structural design on 14 projects at Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers, managing calculation packages, coordinating with architects at three concurrent firms, and mentoring 2 junior EITs. Proficient in ETABS, SAP2000, RISA-3D, and Revit Structure with deep expertise in steel moment-frame and braced-frame lateral systems. Delivered all 14 projects on schedule with zero structural RFIs rejected during construction. | |
| --- | |
| ### Education | |
| **Master of Science in Structural Engineering** | |
| University of Colorado Boulder | December 2020 |
| - Thesis: "Performance-Based Seismic Design of Steel Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames Under MCE-Level Ground Motions" | |
| - Graduate Research Assistant, Structural Dynamics Lab | |
| **Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering** | |
| Colorado School of Mines | May 2018 |
| - Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society | |
| --- | |
| ### Certifications & Licensure | |
| - **Professional Engineer (PE), Civil: Structural** — Colorado DORA, License #PE.0048721, 2022 | |
| - **Professional Engineer (PE), Civil: Structural** — Wyoming, Comity, 2023 | |
| - **LEED AP BD+C** — U.S. Green Building Council, 2021 | |
| - **Engineer-in-Training (EIT)** — Colorado, 2018 | |
| --- | |
| ### Technical Skills | |
| Category | Proficiencies |
| ---------- | -------------- |
| Analysis Software | ETABS v21, SAP2000 v24, RISA-3D v20, RAM Structural System, SAFE |
| Drafting/BIM | Revit Structure 2024, AutoCAD, Navisworks, Bluebeam Revu |
| Design Codes | AISC 360-22/341-22, ACI 318-19, ASCE 7-22, IBC 2021, ACI 530/TMS 402 |
| Specialty | Seismic design (SDC D-F), performance-based design, progressive collapse analysis |
| Materials | Structural steel, reinforced/post-tensioned concrete, masonry, cold-formed steel, timber |
| Other | ADAPT-PT (post-tension), Mathcad Prime, Hilti PROFIS Anchor, Excel VBA |
| --- | |
| ### Professional Experience | |
| **Project Structural Engineer (PE)** | |
| Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers | Lakewood, CO |
| - Led structural design for a 6-story, 210,000 SF mixed-use development ($62M construction value) featuring steel buckling-restrained braced frames, post-tensioned concrete podium, and a transfer level at L2; coordinated with Stantec Architecture and 4 MEP subconsultants through 100% CD phase | |
| - Designed the lateral force-resisting system for a $85M, 280-bed hospital expansion (Seismic Design Category D) using special steel moment frames, producing a 340-page calculation package reviewed and stamped within 3 weeks | |
| - Managed structural scope on a $28M university science building (78,000 SF) with 40-foot clear-span laboratory bays, specifying W36 composite steel beams and vibration-sensitive floor systems meeting AISC Design Guide 11 criteria (<0.5% g at 8 Hz) | |
| - Produced complete structural construction document sets (S-series) for 14 projects, averaging 45 sheets per project, with zero structural RFIs rejected by the contractor across all 14 projects | |
| - Mentored 2 EIT engineers through their first 18 months, conducting weekly code-review sessions on AISC connection design and ASCE 7 seismic load paths; both passed the PE exam on their first attempt | |
| - Performed nonlinear pushover analysis in ETABS for a $17M seismic retrofit of a 1960s-era concrete parking structure, identifying 23 deficient column lap splices and designing FRP wrap remediation that extended the structure's service life by 30 years | |
| - Reduced structural steel tonnage by 8% ($340K savings) on a 4-story office building by optimizing wide-flange sizes through iterative RISA-3D modeling and composite deck design | |
| **Staff Structural Engineer (EIT)** | |
| AECOM | Denver, CO |
| - Performed structural analysis for 6 federal facility projects ($4M--$22M) under GSA guidelines and UFC progressive collapse criteria, using SAP2000 for alternate load path analysis | |
| - Designed reinforced concrete foundations (spread footings, drilled shafts, mat foundations) for a $22M VA Medical Center addition, processing 14 geotechnical boring logs to determine allowable bearing pressures | |
| - Prepared 30% and 60% structural drawing packages for 3 Department of Defense barracks renovation projects, coordinating structural steel reinforcement with existing CMU bearing walls | |
| - Authored 8 structural condition assessment reports for existing federal buildings, performing field measurements and destructive/non-destructive testing (Schmidt hammer, GPR rebar scanning) | |
| --- | |
| ### Selected Projects | |
| Project | Value |
| --------- | ------- |
| UCHealth Greeley Hospital Expansion | $85M |
| Riverwalk Mixed-Use Tower | $62M |
| CSU Chemistry Building | $28M |
| 1960s Parking Garage Retrofit | $17M |
| GSA Federal Courthouse Annex | $22M |
| --- | |
| ### Professional Affiliations | |
| - Structural Engineers Association of Colorado (SEAoC), Technical Committee Member | |
| - American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), Full Member | |
| - American Concrete Institute (ACI), Member | |
| - American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Structural Engineering Institute | |
| --- | |
| ## Senior / Principal Structural Engineer Resume Example | |
| **Dr. Karen L. Whitfield, PE, SE, LEED AP** | |
| San Francisco, CA 94105 | (415) 555-0629 |
| --- | |
| ### Professional Summary | |
| Principal Structural Engineer with 16 years of experience leading the design of high-rise, long-span, and seismically critical structures across the western United States. Stamped construction documents on 40+ projects exceeding $2.1B in aggregate construction value as a licensed PE in 5 states and SE in California and Washington. Built and managed a 12-person structural team at Degenkolb Engineers, growing the office's annual revenue from $4.2M to $7.8M over 4 years. Expert in performance-based seismic design per ASCE 41-17 and PEER TBI guidelines, with published research in ASCE's Journal of Structural Engineering. Seeking a Vice President or Director of Structural Engineering role at a firm committed to resilience-based design and mentorship of the next generation of licensed engineers. | |
| --- | |
| ### Education | |
| **Doctor of Philosophy in Structural Engineering** | |
| Stanford University | June 2012 |
| - Dissertation: "Collapse Performance Assessment of Tall Steel Buildings Under Long-Duration Subduction Zone Earthquakes" | |
| - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Recipient | |
| **Master of Science in Structural Engineering** | |
| Stanford University | June 2010 |
| **Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering** | |
| University of California, Berkeley | May 2008 |
| - Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society, President | |
| --- | |
| ### Certifications & Licensure | |
| - **Structural Engineer (SE)** — California BPELSG, License #S6284, 2016 | |
| - **Structural Engineer (SE)** — Washington State, License #52417, 2018 | |
| - **Professional Engineer (PE), Civil** — California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado | |
| - **LEED AP BD+C** — U.S. Green Building Council, 2014 | |
| - **NCEES Record Holder** — Facilitating comity licensure | |
| --- | |
| ### Technical Skills | |
| Category | Proficiencies |
| ---------- | -------------- |
| Analysis Software | ETABS v21, SAP2000 v24, PERFORM-3D, OpenSees, RISA-3D, SAFE, CSI SAFE |
| Nonlinear Analysis | Nonlinear response history analysis (NLRHA), pushover, incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) |
| Drafting/BIM | Revit Structure 2024, AutoCAD, Tekla Structures, Navisworks |
| Design Codes | AISC 360/341/358, ACI 318, ASCE 7-22, ASCE 41-17, IBC 2021, CBC 2022, PEER TBI, LATBSDC |
| Specialty | Performance-based seismic design (PBSD), base isolation, viscous dampers, mass timber/CLT, progressive collapse |
| Project Delivery | Design-build, IPD, CM at-risk, bridging documents |
| Leadership | P&L management, business development, client relationship management, expert witness testimony |
| --- | |
| ### Professional Experience | |
| **Principal / Associate** | |
| Degenkolb Engineers | San Francisco, CA |
| - Direct a 12-person structural engineering team (4 PEs, 3 EITs, 3 BIM technicians, 2 project coordinators), managing $7.8M in annual billings across healthcare, higher education, and mixed-use high-rise projects | |
| - Served as Structural Engineer of Record (SEOR) on a 42-story residential tower ($320M, San Francisco) featuring a dual system of special reinforced concrete shear walls and outrigger trusses, performing NLRHA per PEER TBI guidelines with 11 site-specific ground motion pairs in PERFORM-3D | |
| - Led performance-based seismic design for a $185M, 520-bed hospital replacement facility (OSHPD 1/SPC-4D) in Sacramento, designing base isolation with 34 triple-friction pendulum bearings achieving a target MCE displacement of 28 inches and reducing superstructure forces by 65% | |
| - Stamped structural construction documents for a $95M, 8-story mass timber office building (CLT floor panels, glulam columns, steel link beams) — the tallest mass timber structure in Northern California at the time of completion, achieving a 40% reduction in embodied carbon compared to a conventional steel-frame baseline | |
| - Grew the San Francisco office from $4.2M to $7.8M in annual revenue (86% increase over 4 years) by winning 9 competitive proposals including 3 OSHPD healthcare projects and 2 UC system capital projects | |
| - Delivered expert witness testimony on 2 construction defect cases involving post-tensioned concrete slab cracking and steel moment-connection weld deficiencies, preparing 120+ pages of forensic analysis reports | |
| - Authored the firm's seismic peer review practice, completing 7 independent peer reviews for projects designed by other firms per LATBSDC and San Francisco AB-083 requirements | |
| - Reduced average project delivery time by 15% by implementing a standardized BIM-to-analysis workflow linking Revit Structure to ETABS, eliminating redundant model creation for lateral analysis | |
| **Senior Structural Engineer (PE, SE)** | |
| Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) | San Francisco, CA |
| - Served as project engineer on a 55-story, $480M mixed-use tower in San Francisco, designing the concrete core wall lateral system and coordinating gravity framing for 420,000 SF of residential and 85,000 SF of commercial space | |
| - Performed site-specific seismic hazard analysis and NLRHA for 3 high-rise projects per PEER TBI, managing ground motion selection and spectral matching for a total of 33 ground motion pairs across all three projects | |
| - Designed a signature long-span steel canopy structure (180-foot clear span, 3D curved geometry) for a $45M transit station, using SAP2000 cable-element modeling to resolve non-convergent catenary behavior under asymmetric snow loads | |
| - Mentored 5 junior engineers through the PE/SE exam preparation process; 4 of 5 passed on their first attempt | |
| - Represented SOM on 3 SEAONC technical committees, contributing to the development of guidelines for tall building wind design in the San Francisco Bay Area | |
| **Structural Engineer (EIT → PE)** | |
| Thornton Tomasetti | Los Angeles, CA |
| - Contributed to structural design for a 72-story supertall residential tower ($1.1B) in downtown Los Angeles, performing wind tunnel data integration and outrigger optimization using ETABS | |
| - Designed reinforced concrete mat foundations (8-foot-thick, 22,000 SF) for a 38-story hotel tower, coordinating with the geotechnical engineer on soil-structure interaction modeling | |
| - Obtained PE licensure in California (2014) after completing 2 years of post-doctoral structural design experience under direct SE supervision | |
| --- | |
| ### Selected Projects | |
| Project | Value |
| --------- | ------- |
| 42-Story Residential Tower, SF | $320M |
| Regional Medical Center Replacement | $185M |
| Mass Timber Office Building, Oakland | $95M |
| 55-Story Mixed-Use Tower, SF | $480M |
| Supertall Residential (72-story), LA | $1.1B |
| Transit Station Canopy | $45M |
| --- | |
| ### Publications & Presentations | |
| - Whitfield, K.L., & Deierlein, G.G. (2013). "Collapse Risk Assessment of Tall Steel Buildings Under Long-Duration Ground Motions." *ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering*, 139(12), 2133-2142. | |
| - Whitfield, K.L. (2020). "Practical Implementation of PEER TBI for Mid-Rise Hospitals." *SEAOC Convention Proceedings*, Palm Springs, CA. | |
| - Whitfield, K.L. (2022). "Mass Timber Lateral Systems: Lessons from a 8-Story Office Building." *Structures Congress*, Atlanta, GA. | |
| --- | |
| ### Professional Affiliations | |
| - Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC), Board of Directors (2021--Present) | |
| - National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA), SE Licensure Committee | |
| - American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), Full Member | |
| - American Concrete Institute (ACI), Member | |
| - Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Member | |
| --- | |
| ## Key Skills & ATS Keywords | |
| Applicant tracking systems at engineering firms parse resumes for specific technical terminology. Include the following keywords where they authentically reflect your experience: | |
| ### Structural Analysis & Design | |
| - Structural analysis | |
| - Structural design | |
| - Gravity load design | |
| - Lateral load analysis | |
| - Seismic design | |
| - Wind load analysis | |
| - Performance-based seismic design (PBSD) | |
| - Progressive collapse analysis | |
| - Foundation design | |
| - Connection design | |
| ### Software & Tools | |
| - ETABS | |
| - SAP2000 | |
| - RISA-3D | |
| - RAM Structural System | |
| - PERFORM-3D | |
| - SAFE (CSI) | |
| - Revit Structure | |
| - AutoCAD | |
| - Tekla Structures | |
| - Navisworks | |
| - Bluebeam Revu | |
| - Mathcad / Mathcad Prime | |
| - ADAPT-PT (post-tensioning) | |
| - Hilti PROFIS Anchor | |
| - OpenSees | |
| ### Design Codes & Standards | |
| - AISC 360 (Steel Construction) | |
| - AISC 341 (Seismic Steel) | |
| - AISC 358 (Prequalified Connections) | |
| - ACI 318 (Concrete) | |
| - ASCE 7 (Loads) | |
| - ASCE 41 (Seismic Rehabilitation) | |
| - IBC (International Building Code) | |
| - TMS 402 (Masonry) | |
| - NDS (Timber) | |
| - PEER TBI (Tall Buildings Initiative) | |
| - LATBSDC (Los Angeles Tall Building Guidelines) | |
| - AWS D1.1 (Structural Welding) | |
| ### Materials & Systems | |
| - Structural steel design | |
| - Reinforced concrete design | |
| - Post-tensioned concrete | |
| - Prestressed concrete | |
| - Cold-formed steel | |
| - Masonry design (CMU) | |
| - Mass timber / CLT | |
| - Base isolation | |
| - Buckling-restrained braced frames (BRBF) | |
| - Special moment frames (SMF) | |
| - Steel concentrically braced frames (SCBF) | |
| - Concrete shear walls | |
| --- | |
| ## Professional Summary Examples | |
| **Example 1 — Entry-Level / EIT Focus:** | |
| Structural Engineer-in-Training with a Master's degree from Virginia Tech and 1 year of post-graduate experience designing steel and concrete structures for healthcare and commercial projects totaling $22M in construction value. Built 8 ETABS lateral analysis models under PE supervision, performed 120+ steel connection designs per AISC 360, and prepared construction document sets averaging 30 S-series sheets per project. Passed the FE exam on the first attempt and on track for PE licensure in 2026. | |
| **Example 2 — Mid-Career / Project Leadership:** | |
| PE-licensed Structural Engineer with 5 years of experience leading gravity and lateral design for mixed-use, healthcare, and educational facilities ranging from $8M to $55M. Delivered 18 complete structural construction document sets with a first-pass plan check approval rate of 94%. Reduced structural steel costs by an average of 7% across 6 projects through iterative optimization in RISA-3D and composite floor system design. Manages 2 EIT engineers and coordinates structural scope with architectural and MEP teams on concurrent multi-discipline projects. | |
| **Example 3 — Senior / Principal with Business Development:** | |
| SE-licensed Principal Structural Engineer with 14 years of experience and direct project responsibility for 35+ structures exceeding $1.5B in aggregate construction value. Built a 10-person structural team generating $6.5M in annual revenue, winning 12 competitive proposals in healthcare (OSHPD 1), higher education, and high-rise residential markets. Published researcher in performance-based seismic design with expertise in NLRHA, base isolation, and mass timber lateral systems. Holds PE/SE licensure in 4 western states with a track record of zero structural failures across all stamped projects. | |
| --- | |
| ## Common Mistakes on Structural Engineer Resumes | |
| **1. Omitting licensure status and timeline.** | |
| Hiring managers at structural firms screen for PE/SE licensure before reading anything else. Listing "EIT" without your license number and state, or failing to note your anticipated PE exam date, forces the reviewer to guess. Always include license type, issuing state, license number, and year obtained. | |
| **2. Listing software without demonstrating application.** | |
| Writing "Proficient in ETABS, SAP2000, RISA-3D" in a skills section tells the reviewer nothing about the complexity of models you have built. Instead, describe the specific analysis: "Built a 42-story ETABS model with 11 ground motion pairs for NLRHA per PEER TBI" demonstrates capability far beyond a skills checklist. | |
| **3. Using "responsible for" instead of quantified outcomes.** | |
| "Responsible for structural design of commercial buildings" appears on thousands of resumes and conveys zero differentiation. Replace it with "Designed the lateral force-resisting system (steel BRBF) for a 6-story, 180,000 SF mixed-use building ($48M), producing a 280-page calculation package and 38-sheet CD set." Project value, square footage, structural system type, and deliverable counts are the metrics that matter. | |
| **4. Ignoring code editions and specificity.** | |
| Structural engineering evolves through code cycles. Writing "knowledge of building codes" is meaningless without specifying which codes: AISC 360-22, ACI 318-19, ASCE 7-22, IBC 2021. Code edition numbers signal that your experience is current, not based on a 2010-era design methodology. Hiring managers notice. | |
| **5. Burying seismic design category and occupancy category experience.** | |
| Firms pursuing hospital, school, or essential facility projects need engineers with Seismic Design Category D, E, or F experience and familiarity with Risk Category III/IV requirements. If you have designed to these elevated criteria, state it explicitly: "Designed to SDC D per ASCE 7-22 for Risk Category IV (hospital)" rather than generically referencing "seismic design." | |
| **6. Failing to include project dollar values.** | |
| Construction value contextualizes the scale and complexity of your work. A "$4M warehouse" and a "$400M hospital" require fundamentally different engineering judgment, coordination effort, and risk management. Include dollar values for every project mentioned on your resume. | |
| **7. Neglecting construction administration experience.** | |
| Structural engineering extends beyond design into CA: shop drawing review, RFI responses, field observation reports, and punch list resolution. Firms value engineers who understand the full project lifecycle. Document your CA involvement: "Reviewed 85 structural steel shop drawing submittals and resolved 34 RFIs during an 18-month construction phase." | |
| --- | |
| ## ATS Optimization Tips | |
| **1. Mirror exact job posting terminology.** | |
| If the posting says "ETABS," do not write "CSI ETABS" unless the posting uses that full name. If it says "seismic design," use "seismic design" rather than "earthquake engineering." ATS keyword matching is frequently literal. Read the job description and match its vocabulary precisely. | |
| **2. Place licensure in a dedicated, prominent section.** | |
| ATS parsers and human reviewers both scan for PE, SE, EIT, and LEED designations. Create a standalone "Certifications & Licensure" section near the top of your resume rather than burying credentials in a paragraph. Include the license type, issuing state, license number, and year. | |
| **3. Use standard section headings.** | |
| ATS systems are trained on conventional headings: "Professional Experience," "Education," "Skills," "Certifications." Avoid creative alternatives like "My Engineering Journey" or "Technical Arsenal." These headings may not parse correctly, causing the ATS to misclassify or skip content. | |
| **4. Spell out acronyms on first use, then abbreviate.** | |
| Write "Buckling-Restrained Braced Frame (BRBF)" on first mention, then use "BRBF" afterward. This captures both keyword variations. Do the same for "Nonlinear Response History Analysis (NLRHA)," "International Building Code (IBC)," and "American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)." | |
| **5. Submit in .docx format unless PDF is explicitly requested.** | |
| Most ATS platforms parse .docx files more reliably than PDFs. Tables, columns, and text boxes in PDFs can cause parsing failures that strip your content. Use a single-column .docx layout with clear section breaks. | |
| **6. Include design code edition numbers as keywords.** | |
| "AISC 360-22" and "AISC 360" may be parsed as different keywords. Include the full designation with edition year: "AISC 360-22," "ACI 318-19," "ASCE 7-22." This signals current code familiarity and captures searches for both the general code name and the specific edition. | |
| **7. Quantify every bullet point with at least one number.** | |
| ATS scoring algorithms and human reviewers alike gravitate toward numerical data. Every work experience bullet should contain at least one quantified metric: dollar value, square footage, number of projects, tonnage, number of drawings, team size, or percentage improvement. Bullets without numbers are bullets without impact. | |
| --- | |
| ## Frequently Asked Questions | |
| ### Should I include my PE license number on my resume? | |
| Yes. Including your license number (e.g., "PE #48721, Colorado") enables instant verification and signals transparency. Structural engineering is a licensed profession where public safety is the primary concern, and hiring managers at firms like AECOM, Thornton Tomasetti, and Degenkolb routinely verify licensure status through state board databases. Omitting the number creates unnecessary friction in the screening process. | |
| ### How do I present structural engineering projects on a resume? | |
| Lead each bullet with a structural action verb ("Designed," "Analyzed," "Modeled," "Stamped"), followed by the structural system type, building parameters (stories, square footage, occupancy), construction value, and the specific code or analysis method used. For example: "Designed the steel special moment frame lateral system for a 4-story, 92,000 SF medical office building ($18M) per AISC 341-22 in Seismic Design Category D." This format gives the reviewer system type, scale, value, and code compliance in a single sentence. | |
| ### Is the SE license more valuable than a PE for structural positions? | |
| In states that issue a separate Structural Engineer (SE) license — California, Washington, Illinois, Oregon, Hawaii, and others — the SE credential authorizes you to stamp designs for hospitals, schools, and other essential facilities that a PE alone cannot. For firms pursuing healthcare (OSHPD) or K-12 projects in these states, the SE license is a prerequisite for the Engineer of Record role. NCSEA and state SEA organizations have been advocating for SE licensure adoption nationwide, and holding the SE positions you for the highest-responsibility structural work. | |
| ### How long should a structural engineer resume be? | |
| One page for engineers with fewer than 5 years of experience. Two pages for mid-career and senior engineers with extensive project portfolios, multiple licensures, and publications. A Principal Engineer with 15+ years, SE licensure in multiple states, and a portfolio of 40+ stamped projects has legitimate content for two full pages. The test is whether every line adds differentiation — if a bullet point could appear on any structural engineer's resume, cut it and replace it with something specific to your work. | |
| ### Should I include my FE/EIT credential after obtaining my PE? | |
| Once you hold a PE license, the EIT credential becomes redundant and can be removed from your resume header. However, you may briefly reference "Passed FE exam, first attempt" in your education or early career section to demonstrate a history of exam success. For PE holders pursuing the SE exam, mentioning your PE-to-SE progression timeline shows licensure momentum. | |
| --- | |
| ## Citations & Sources | |
| 1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Civil Engineers: Occupational Outlook Handbook." BLS.gov, 2024. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/civil-engineers.htm | |
| 2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2024: 17-2051 Civil Engineers." BLS.gov, 2024. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172051.htm | |
| 3. American Society of Civil Engineers. "Civil Engineering Salaries Grow, Job Satisfaction Remains High According to New Report." ASCE, September 2024. https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/society-news/article/2024/09/27/civil-engineering-salaries-grow-job-satisfaction-remains-high-according-to-new-report | |
| 4. Deloitte. "2026 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook." Deloitte Insights, 2025. https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/engineering-and-construction/engineering-and-construction-industry-outlook.html | |
| 5. National Council of Structural Engineers Associations. "Structural Engineering Licensure." NCSEA. https://www.ncsea.com/career-growth/structural-engineering-licensure/ | |
| 6. NCEES. "PE Structural Exam." NCEES.org, 2024. https://ncees.org/exams/pe-exam/cbt-structural/ | |
| 7. DAVRON. "2025 Hiring Trends in Construction, Engineering, and Architecture." DAVRON Staffing, 2025. https://www.davron.net/2025-hiring-trends-in-construction-engineering-and-architecture-what-employers-and-job-seekers-need-to-know-about-salaries-remote-work-and-demand-cycles/ | |
| 8. O*NET OnLine. "17-2051.00 — Civil Engineers." National Center for O*NET Development, 2024. https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-2051.00 | |
| 9. American Society of Civil Engineers. "New ASCE Report Shows Civil Engineering Salaries Up an Average $9,000." ASCE, October 2025. https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/article/2025/10/14/new-asce-report-shows-civil-engineering-salaries-up-an-average-9000 | |
| 10. Engineering.com. "Structural Engineer (SE) Licensure Explained." Engineering.com, 2024. https://www.engineering.com/structural-engineer-se-licensure-explained/ |