Senior Structural Engineer and Office Leader

Overview

Imagine engineering the resilient frameworks that support the world's most advanced microchip fabrication facilities and leading the team that makes it happen. At SSOE, you won't just be executing tasks; you'll continuously expand your expertise by confronting diverse and complex structural engineering challenges unique to the semiconductor and advanced high-tech industrial sectors, while simultaneously guiding the culture, growth, and operational excellence of your office. You'll be supported by access to advanced training, leading design and analysis tools including finite element modeling and BIM platforms, and a collaborative multidisciplinary culture. We foster your ambition with clear pathways for career progression, whether your aspiration is technical leadership, project management, becoming a revered subject matter expert in high-tech structural design, or growing as a regional leader. This role places you at the heart of a truly integrated team environment that champions knowledge sharing, innovation, and technical excellence, backed by the stability and proven delivery of a well-established firm.

As a Senior Structural Engineer and Office Leader at SSOE, you will be a pivotal force in shaping both the structural backbone of advanced semiconductor fabrication facilities and the professional community within your office. Your ability to inspire teams, build enduring client partnerships, and represent SSOE to stakeholders will drive office success and market growth. You will thrive in a collaborative, design-build environment where your technical expertise, business intelligence, and strategic problem-solving skills will be highly valued. This role offers the unique opportunity to work on technically complex, large-scale projects, lead and mentor internal engineering teams, represent the firm externally, and directly contribute to the success of our leading semiconductor clients and the sustained growth of our firm in this dynamic, high-growth sector.

AI and Innovation

At SSOE, we don’t just talk about the future, we build it. As a leader in industry AI adoption, we empower our team to work smarter by providing responsible access to the industry leading AI Large Language Models, vibe-coding platforms, and securely integrating advanced tools into every role. From day one, you’ll receive the training and support needed to leverage AI as a core tool for enhancing productivity, sparking creativity, and streamlining complex workflows.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Project Delivery

• Lead and drive the structural engineering design and planning process for a portfolio of complex, large-scale advanced high-tech industrial and semiconductor projects, from conceptual design and structural system selection through construction administration within an integrated design-build delivery framework.
• Provide technical leadership and day-to-day oversight to internal structural engineering project teams, ensuring the creation of coordinated, high-quality construction documents that meet our client’s deflection and vibration criteria, industry best practices, and fast-track project schedules.
• Lead the design of comprehensive structural systems, including trusses, frames, and other load-bearing elements, with a strong emphasis on efficiency, durability, and safety.
• Perform and oversee advanced structural analysis using industry-standard software, including linear and nonlinear static analysis, modal and response spectrum analysis, time-history seismic analysis, vibration finite element modeling, and steel connection design.
• Guide the seamless integration of structural design with a multidisciplinary team, collaborating intensively with a multidisciplinary team to ensure coordination, constructability, and operational performance.
• Mentor junior and mid-level structural engineers within internal project teams, fostering deep understanding of structural engineering fundamentals.
• Stay current with evolving codes, standards, industry practices, and emerging technologies and incorporate that knowledge into project delivery and firm standards.
• Lead the development and maintenance of structural engineering standards, master specifications, template models, and calculation protocols to improve efficiency, consistency, technical quality, and speed-to-market across high-tech and semiconductor projects.

Office Leadership & Culture

• Serve as a visible and approachable leader within the office, cultivating a positive, inclusive, and collaborative work environment where all employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to do their best work.
• Act as a key representative and advocate for the office's structural engineering team, aligning local goals with firm-wide strategy, values, and vision.
• Drive staff development and career pathing for structural professionals at all levels, identifying high-potential talent, and championing training, professional licensure (PE, SE), and advanced technical certification opportunities.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing, organizing technical forums, lunch-and-learns, and office-wide innovation challenges that leverage SSOE’s AI and digital tool ecosystem.
• Serve as a bridge between senior firm leadership and local staff, communicating business updates, strategic priorities, and celebrating office wins to maintain transparency and alignment.
• Coordinate cross-discipline collaboration within the office, breaking down silos between the multidisciplinary teams to enhance integrated project delivery.
• Oversee office facilities, space planning, and infrastructure for the engineering team, ensuring a safe, functional, and inspiring workspace that supports hybrid and in-person collaboration.

Client, Stakeholder & Business Leadership

• Cultivate and expand trusted advisor relationships with key semiconductor and high-tech clients, understanding their long-term capital plans, operational challenges, and strategic goals to position SSOE as a partner of choice.
• Lead or actively participate in client pursuit and capture planning, including developing win themes, crafting compelling proposals, delivering client presentations, and negotiating project scopes and fees that balance client value with firm profitability.
• Represent SSOE at industry conferences, trade shows, and technical committees, building the firm’s brand as a thought leader and preferred employer in the semiconductor and mission-critical facility sector.
• Act as the primary structural engineering point of contact for local and regional stakeholders, including building officials, geotechnical consultants, specialty structural sub-consultants, steel fabricators, and contractor partners, navigating complex regulatory and constructability landscapes.
• Support office-level business development efforts, working with business development managers and project managers to identify new opportunities, building a healthy pipeline of projects, and converting leads into backlog.
• Foster strong, collaborative relationships with trade contractors, rebar and steel suppliers, vibration isolation specialists, and specialty consultants, ensuring project delivery success and leveraging their insights for continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil or Structural Engineering from an accredited program
• Active Professional Engineer (PE) license in good standing within the U.S., with the ability to obtain reciprocity in additional states as projects require. Structural Engineer (SE) license is highly desirable.
• 10+ years of structural engineering experience, with a strong and demonstrated focus on semiconductor, advanced high-tech industrial, cleanroom, or other vibration-sensitive and mission-critical facility design.
• Proven leadership in managing and guiding internal structural engineering design teams through all project phases, from conceptual system selection through detailed design and construction support within a design-build delivery model.
• Demonstrated experience in office leadership, people management, or team development.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and client-facing skills, with the ability to clearly articulate complex structural concepts to diverse audiences including engineers, project managers, contractors, client technical leadership, and community stakeholders.
• A proven track record of building and sustaining client relationships, contributing to business development, and participating in proposal development and interviews within the semiconductor and high-tech manufacturing industry.
• Demonstrated experience fostering an inclusive team culture and a commitment to mentoring and developing technical professionals.
• Experience with projects that demonstrated thoughtful, code-compliant, and technically precise structural designs for semiconductor fabs, cleanrooms, or comparable vibration-critical facilities.

Compensation & Benefits:

SSOE offers a competitive total compensation package designed to support and empower our employees and their families.

• Salary: $130,000 – $200,000 per year, commensurate with location, education, and depth of experience.
• Incentives: Leadership bonus program and ownership investment opportunities. We believe the people who build SSOE should share in its success.
• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance; employer-paid life insurance; and wellness program support.
• Retirement: 401(k) plan with company match.
• Professional Growth: Dedicated professional development funding, PE licensure and certification exam support, conference attendance, and structured career advancement programs.
• Time Off: Generous paid time off (PTO) policy plus paid holidays.
• Work-Life Balance: SSOE actively supports flexible scheduling within project commitments and a culture that genuinely respects your time outside the office.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience with semiconductor wafer fabrication facility structural design, including familiarity with vibration criteria, and structural detailing to accommodate complex process utility routing and sub-fab clearance constraints.
• Knowledge of advanced seismic protective systems and performance-based seismic design for mission-critical structures.
• Experience in dynamic analysis and finite element modeling for floor vibration evaluation, with the ability to correlate analytical models with field vibration measurements.
• NCEES Record and the ability to obtain PE/SE licensure in multiple states, with a commitment to maintaining current knowledge of multi-jurisdiction seismic codes.
• Demonstrated success working within an integrated design-build project delivery environment on large-scale, fast-track high-tech projects.
• Experience leading organizational change, implementing new technologies (including AI) into structural design and driving a culture of innovation.

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