Principal structural engineer resume example

What recruiters look for

• Licensure: SE where your state requires it for significant structures, plus PE licenses in the states where you practice.
• Signature projects: building type, size, system and your role (engineer of record, principal in charge).
• Business results: fees brought in, studio revenue and margin, repeat clients.
• Technical leadership: standards, design guides, new systems (mass timber, performance-based design) you introduced.
• People: engineers led and mentored through licensure.

Writing the summary

License, years, building types and seismic or specialty expertise, then your role in the firm: studio size, clients, and whether you still act as engineer of record.

Bullet points that work

Strong lines for this role, beyond the ones in the example. Borrow the shape and put in your own numbers.

• Grew the studio from 6 to 14 engineers in 4 years with no regretted departures.
• Won a 5-year on-call contract with a university system worth $4 million in fees.
• Led peer review of 12 tall-building designs for a city’s performance-based design program.
• Value-engineered a laboratory frame from concrete to steel, cutting 9 weeks from the construction schedule.
• Wrote the firm’s quality control procedure for drawing review, adopted across 3 offices.
• Served as expert consultant on 2 construction disputes, both settled before trial.
• Delivered 8 projects through integrated project delivery with shared savings of $2.3 million.
• Mentored 10 engineers, of whom 7 passed the PE and 4 the SE.
• Presented at 3 regional structural engineering conferences on mass timber and seismic retrofit.

Skills to list

Certifications and licenses worth listing

• Structural Engineer (SE): required in California, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Utah, Hawaii and some other states for significant structures such as hospitals and tall buildings. List the states.
• Professional Engineer (PE): list every state you hold; comity licenses widen the projects you can stamp.
• LEED AP BD+C: useful for sustainable building clients.
• NCEES Record: not a credential to list, but worth mentioning in an interview if you need licenses in new states quickly.

Length and format

Two pages. Page one holds the summary, your current role and licenses; page two the earlier roles, selected projects and professional activities. Many principals also keep a separate project list for proposals.

Common mistakes

• A list of 40 projects with no role or size. Pick three to six that show your range and your role on each.
• Leaving out the business side. Principals are evaluated on fees, clients and studio health.
• Not naming the license states. A firm needs to know where you can stamp drawings.
• Technical detail only a peer reviewer would follow. Keep it to systems, size and outcome.
• Forgetting to name the agency reviews you have passed (HCAI, DSA, city plan check), which are major selling points to clients.