Structural engineering jobs

Structural engineers in clean energy calculate loads and design the steel, concrete, and foundations that carry substations, transmission lines, solar trackers, turbines, and dams. Most openings here are in the US, led by the engineering consultancy Ulteig, which designs substations, transmission lines, and solar and battery sites and hires from engineer to principal level.

What the jobs involve

• Substation civil/structural engineers design drilled piers, spread footings, and steel structures for switchyards.
• Transmission line engineers design 69-500 kV lines, including the loading and foundations of their poles.
• Renewables structural engineers act as engineer of record for solar and battery sites: equipment loads, pile design, lateral pile analysis, and pile tests.
• Loads and FEA analysts model stress, fatigue, and dynamic response in offshore turbines, wave energy converters, fusion machines, and ammonia reactors.
• Dam safety engineers inspect and monitor hydropower dams, gates, and penstocks.

Who is hiring

Besides Ulteig, the contractor Blattner and the tracker maker Array Technologies design for US solar, Arcosa's Meyer Utility Structures designs steel transmission poles, and Eagle Creek Renewable Energy staffs its New York hydro fleet. In Britain, Green Cat Renewables in Edinburgh designs foundations and structures for wind, solar, hydrogen, and battery projects. Vattenfall has an offshore loads team, CorPower Ocean in Stockholm analyses its wave energy converters, and fusion developers Thea Energy and Commonwealth Fusion Systems hire FEA specialists.

Skills and qualifications

US employers want an accredited degree in civil or structural engineering, the EIT for junior posts and the PE licence for senior ones. Ulteig's lead and principal structural roles add the SE licence. Expect AISC, ACI, ASCE, and NESC codes and STAAD, RISA-3D, LPILE, or PLS-CADD. European posts ask for the Eurocodes; analyst roles for Ansys, Abaqus, or HyperMesh.

For graduates, Array Technologies takes engineers with up to two years' experience, internships included, and CorPower Ocean offers master's theses in structural analysis.

What is changing

Europe's second-generation Eurocodes passed their final votes in November 2025, and the first-generation national standards must be withdrawn by 30 March 2028 (European Commission JRC). Engineers starting now will design to the new versions.

In the US, wind and solar projects that had not started construction by 4 July 2026 must be in service by the end of 2027 to earn tax credits, while storage keeps the full credit for projects started by the end of 2033 (Norton Rose Fulbright). That keeps battery sites in US foundation design longest.