Entry Level Design Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Position Description

We review candidates for the Entry-Level Structural Engineer | Designer position throughout the year on a rolling basis for all California offices - Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange County, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco - as well as Seattle, Washington, and our Midwest offices in Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Launch your structural engineering career with meaningful work, trusted mentorship, and a team invested in your growth.

You may indicate interest in multiple locations on a single application; additional submissions are not necessary. Candidates are considered for one location at a time based on ranked preferences and office availability.

Who Thrives Here

You are a high-achieving graduating master's student who is curious, collaborative, and passionate about structural engineering. You may be especially interested in seismic analysis for our West Coast offices or steel design for our Michigan offices. You want more than a first job: you want meaningful technical challenges, access to experienced mentors, and a team that trusts you to learn, contribute, and grow.

At Degenkolb, early-career engineers are encouraged to ask thoughtful questions, understand the purpose behind the work, and connect technical decisions to client and community needs. You will be supported as you develop your voice, judgment, and confidence as an engineer.

Who We Are

 Founded in 1940 and headquartered in San Francisco, Degenkolb Engineers has more than eight decades of commitment to innovation, client service, and life-long learning. We deliver customized structural solutions in a variety of practice areas such as healthcare, education, science and technology, forensics, construction engineering, and federal buildings. We address every project need—whether meeting stringent codes, staying on budget, adhering to tight schedules, or creating landmark structural systems. 

Position Summary

As a Designer, you will support the planning, analysis, and design of structural engineering projects that help create safe and beautiful built environments while serving the needs of our clients through our culture of excellence. Working alongside experienced engineers and project managers, you will contribute to engineering analyses, contract documents, and project deliverables while gaining exposure to client interactions, site visits, and multidisciplinary collaboration.

This role provides a strong technical foundation through meaningful project work, mentorship, candid feedback, and purposeful professional development.

What You'll Do

• Structural Analysis & Design: Perform structural analysis and design tasks under the guidance of licensed engineers. Apply engineering principles and sound engineering judgment to develop safe, effective structural solutions and contract deliverables that meet the governing building codes.
• Project Delivery & Quality: Produce accurate, organized, and high-quality work that reflects Degenkolb's standards. Build an understanding of project objectives, scope, budget, and schedule; manage assigned work; and communicate progress, questions, and potential issues early.
• Client & Team Collaboration: Build trusted relationships with project teams and clients by participating in meetings, supporting client communications, preparing technical documentation, and communicating clearly and professionally in writing and conversation.
• Project Site Experience: Participate in site visits with experienced engineers to observe existing conditions and construction activities, document field observations, and connect design decisions with how structures are built and perform in the real world.
• Professional Growth & Development: Expand your technical knowledge and professional skills through project experience, mentorship, feedback, purposeful learning, challenging assignments, and participation in professional organizations while progressing toward PE licensure.
• Ownership & Contribution: Take responsibility for your commitments, seek context when needed, share ideas, and contribute to the collective success of your project teams, office, and firm.

Minimum Requirements

• Education: A master's degree in structural engineering is strongly preferred.
• Alternative Path: Exceptional candidates with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and one to two years of highly technical structural design experience will be considered if they demonstrate proficiency equivalent to advanced graduate-level work.
• Core technical proficiency must be demonstrated through advanced graduate coursework or verified professional project experience in:

1.      Advanced steel design

2.  Advanced reinforced concrete design

3.      Advanced structural analysis

4.      Structural dynamics

5.      Earthquake engineering (West Coast offices)

• Undergraduate GPA of 3.40 or higher; strong academic performance in graduate coursework is expected, where applicable
• Unofficial undergraduate and graduate transcripts, as applicable
• Professional written and verbal communication skills
• Current authorization to work in the United States for any employer

Desired Qualifications

• Passing score on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam
• Additional coursework or experience in wood design, prestressed concrete, or finite element analysis, or
• Additional coursework or experience in nonlinear analysis for West Coast office locations
• Familiarity with engineering software and tools such as AutoCAD, Tekla, RISA, RAM, Revit, Excel, Mathcad, SAP2000, ETABS, Python, or similar platforms
• Demonstrated leadership potential, initiative, and commitment to collaborative learning
• Experience in seismic analysis and the design of buildings (West Coast offices)