Structural Engineer-in-Training (EIT)

Company: Dow Engineering PLLC
Location: Sumner, WA 98390 — in person
Job type: Full-time
Pay: $34.00 – $42.00 per hour, depending on experience
Schedule: Monday–Friday, about 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Experience: 0–2 years

About Dow Engineering PLLC

Dow Engineering PLLC is a licensed Washington professional engineering firm specializing in small-site civil engineering and structural engineering for residential, ADU, addition, and light commercial projects. Based in the Sumner / Bonney Lake area, we serve King and Pierce Counties and the west side of Washington. We are known for quality work, quick turnaround, and being available when clients and building departments need us.

Job summary

We are hiring an in-person Structural Engineer-in-Training to work directly under a licensed Professional Engineer. This is an entry-level role for someone who has passed the FE exam (or will sit for it immediately) and wants a clear path to a Washington PE license. You will split time between structural drafting in AutoCAD LT and learning gravity (vertical) and lateral design for wood-framed residential and light commercial buildings. If you want to see a project from first sketch through calculations, drawings, permit comments, and construction questions — not just one piece of a large-firm production line — this is that job.

Responsibilities

• Assist with structural drafting in AutoCAD LT: framing plans, foundation plans, roof framing, details, schedules, and notes for residential and light commercial wood-framed buildings.
• Learn and then perform gravity / vertical calculations for beams, headers, girders, posts, joists, rafters, bearing walls, and foundations under PE supervision.
• Learn and then perform lateral calculations for wood-framed structures, including wind and seismic loads, shear walls, hold-downs, collectors, and diaphragm continuity.
• Prepare calculation packages that support the PE’s stamp: load paths, design criteria, code references, and clearly documented assumptions.
• Coordinate architectural layouts with structural members so drawings and calculations tell the same story.
• Incorporate PE redlines and building-department correction comments into both the drawings and the calcs.
• Assist with site visits, existing-structure observations, and construction-support questions.
• Research IBC / IRC, ASCE 7, AWC NDS / SDPWS, and Washington State amendments as they apply to west-side residential and light commercial work.
• Build toward independent design of typical wood-framed projects, with the long-term goal of PE licensure.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or Architectural Engineering (structural emphasis preferred), or equivalent degree accepted by the Washington Board for EIT/PE.
• Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certification, or FE exam passed with EIT application in process. Candidates sitting for the next FE exam will be considered.
• 0–2 years of structural engineering experience. Internships and relevant senior design projects count.
• Desire to work under a licensed PE and pursue a Washington Professional Engineer license.
• Willingness to learn production drafting in AutoCAD LT. Prior AutoCAD coursework or internship use is helpful; we will train the drafting standards.
• Solid understanding of statics, strength of materials, and structural analysis from school.
• Clear written calculations and professional communication.
• Ability to work on site in Sumner, WA. Valid driver’s license for occasional local site visits.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.

Preferred qualifications

• Coursework, internship, or project experience with wood-framed structures.
• Exposure to gravity and lateral design of residential or light commercial buildings.
• Familiarity with NDS, SDPWS, ASCE 7, IBC/IRC, and the Washington State Building Code.
• AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT experience.
• Spreadsheet or Mathcad calculation templates; any exposure to wood-design software (Forte, WoodWorks, Enercalc, or similar).
• Interest in Pierce County, King County, and other Western Washington permitting practice.

What this role is — and is not

This is not a CAD-only technician job, and it is not a Seattle high-rise analysis job. You will draft so you understand how members actually get built and permitted. You will calculate so the drawings have an engineered basis. Over the first one to two years the mix should shift from mostly assisted drafting toward independent gravity and lateral design of typical wood-framed projects, always under PE review.

Path to PE

The licensed PE will assign progressively harder design tasks, review your calculations, and support the experience record you will need for the Washington PE application. Progress depends on the quality of your work, not on time in the chair alone.

How to apply

Submit your resume, unofficial transcript (or a list of structural coursework), and EIT / FE status through Indeed. A short sample calculation or senior-design excerpt is welcome but not required.

Pay: $34.00 - $42.00 per hour

Expected hours: 40.0 per week

Language:

• English (Required)

License/Certification:

• Engineer in Training (Preferred)

Location:

• Sumner, WA 98390 (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Sumner, WA 98390 (Required)

Work Location: In person