Job Description
Industry: Construction & Trades - Architecture & Planning
Job Category: Engineering
Role: Heavy Highway Construction Chief Engineer
Location: New Kensington, PA
Salary: $160,000 – $190,000 annually (Market Range)
About the Company
Our client is a well-established heavy civil construction contractor specializing in large-scale transportation infrastructure projects, including highways, bridges, roadway improvements, and complex structural construction. The company has earned a strong reputation for engineering excellence, safety, and delivering high-quality public infrastructure projects. This position is a succession hire for a key executive engineering leadership role.
Position Summary
The Chief Engineer will lead the company's construction engineering program and provide technical leadership for heavy highway, bridge, and transportation infrastructure projects. Following a structured transition period, the selected candidate will assume full responsibility as Chief Engineer, including signing and sealing engineering plans and serving as the organization's senior engineering authority.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead all construction engineering activities for heavy highway and bridge projects.
- Design, review, and approve temporary works including cofferdams, shoring, falsework, concrete forms, temporary supports, and demolition sequencing.
- Provide engineering guidance to field teams to ensure safe and efficient project execution.
- Establish engineering standards, quality control procedures, and technical best practices.
- Perform constructability reviews, engineering risk assessments, and safety evaluations.
- Ensure compliance with PennDOT, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, OSHA, and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
- Sign and seal engineering drawings, calculations, and technical documents following the transition period.
- Serve as the primary engineering liaison with owners, consultants, regulatory agencies, and design partners.
- Mentor and develop engineering staff while strengthening the company's technical capabilities.
- Support estimating, bidding, preconstruction planning, and construction sequencing.
- Partner with project managers and field leadership to resolve complex technical challenges.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering.
- Active Professional Engineer (PE) License.
- Minimum 10 years of heavy highway, bridge, or transportation construction engineering experience.
- Strong experience in temporary works engineering and structural design.
- Experience leading engineering teams or engineering departments.
- PennDOT or Pennsylvania Turnpike project experience is highly preferred.
- Proficiency with STAAD, AutoCAD, MathCAD, or similar structural analysis software.
- Estimating and bid support experience is preferred.
- Strong mechanical aptitude and practical construction knowledge.
- Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without current or future visa sponsorship.
- Must pass a pre-employment background check and drug screening.
Ideal Candidate
Please prioritize candidates with:
- Active PE License.
- Heavy highway and bridge construction experience.
- PennDOT or major DOT infrastructure project experience.
- Leadership experience managing engineering teams.
- Expertise in temporary works engineering and structural design.
- Experience signing and sealing engineering documents or the ability to assume that responsibility after the transition period
Security Clearance Required: No
Visa Candidate Considered: No
Compensation
Base Salary - USD $160,000 to $190,000
Full-time
Benefits - Full
Relocation Assistance Available - No
Commission Compensation - No
Bonus Eligible - No
Overtime Eligible - No
Interview Travel Reimbursed - No
Candidate Details
Seniority Level - Mid-Senior
Management Experience Required - No
Minimum Education - Bachelor's Degree
Willingness to Travel - Occasionally