Principal Civil Engineer

Role Summary

As a Principal Civil Engineer at RLC Engineering, you serve as a technical lead on complex transmission line, substation civil/structural, and site development projects. You are responsible for guiding design efforts, ensuring technical quality and constructability of deliverables, and providing mentorship to engineers across project teams. In this role, you operate with a high degree of autonomy while collaborating with project managers and clients to deliver reliable, well-coordinated engineering solutions for utility and energy developer projects.

You are expected to lead multifaceted engineering tasks, perform formal technical reviews, and contribute to the development of RLC’s engineering standards and best practices.

• Lead site layouts, grading, access road design, drainage, and stormwater management design for substations, renewable generation facilities, and transmission line sites.
• Direct the review and application of survey, geotechnical, and other site data to support design decisions.
• Oversee preparation and checking of stormwater calculations and associated documentation.

• Direct development and review of loads for structures and equipment.
• Lead structural analysis and design for substation structures and bus systems.
• Lead and review foundation design calculations for spread footings, mats, and drilled shafts for substation and transmission applications.

• Lead preparation, review, and checking of construction drawings, quantities, specifications, and design documentation.
• Conduct formal QA/QC reviews of deliverables for technical accuracy, completeness, and alignment with RLC and client standards.
• Seal construction documents and reports as appropriate and assume responsibility for technical content.
• Support project planning, scheduling, and budgeting in collaboration with project managers.
• Participate in client and stakeholder meetings to present engineering solutions and support technical decision‑making.
• Mentor and coach junior engineers; provide technical oversight and direction across project teams.
• Contribute to development and improvement of internal standards, templates, tools, and processes.

• Perform all other duties as assigned.
• Ability to handle stress and competing priorities.
• Ability to resolve requests in an appropriate and efficient manner.
• Ability to prioritize customer satisfaction in all communications.
• Represent RLC with professionalism and integrity while helping to advance our company mission.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from an ABET‑accredited program.
• 6 or more years of experience in civil, structural, site development, and/or transmission line design (utility, energy, or related infrastructure projects).
• Advanced proficiency with design and analysis tools such as AutoCAD, Civil 3D, PLS‑CADD, and structural/foundation analysis tools (e.g., RISA, LPile, Mathcad, or similar).
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex site development, stormwater, structural, and foundation design tasks and to review the work of others.
• Demonstrated ability to lead transmission line modeling and design workflows including clearance reviews and construction detailing.
• Strong working knowledge of applicable codes and standards (ASCE, ACI, AISC, NESC) and utility/client standards.
• Proven experience conducting QA/QC reviews and producing high‑quality, constructible design packages.
• Strong communication, organization, and leadership skills; ability to mentor engineers and coordinate technical work streams.

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from an ABET‑accredited program.
• Master’s degree in Structural, Mechanical, or related Engineering discipline.
• 10 or more years of experience in civil, structural, site development, and/or transmission line design (utility, energy, or related infrastructure projects).
• Professional Engineer (PE) licensure in at least one U.S. state (or ability to obtain within a reasonable timeframe).
• Experience supporting proposals, scopes, budgets, and client‑facing project delivery.
• Cross‑functional experience across transmission line, substation civil/structural, and site/stormwater design.

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Ability to stand or sit for 8 hours, occasionally move and lift up to 50 lbs.
• Walk grounds/property regularly; use repetitive manual dexterity.
• Air and car travel may be required periodically.