Bridge Engineer - Washington State Ferries

About WSDOT

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is a multimodal agency with a global reputation for excellence. Our dedicated workforce plans, designs, builds, and operates an integrated transportation system that safely and efficiently moves people and goods throughout the state. In addition to maintaining over 20,000 lane miles of state highway and 4,100 bridges, WSDOT leads an award-winning Active Transportation Plan, manages the world's longest floating bridge, and operates the largest ferry system in the nation!

Washington State Ferries (WSF) is an essential part of Washington's transportation network. Every year, we carry nearly 20 million passengers across Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands on more than 400 sailings a day. Our dedicated teams with over 2,100 people work together to serve our communities and shape the future of ferry travel.

WSF, a division of WSDOT, is currently seeking a Structures Manager to lead the Structural Engineering Group in ensuring Washington State Ferries' terminal structures remain safe, resilient, and reliable for the traveling public. In this leadership role, you will guide a team of engineering professionals, provide sound technical direction, and support the long-term stewardship of critical transportation infrastructure. By fostering collaboration, continuous improvement, and transparent decision-making, you will help advance WSF's core values of Serve, Grow, Trust, Respect, and Navigate while supporting safe, dependable ferry operations.

Your leadership will play a vital role in maintaining public confidence and delivering reliable ferry service to the communities we serve.

As we navigate a once-in-a-generation transformation to decarbonize our system — guided by our core values Serve, Respect, Trust, Grow Navigate, and bold strategic priorities Service Excellence, Improved Communication and Empowered People — there’s never been a more meaningful time to come aboard at Washington State Ferries.

Among the varied range of responsibilities held within this role, you/the Bridge Engineer will:

• Lead the Structural Engineering Group in evaluating, maintaining, and improving the safety, reliability, and resilience of WSF terminal structures.
• Oversee structural engineering analyses, load ratings, PS&E development, and quality assurance for terminal capital and maintenance projects.
• Manage group staffing, project assignments, scheduling, consultant utilization, and employee development.
• Establish structural engineering policies, design criteria, and resilience strategies for seismic, tsunami, and sea level rise considerations.
• Direct structural engineering programs and ensure compliance with applicable engineering standards and regulatory requirements.
• Manage structural engineering consultant contracts, including scopes of work, budgets, schedules, and deliverables.
• Evaluate structural capacity, implement operational restrictions as needed, and provide technical oversight for terminal engineering initiatives.
• Uphold WSF’s strategic priorities (Service Excellence, Improved Communication, and Empowered People) and values (Serve, Grow, Trust, Respect, and Navigate), ensuring they are embedded in WSF’s culture through leadership actions

To be considered for this opportunity, the following are required:

• Actively demonstrates a commitment to continuous learning, professional growth, and adapting to new challenges through innovation and continuous improvement.

• Demonstrates a willingness to take action to meet the needs of others while fostering collaborative relationships built on trust, communication, and shared success.

• Demonstrated ability to provide leadership and direction to structural engineering staff while hiring, training, mentoring, coaching, and developing employees to achieve organizational goals.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex structural analysis, engineering, and design concepts in clear, understandable language, both verbally and in writing, to technical and non-technical audiences.