Graduate Design Engineer, Structural

About the role

As a recent graduate seeking to begin your career as a Structural Engineer, or already have professional experience and looking for an opportunity to work on various hands-on industrial projects that will expand your practical knowledge and engineering skills and help advance your career? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Rail Division as a Graduate Engineer in Saint Paul, MN!

As a member of our team, you will collaborate with a multi-disciplined team of architecture and engineering professionals to provide services for Class I, short line, and passenger railroads throughout the country. From schematic design through construction, you will become engaged in the full life cycle of various structural projects, including industrial and maintenance facilities, locomotive fueling stations, bulk handling structures, and administration buildings.

As a Graduate Engineer, you will be responsible for conducting site assessments, developing construction documents and plans, and observing construction operations. You will also assist with the preparation of design calculations, specifications, and construction cost estimates.

As you work alongside our team of structural engineering professionals, you will have the opportunity to apply and expand upon your knowledge of steel, cast-in-place concrete, masonry, and timber framing design and develop creative solutions for new construction as well as expansion, renovation, conversion, and reinforcement project types.

Flexible work arrangement (3 days in office / 2 days WFH)

Location Note: TKDA HQ is moving to the South Loop Bloomington neighborhood!

Check out the announcement to learn more! TKDA New HQ | 2025

Note: As a condition of employment for this opportunity, candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States and must be able to successfully complete eRailSafe background check and security screening requirements. eRailSafe is the Class I and short line railroad industry standard for contractor safety and security management for the railroads and the vendors that serve them, including TKDA.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil or Structural Engineering.
• Recent graduate or up to three years of professional experience.
• Proficiency with AutoCAD, RISA, MathCAD, and MS Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Working knowledge of steel and cast-in-place concrete design.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to apply effective verbal and written communication skills when writing specifications and reports, participating in project team discussions, and interacting with client representatives and contractors.
• Ability to travel up to 35% for team meetings, client consultations, site inspections / construction observation, etc.; overnight travel will be required.

Advantageous Qualifications

• Master's degree in Structural Engineering.
• Professional Engineer in the State of Minnesota or other states.
• Previous experience conducting condition assessments of existing structures.
• Previous experience related to the preparation of proposals and fee estimates.
• Previous experience with Autodesk Revit

100% Employee-Owned

• At TKDA, every employee is an owner.
• From the front desk to the corner office, every one of our 450 professionals thrive on collaboration and holistic development.
• Our success is collective, and so are the rewards.

Health Benefits

• Enjoy medical, dental, vision, and life insurance from day one
• Annual Incentive Plan: Eligible for discretionary bonuses
• HSA Contributions: Receive monthly employer contributions if you choose an HSA-eligible plan
• 401(k) Match: Get employer matching on your 401(k) deferrals

Esop

• Benefit from our Employee Stock Ownership Plan, funded entirely by company profits
• Paid Time Off: Accrue PTO based on your professional experience and enjoy eight paid holidays per year
• Upon receiving a formal offer, you will get a personalized Total Compensation Overview (TCO) to see how everything adds up and what it looks like to be part of our community.

All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future visa sponsorship needs or requirements.TKDA does not sponsor any type of employment visas, including but not limited to H-1B, F-1 OPT/CPT, TN, or other work authorization programs.

*Pre-Employment Screening*

Upon acceptance of a conditional offer of employment, the selected candidate will be required to complete a standard pre-employment background screening, which consists of Social Security verification, educational verification, review of criminal convictions, and driving history.

*Notice to Recruiters and Placement Agencies*

TKDA will not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or placement agencies unless a service agreement is in place. In the event TKDA receives an unsolicited resume without a service agreement in place, TKDA will not be obligated to pay a service fee of any amount nor will TKDA be held liable to terms or conditions under any agreement of any kind that has not been authorized in writing by a TKDA officer.