Principal Structural Civil Engineer

Are you ready to be part of a company that's not just talking about the future, but actively shaping it? Join The AES Corporation, the largest US-based global power company with a team of 8,300 employees across 12 countries.

AES has been ranked #1 by BloombergNEF in renewable energy sales to corporations in the US and Americas for five consecutive years, providing electricity for millions of people worldwide.

We are proud to foster a strong workplace culture, earning prominent positions in Great Place to Work™ rankings across the markets where we operate. AES was also named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the 13th consecutive year in 2026, highlighting our dedication to integrity, transparency, and responsible business practices.

Our spirit of innovation continues to earn industry recognition. AES is the only seven-time winner of the Edison Electric Institute’s Edison Awards in the twenty-first century, a distinction honoring global leadership in advancing the electric power industry.

AES Renewables is seeking an experienced Structural Engineer to support design development, project engineering, plan reviews, owner’s engineers, and construction of photovoltaic (PV), high voltage (HV), sub-station, and grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in coordination with the AES Business Development, Engineering and Construction teams and other markets.

The Structural Engineer provides expert technical support across solar PV, substation, HV, and battery storage projects and serves as the team’s subject matter expert for structural design. Responsibilities include reviewing structural plans for AES CE Engineering, evaluating the structural basis of design, economical construction alternatives, and structural solutions, performing quality control and assurance assessments, and providing technical guidance on pile load testing, Lpile analysis, foundation types, concrete and steel design, corrosion issues, and costing.

The ideal candidate should have experience with analysis and design and review of structural steel pile foundations, reinforced concrete design, and the evaluation of other structural systems typical to PV, BESS and HV plants for utility scale projects.

The position is at one of the AES Renewables offices or remote and will include up to 25% travel to project locations and partner offices.

Key Responsibilities

Project Development

Provide support for early-stage foundation design options for project estimating purposes.

Collaborate with external engineering vendors to develop conceptual design approaches and tools for various foundation systems (e.g., piles, anchors systems, grade beams, helical foundations).

Support innovation and standardization of conceptual design methodologies across foundation types.

Review and occasionally provide preliminary structural designs for projects in early development

Review of geotechnical reports for structural impacts on projects in development

Project Execution

Support project engineering with external Owner’s Engineer (OE) engagements with SOW, vendor coordination, and reviewing proposals.

Support Project Engineers in procuring OE services and/or external services; ensure consistent, high-quality reviews.

Support OE reviews as needed

Provide technical input, design solutions, and reviews for structural deliverables identifying areas for value engineering (e.g., PV Racking, BESS, HV Substation and Gen-Tie/Overhead line)

Review and comment on structural engineering calculations, studies and RFI’s across projects (e.g., design calculations, snow, wind, corrosion studies)

Review design packages for conformance with industry codes and standards, prudent industry practices, AES contractual technical specifications and AHJ requirements.

Perform site visits to assess structural issues during construction and operations.

Support or perform root-cause analysis for structural issues.

Conduct Job Site Assessment (JSA)s and safety walks to identify job-site hazards.

Coordinate with HV and project engineers to assess and provide recommendations to project schedules.

Engineering Support

Build and maintain a database of foundation designs (historical and current).

Analyze design evolution (e.g., steel tonnage from concept to IFC) to guide cost and design decisions.

Provide rapid, data-backed material impact estimates for design changes

Draft and update structural specifications to current industry practices and trends by incorporating lessons learned from past projects.

Verify structural calculations are complete and recommendations are incorporated into construction documents.

Support the Project Management and Engineering to troubleshoot issues during construction or operations and maintenance and develop repair/remediation options.

Support the Innovation team with product reviews related to structural design.

Growth and Leadership

Develop tools, guidance, and training to enable Project Engineers and other engineering staff to review structural designs independently.

Serve as SME for complex or ambiguous structural engineering review outcomes.

Continuously improve internal design- review and QA processes.

Contribute to AES Renewables growth planning through process-improvement task forces and strategic initiatives.

Develop and refine tools for structural concept design and estimating.

Provide support for field design issues and escalate to external engineering when needed.

Skills and Qualifications

Primary Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in Structural Engineering or equivalent technical field.

10+ years professional experience in structural engineering

5 + years of experience with PV and Battery Energy Storage System design and WTG foundation design and/or 2+ years of experience with HV Substation and Overhead Line design

Proficiency in field experience with structural, civil, geotechnical, and/or design build construction.

Experience with Structural Engineering standards and codes in the US.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office.

“Plus” Qualifications

PE or SE qualifications, or on track to become qualified

Master’s degree in structural engineering

Experience with Lpile, finite element analysis (SAP2000, STAAD, or similar) or other advanced modeling tools

Spanish language skills

OSHA 10-hr or comparable job-site safety certification

The expected salary for this position, at commencement of employment, is between $145,000 and $181,050/year; however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position also includes annual bonus. The benefits offered for this position are: medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, 401(k) eligibility, and paid time off (including vacation, sick leave time, and parental leave). Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if a candidate receives an offer of employment. If hired, employee will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

Apply by clicking the application link below and submitting your information. The deadline to apply for this role is 07/09/2026