Geotechnical Associate
Anaheim
Permanent
$90,000 - $130,000 USD a year
Building Services
PR/610371_1793913258
Geotechnical Associate
Geotechnical Project Engineer
Location: Anaheim, California
Employment Type: Full-time
Employment Type: Full-time
The Opportunity
A multidisciplinary engineering consultancy is seeking a Geotechnical Project Engineer to support public infrastructure, municipal, commercial, residential, and institutional projects throughout Southern California.
This position combines geotechnical design, field-investigation oversight, technical reporting, construction support, and project coordination. The engineer will manage defined project scopes while working closely with construction-management, materials-testing, special-inspection, and civil-engineering teams.
The role is suited to an engineer ready to move beyond staff-level execution and assume greater responsibility for technical decisions, budgets, schedules, clients, and junior staff.
Key Responsibilities
Geotechnical Engineering
- Plan and coordinate subsurface investigations, including borings, test pits, sampling, and in-situ testing.
- Develop laboratory-testing programs and interpret soil and rock data.
- Perform analyses related to bearing capacity, settlement, liquefaction, seismic hazards, slope stability, lateral earth pressures, and pavement design.
- Develop recommendations for shallow and deep foundations, retaining systems, grading, earthwork, and site preparation.
- Evaluate expansive, collapsible, compressible, and potentially liquefiable soils.
- Prepare geotechnical design reports, addenda, technical memoranda, and construction recommendations.
- Review calculations, field data, laboratory results, and technical documentation prepared by junior staff.
- Apply applicable California codes, agency standards, and established geotechnical practices.
Project Management
- Develop project scopes, budgets, schedules, and investigation plans.
- Coordinate drilling contractors, laboratories, field personnel, and specialty subcontractors.
- Monitor project financial performance and address scope or budget changes promptly.
- Manage multiple assignments while maintaining technical quality and responsiveness.
- Prepare proposals, cost estimates, and amendments for new and existing clients.
- Coordinate deliverables with civil engineers, structural engineers, architects, contractors, and public-agency representatives.
- Support projects from initial investigation through design and construction.
Construction Support
- Oversee geotechnical observation and testing during grading, foundation construction, and other earthwork activities.
- Evaluate field conditions that differ from those anticipated during design.
- Provide timely recommendations to contractors, clients, and construction-management teams.
- Review field reports, compaction data, foundation observations, and materials-testing results.
- Respond to requests for information and review relevant submittals.
- Help confirm that geotechnical recommendations are properly incorporated during construction.
- Coordinate closely with materials-testing, special-inspection, and construction-management personnel.
Client and Team Responsibilities
- Serve as a day-to-day technical contact for assigned clients.
- Communicate findings and recommendations clearly to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
- Mentor staff engineers, field engineers, and technicians.
- Delegate work based on project needs and staff capabilities.
- Review junior staff work for technical accuracy and completeness.
- Support client retention through reliable communication and consistent project delivery.
- Contribute to the pursuit of repeat work and new assignments.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, or Geological Engineering.
- Master's degree with a geotechnical emphasis is preferred.
- 5 or more years of relevant geotechnical consulting experience.
- Active California Professional Engineer license is strongly preferred.
- California Geotechnical Engineer license or progress toward the credential is beneficial.
- Experience managing geotechnical investigations and preparing design reports.
- Strong understanding of soil mechanics, foundation engineering, seismic hazards, earthwork, and construction practices.
- Experience performing common geotechnical analyses, including settlement, bearing capacity, liquefaction, slope stability, and lateral earth pressure.
- Ability to manage project scope, schedule, budget, and technical quality.
- Strong technical writing and client-communication skills.
- Valid driver's license and ability to travel to project sites throughout Southern California.
Preferred Background
Candidates may be particularly relevant if they have experience with:
- Municipal and public works projects
- Transportation and roadway infrastructure
- Water and wastewater facilities
- Commercial and residential development
- Schools, civic facilities, and public buildings
- Shallow and deep foundation systems
- Seismic-hazard and liquefaction evaluations
- Pavement design and rehabilitation
- Slope-stability and retaining-system analysis
- Construction materials testing and special inspection
- Construction-management coordination
- Proposal preparation and public-agency contracting
Comparable Southern California project-engineer work commonly includes managing field exploration, performing foundation, liquefaction, settlement, and seismic analyses, and developing recommendations for public works, transportation, water, commercial, and institutional facilities.
Benefits
The company offers a comprehensive benefits package that may include:
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Retirement plan with employer matching
- Paid time off and company holidays
- Employee stock-purchase opportunities
- Professional development and licensing support
- Employee referral and discount programs
- Opportunities for advancement into senior project and operational leadership
About the Employer
The employer is a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy serving municipalities, public agencies, utilities, developers, and institutional clients. Its capabilities include geotechnical engineering, materials testing, special inspection, construction management, civil engineering, and public infrastructure support.
The Orange County team provides an opportunity for a project-level engineer to work across both design and construction, with access to established public-sector relationships and multidisciplinary technical resources. The broader geotechnical group works closely with materials-testing and construction-management teams throughout project delivery
FAQs
Congratulations, we understand that taking the time to apply is a big step. When you apply, your details go directly to the consultant who is sourcing talent. Due to demand, we may not get back to all applicants that have applied. However, we always keep your resume and details on file so when we see similar roles or see skillsets that drive growth in organizations, we will always reach out to discuss opportunities.
Yes. Even if this role isn’t a perfect match, applying allows us to understand your expertise and ambitions, ensuring you're on our radar for the right opportunity when it arises.
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