Position Purpose The
Senior Structural Engineer is responsible for supporting the design and validation of structural systems, staging, machinery, and rigging elements primarily for live market projects, including concert tours, music festivals, and other temporary installations. This role applies advanced structural analysis, dynamic assessment, and engineering judgment to ensure that static and dynamic systems meet requirements for safety, reliability, constructability, and code compliance.
This position requires the ability to clearly communicate engineering assumptions, analytical methods, risks, and conclusions in a fast-paced, highly collaborative project environment. The Senior Structural Engineer works closely with project managers, mechanical designers, controls engineers, fabricators, installers, third-party engineering partners, and clients to resolve complex technical challenges. Success in this role requires strong technical judgment, attention to detail, a commitment to ethical and safety-critical decision-making, and the ability to anticipate client-specific requirements, installation constraints, and technical roadblocks before they impact project execution.
Essential Responsibilities
- Uphold TAIT safety, quality, and ethical standards and proactively identify opportunities for improvement
- Analyze complex static and dynamic systems including staging, machinery, lifting systems, and rigged assemblies by applying mechanical and structural engineering fundamentals
- Perform detailed analyses using hand calculations, custom tools, and analysis software and clearly communicate assumptions, methodologies, risks, and results to multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced setting
- Mentor and coach engineers and designers on live-event structural engineering topics, including temporary structures, rigging and scenic support systems, dynamic loading, wind and seismic effects, safety-critical design, code compliance, and best practices for constructability, inspection, and safe event operations
- Engineer parts, assemblies, and systems to meet client requirements, jurisdictional regulations, and applicable safety standards and codes
- Provide independent engineering judgment and validation in support of bid and concept development efforts, including feasibility assessment of custom elements primarily in the live market
- Interface independently with clients, vendors, fabricators, installers, inspectors, and external authorities having jurisdiction to support compliance, technical alignment, and project success
- Initiate, coordinate, and technically manage third party engineering firms and specialty consultants, ensuring scope alignment, quality, and schedule adherence
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, mathematics or physics
- Professional Engineer (preferred)
- 8-10+ years of structural engineering experience
- Industry expert in multiple topics of structural engineering science and practice (stress and deflection of structures, design for global environmental conditions, connection engineering, aluminum structures, dynamic analysis)
- Expert in structural analysis with RISA-3D or equivalent software experience
- Willingness to extend working hours when necessary to meet project deadlines
- Willingness to travel infrequently, domestic and international, to project sites or to other TAIT offices
Working Conditions and Physical Effort The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee frequently is required to reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and peripheral vision. The employee regularly operates a computer, including typing, using a mouse or keyboard, and viewing the screen for extended periods. While the role does not require regular lifting or physical exertion, there may be occasional onboarding programs or training opportunities that create opportunities for more exposure to physical tasks or new environments (sites, venues, etc.).
Work conditions of the role are: - Work conditions may involve moderate exposure to unusual elements such as dirt, dust, fumes, unpleasant odors, and/or loud noises
- Work environment involves some exposure to hazards or physical risks which require following basic safety precautions
- Must be able to wear and properly utilize appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to work within or visit areas where required. This includes, safety glasses, reflective vest, ear plugs, safety toed shoes, and other PPE as required by the location
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