Structural Engineer Intern

Structural Engineer Intern at Ulteig — Research Report

Introduction

A Structural Engineer Intern at Ulteig supports the design of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage system projects. The role combines structural engineering fundamentals, computer-aided design, technical documentation, and multidisciplinary teamwork—an unusually practical foundation for a career in renewable energy infrastructure.

The available listing does not state an application deadline. Because project-based engineering internships can close when hiring needs are met, candidates should apply early and monitor Ulteig’s careers page for location-specific openings. An Ulteig internship can lead to stronger technical judgment, useful project experience, and a clearer path into a full-time engineering position.

Overview of Ulteig

Ulteig is an employee-owned infrastructure engineering and consulting firm serving the Power, Renewables, Transportation, and Water sectors. Rather than manufacturing equipment, the company helps clients plan, design, manage, and improve essential infrastructure across the United States.

Its services include design engineering, program management, technical field services, and project delivery. Ulteig reportedly manages more than 2,500 projects annually, giving interns exposure to the scale, documentation standards, and coordination demands of a national engineering consultancy.

The company competes with multidisciplinary engineering firms such as Burns & McDonnell, Black & Veatch, POWER Engineers, and HDR. Ulteig’s distinctive niche is its combination of infrastructure consulting, renewable energy expertise, and a people-centered employee-ownership model.

Renewables work is especially relevant to this Structural Engineer Intern position. Ulteig’s teams support solar, battery storage, power delivery, and related infrastructure, where structural design must account for constructability, site conditions, permitting, weather, equipment loads, and long-term reliability.

The culture appears designed around collaboration and flexibility. Ulteig describes flexible workplace options, including remote, hybrid, and office arrangements for eligible positions, along with professional development and work-life support. Its campus strategy also reaches engineering programs at schools such as Colorado School of Mines, North Dakota State, Purdue, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Structural Engineer Intern Role

Role Overview

The Structural Engineer Intern joins the Renewables team and assists with the design and development of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects. The intern is not simply observing engineers; the position involves calculations, drawings, plan production, reports, permit documentation, and potentially field visits.

The business impact is direct. Accurate structural details and well-coordinated design packages help clients obtain permits, release projects for construction, reduce rework, and build renewable facilities safely. Even an entry-level contribution can influence schedule, cost, quality, and constructability.

Detailed Responsibilities

• Assist with development and construction plans for solar and BESS projects.
• Perform or support structural foundation calculations and design checks.
• Prepare engineering calculations, standard details, technical drawings, and plan sheets.
• Use AutoCAD Civil 3D for plan production and drawing revisions.
• Help prepare design reports, permit packages, and other client deliverables.
• Review applicable structural standards, regulatory requirements, and project criteria.
• Coordinate with civil, electrical, mechanical, environmental, and project management teams.
• Participate in quality-control reviews and respond to engineer comments.
• Support field visits, site assessments, or data collection when project needs require it.
• Organize calculations, references, markups, and design records for traceability.

Day-to-Day Workflow

A typical day may begin with a project-team check-in covering deadlines, open design questions, and upcoming submissions. The intern might then update a Civil 3D plan set, review a foundation detail, or perform a calculation under the direction of a professional engineer.

Afternoons may involve revising drawings after internal comments, checking dimensions against design criteria, or joining a coordination meeting. On a field-oriented assignment, the intern could help document existing conditions, confirm equipment locations, or organize photographs and measurements for the design team.

Work is likely divided across multiple active projects rather than one continuous assignment. That means prioritization matters. A strong intern learns to ask which deliverable is most urgent, confirm assumptions before proceeding, and communicate quickly when a task is blocked.

Tools and Technologies

AutoCAD Civil 3D is explicitly identified in the Structural Engineer Intern listing as a tool interns will learn and apply. Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook, and Teams, are also likely to support calculations, documentation, communication, and project coordination.

Depending on the project and office, interns may encounter structural analysis or calculation tools such as Mathcad, STAAD.Pro, RISA, spreadsheets with engineering templates, or proprietary design standards. They may also work with PDF markup software, document-control platforms, survey data, GIS information, and shared cloud repositories.

Skills and Requirements

Technical Skills

• Coursework in structural engineering, civil engineering, architectural engineering, or a related program.
• Understanding of statics, mechanics of materials, structural analysis, and reinforced concrete or steel fundamentals.
• Ability to read engineering drawings, plan sets, specifications, and design criteria.
• Basic AutoCAD or Civil 3D experience.
• Comfort with Excel-based calculations, unit conversions, and organized engineering worksheets.
• Familiarity with foundation design, loads, soil considerations, or structural connections.
• Awareness of codes and standards such as ASCE 7, AISC, ACI, IBC, or applicable local requirements.
• Ability to explain assumptions and identify when a design question requires senior review.

Expert-level software proficiency is not normally expected from an intern. Demonstrated learning ability is more valuable than a long software list. A candidate who can explain one well-built design project will usually make a stronger impression than someone who lists ten programs without showing how they were used.

Soft Skills

Communication is central because structural work intersects with civil, electrical, environmental, construction, and client teams. Interns must be comfortable receiving markups, asking clarifying questions, and explaining a technical issue without becoming defensive.

• Attention to detail when reviewing drawings and calculations.
• Curiosity and willingness to learn unfamiliar renewable-energy systems.
• Reliability with deadlines and follow-through.
• Clear written communication in reports, emails, and design notes.
• Teamwork across disciplines and geographic locations.
• Practical problem-solving when information is incomplete.

Experience Expectations

Relevant class projects, research, design teams, or previous internships can satisfy the experience expectation. A portfolio might include a steel-frame analysis, concrete foundation design, solar-support concept, bridge project, senior design assignment, or a carefully documented CAD drawing set.

There is no reliable public evidence that the role requires a specific GPA. A competitive applicant should still highlight strong performance in structural analysis, mechanics, design, or CAD courses. If the GPA is modest, project results, technical growth, and relevant work experience can help balance the application.

Salary and Benefits

A reasonable market estimate for a Structural Engineer Intern at Ulteig is approximately $24 to $30 per hour, depending on location, academic level, technical experience, and project needs. Related Ulteig engineering internship postings identify a target range of $28 to $30 per hour for an electrical renewables internship, while another internship posting lists $20 to $22 per hour for CADD work.

Reported internship benefits include mentorship and training, competitive pay, 401(k) eligibility, volunteer hours, and sick time. Specific eligibility can vary by classification, location, and internship duration, so candidates should verify the offer letter rather than assume every benefit applies universally.

Ulteig’s internship program has shown a meaningful conversion pathway. The company reported that 81 percent of a recent intern group—62 students—continued with Ulteig in part-time roles after the summer program. That figure does not guarantee a full-time offer, but it signals that strong interns may be considered for extended work or early-career positions.

Ulteig Hiring Process

Step-by-Step Hiring Stages

1. Application: Submit a resume, education details, location preferences, and any requested supporting materials.
2. Screening: A recruiter or hiring team evaluates coursework, software exposure, eligibility, and alignment with the Renewables group.
3. Assignment: Some candidates may discuss a class project, CAD sample, calculation, or technical scenario rather than complete a formal test.
4. Interviews: Expect a behavioral conversation and one or more technical discussions with engineers or project leaders.
5. Offer: Finalists receive compensation, location, schedule, start-date, and employment-condition details.

Application Timeline

Internship hiring often begins several months before the summer term, with many employers recruiting during fall and early spring career seasons. Since the available listing does not state a deadline, applying as soon as the position appears is the safest approach.

A practical expectation is one to three weeks for initial review and roughly two to six weeks from first contact to offer, although campus recruiting, approvals, and project demand can lengthen the process. Candidates should remain responsive and send a concise follow-up if no timeline is provided.

Screening Methods

Applicant-tracking systems may search for terms such as structural analysis, foundation design, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, renewable energy, solar, BESS, engineering calculations, technical drawings, and construction documents. Use these terms naturally in a skills section and within project descriptions.

Recruiters will also look for evidence that the applicant can work in a professional project environment. Specific outcomes—such as reducing drawing errors, completing a design package, analyzing a stated load case, or meeting a team deadline—are more persuasive than broad claims about being hardworking.

Interview Preparation

Example Interview Questions

• Describe a structural or civil design project in which you performed calculations and made design decisions.
• How would you approach checking a foundation design for a solar or battery-storage structure?
• Tell us about a time you found an error in a drawing, spreadsheet, or project deliverable.
• How do you manage competing deadlines when several engineers need assistance?

How to Answer

Use the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, and Result—for behavioral questions. For technical questions, explain your assumptions, identify the governing loads or constraints, describe your process, and state when you would ask a senior engineer to review the work.

For example, instead of saying you “used AutoCAD,” explain what you drafted, how you followed layer or dimension standards, how revisions were managed, and how the final drawing supported a broader project. This gives interviewers evidence of professional habits, not just software familiarity.

What Recruiters Evaluate

• Fundamental engineering knowledge and willingness to learn.
• Accuracy and discipline in calculations and drawing production.
• Ability to communicate across technical disciplines.
• Interest in renewable energy and infrastructure.
• Professional judgment when information is incomplete.
• Responsiveness to feedback and quality-control expectations.

How to Get Selected

Practical Tips

• Tailor the resume to structural design, renewables, CAD, foundations, and construction documentation.
• Lead with two or three relevant engineering projects rather than unrelated employment history.
• Bring a concise portfolio with drawings, calculation excerpts, and a short explanation of your contribution.
• Practice discussing one design decision, one error you corrected, and one example of teamwork.
• Research solar and BESS project components so the interview conversation goes beyond classroom theory.
• Attend campus events and connect with Ulteig recruiters or engineers before applying.
• State geographic flexibility clearly if willing to work across project locations.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Submitting a generic resume that does not mention AutoCAD, Civil 3D, structural coursework, or design projects.
• Overstating software proficiency and then being unable to explain a basic workflow.
• Ignoring documentation quality because the work is “only an internship.”
• Giving technical answers without explaining assumptions or safety considerations.
• Failing to ask about mentorship, project types, field exposure, and conversion opportunities.
• Waiting for a stated deadline when the listing may close based on hiring demand.

How to Stand Out

Create a two-page project portfolio that shows one calculation workflow, one drawing or model, and one short reflection on design tradeoffs. Redact confidential information and label your individual contribution clearly. Include the tools used, the constraints considered, and what you would improve with more time.

Networking can also create an advantage. A thoughtful message to a campus recruiter might mention a specific Ulteig renewables project area, a relevant course, and a concise question about the team’s intern responsibilities. The goal is not to ask for special treatment; it is to demonstrate informed interest before the application is reviewed.

Final Thoughts

The Ulteig Structural Engineer Intern role offers a strong entry point into renewable-energy infrastructure. It combines structural fundamentals with real plan production, foundation design, permitting support, field exposure, and multidisciplinary coordination—skills that transfer directly into an engineering career.

To improve the odds of being hired, apply early, tailor the resume, prepare a compact technical portfolio, and practice explaining engineering decisions in plain language. Candidates who show accuracy, curiosity, and dependable communication can position the Ulteig internship as more than a summer job: it can become the first step toward a full-time role in infrastructure engineering.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is The Salary?

A realistic estimate is approximately $24 to $30 per hour, with exact pay depending on location, education, experience, and internal compensation factors. Related Ulteig internship postings show ranges from $20 to $22 per hour for CADD work and $28 to $30 per hour for an electrical renewables role.

How Competitive Is Hiring?

The role is likely competitive because it offers renewable-energy experience, mentorship, and a potential path to continued employment. Applicants with relevant design projects, CAD experience, strong communication, and geographic flexibility should have a stronger profile than candidates relying only on classroom enrollment.

Which Skills Matter Most?

The most important skills are structural fundamentals, foundation-design awareness, AutoCAD or Civil 3D, organized calculations, drawing literacy, and cross-disciplinary communication. Curiosity and responsiveness to feedback matter nearly as much because interns are expected to learn Ulteig’s standards while contributing to active project deliverables.