What does a bridge engineer do?
A bridge engineer specializes in planning and overseeing bridge construction, ensuring efficiency and safety. Their responsibilities typically revolve around understanding the needs of every project and sites, coordinating with experts, setting goals and objectives, managing the budgets and schedules, and developing procedures to optimize construction operations. Furthermore, as a bridge engineer, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the safety policies and regulations to maintain a safe and productive work environment for everyone.
Bridge engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real bridge engineer resumes:
- Manage various wastewater capital improvement projects.
- Deliver bridge design for new concrete bridge construction projects and analysis for retrofit and rehabilitation on existing structures.
- Prepare AutoCAD drawings for final design, sketch plans and presentations for several bridge and highway projects.
- Perform detailed analysis of structures using SAP2000.
- Modele and analyze the bridge using SAP2000.
- Complete markups for slab details and building foundations using AutoCAD.
- Perform pond design, storm sewer system layout, pond analysis and ICPR modeling.
- Design and permite stormwater management facilities in open and landlock basins and the design of stormwater conveyance systems.
- Perform on-site bridge assessments for rehabilitation projects.
- Coordinate foundation types and sizes with Geotechnical sub-consultant.
- Review geotechnical reports and project drawings/specifications to ensure correct construction quality.
- Determine acceptability for several minimum baffle-barrel bolting conditions by performing LOCA and seismic analysis in ANSYS.
- Design structures and foundations for variety of petrochemical facilities.
- Perform engineering analysis of existing and new structures for various onshore petrochemical facilities.
- Participate in review team meetings with top members of TxDOT and the FHWA.
Bridge engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Bridge Engineers are proficient in Autocad, Structural Analysis, and AASHTO. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Math skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Bridge Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Autocad, 11%
Prepared AutoCAD drawings for final design, sketch plans and presentations for several bridge and highway projects.
- Structural Analysis, 10%
Perform complex structural analysis to determine structural behavior when necessary and to mentor /guide younger engineers.
- AASHTO, 10%
Analyzed bridge structures for deficiencies following the AASHTO code using hand calculations and software.
- Structural Design, 7%
Checked detailed structural design calculation for the lateral bracing, and the steel strut columns.
- Rehabilitation, 7%
Performed Bridge Maintenance and Rehabilitation workshops.
- Design Calculations, 5%
Implemented Quality Control review procedures for design calculations checking and plans preparation.
"autocad," "structural analysis," and "aashto" are among the most common skills that bridge engineers use at work. You can find even more bridge engineer responsibilities below, including:
Math skills. Many bridge engineer duties rely on math skills. "civil engineers use calculus, trigonometry, and other mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting.," so a bridge engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways bridge engineer responsibilities rely on math skills: "managed cad personnel and provided technical assistance during construction for geometry control and post-tensioning operations. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of bridge engineers is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday bridge engineer duties, as "civil engineers may encounter problems during each stage of their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "acted as a principal liaison between the caltrans and the general contractor to overcome differences in design solutions. "
The three companies that hire the most bridge engineers are:
Choose from 10+ customizable bridge engineer resume templates
Build a professional bridge engineer resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your bridge engineer resume.
Compare different bridge engineers
Bridge engineer vs. Representative projects
A Civil Designer plans, scales, and drafts drawings and maps for roads, bridges, and other construction projects. They work with engineers and project managers in determining material, labor, and other costs of the assigned projects.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, bridge engineer responsibilities require skills like "structural analysis," "aashto," "structural design," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile a typical representative projects has skills in areas such as "construction management," "infrastructure," "osha," and "construction observation." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Representative projects tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $64,096. In contrast, bridge engineers make the biggest average salary, $78,699, in the technology industry.The education levels that representative projects earn slightly differ from bridge engineers. In particular, representative projects are 8.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a bridge engineer. Additionally, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Bridge engineer vs. Civil designer
A Structural Designer designs, develops, and supervises the construction of new buildings and bridges, or extensions to existing properties or other structures. They review and update construction drawings as well as communicate project problems and flaws to managers.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, bridge engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "structural analysis," "aashto," "structural design," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile, a civil designer has duties that require skills in areas such as "civil 3d," "civil engineering," "civil design," and "site design." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Civil designers may earn a lower salary than bridge engineers, but civil designers earn the most pay in the construction industry with an average salary of $74,665. On the other hand, bridge engineers receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $78,699.In general, civil designers achieve lower levels of education than bridge engineers. They're 16.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for bridge engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Edoardo Sarda Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Robotics Engineering, Lake Superior State University
Bridge engineer vs. Structural designer
A structural engineering intern is responsible for supporting the engineering team on construction and structural projects, identifying cost-reduction techniques, and drafting layouts that adhere to clients' specifications, business requirements, and budget limitations. Structural engineering interns join the engineers on area visits, inspecting site foundation, and calculating dimensions and material costing. They also shadow the team's best practices and recommend ways to maximize productivity and efficiency to deliver high-quality outputs within the required deadlines. A structural engineering intern must be highly technical and analytical, especially on designing deliverables that meet quality standards.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from bridge engineer resumes include skills like "autocad," "aashto," "rehabilitation," and "design calculations," whereas a structural designer is more likely to list skills in "revit," "bim," "navisworks," and "ladders. "
Structural designers make a very good living in the construction industry with an average annual salary of $69,802. On the other hand, bridge engineers are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $78,699.When it comes to education, structural designers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to bridge engineers. In fact, they're 12.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Bridge engineer vs. Structural engineering internship
Even though a few skill sets overlap between bridge engineers and structural engineering interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a bridge engineer might have more use for skills like "autocad," "aashto," "rehabilitation," and "cad." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of structural engineering interns require skills like "revit," "powerpoint," "engineering software," and "engineering calculations. "
In general, structural engineering interns earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $56,459. The highest-paying industry for a bridge engineer is the technology industry.The average resume of structural engineering interns showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to bridge engineers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.6%.Types of bridge engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
