What does a geotechnical engineer do?
A Geotechnical Engineer plans and designs the structures for buildings, roads, embankments, canals, and other construction projects. They provide advice to civil and structural engineers, architects, and construction personnel.
Geotechnical engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real geotechnical engineer resumes:
- Incorporate ASCE, AISC, and IBC as well as other standards.
- Design are provided considering conservative seismic design criteria per IBC 2006 and available USGS data for Afghanistan.
- Execute FEA such as thermal, static structural, modal, harmonic response, and random vibration using ANSYS and NASTRAN.
- Prepare hydrology & hydraulic studies, review environmental assessments GIS analysis and map preparation for various studies.
- Perform geotechnical analysis and foundation design for plants housing heavy machinery that generate vibration, oil tanks and relate industrial structures.
- Assist in data management and review, coordinate laboratory testing program, and write final analysis for feasibility-level geotechnical design report.
- Serve as FEMA flood plain manager (NFIP).
- Perform civil/structural design, using CBC, IBC, AWWA, and API codes.
- Project manager for FDOT research projects.
- Design and analyze substructure end bents using STAAD.
- Produce detail drawings in AutoCAD 2D and 3D models.
- Design low-rise reinforce concrete buildings using AutoCAD and PKPM.
- Create boring logs using gINT base on visual classification and lab test results.
- Prepare soil boring logs and create soil profiles using gINT to assist structural engineers to prepare bridge plans.
- Perform structural steel analysis and design in RISA 3D and develop MathCAD applications.
Geotechnical engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Geotechnical Engineers are proficient in Geotechnical, Civil Engineering, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Speaking skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Geotechnical Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Geotechnical, 17%
Performed geotechnical analysis and foundation design for plants housing heavy machinery that generate vibration, oil tanks and related industrial structures.
- Civil Engineering, 11%
Leveraged industry expertise in administering multiple civil engineering-related projects including shallow and deep foundation design.
- Project Management, 5%
Assisted with the project management for a variety of private, commercial public projects.
- Autocad, 5%
Designed grading, haul road, and drainage channel plans utilizing AutoCAD Civil 3D.
- GINT, 5%
Prepared soil boring logs and created soil profiles using gINT to assist structural engineers to prepare bridge plans.
- Retaining Walls, 4%
Inspected construction of gravity retaining walls protecting an engineered waterway;.
"geotechnical," "civil engineering," and "project management" are among the most common skills that geotechnical engineers use at work. You can find even more geotechnical engineer responsibilities below, including:
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of geotechnical engineers is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday geotechnical engineer duties, as "civil engineers use calculus, trigonometry, and other mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conduct calculation sheets per project design criteria, aisc and aci design codes with mathcad and excel. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for geotechnical engineer responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of geotechnical engineers all the time, as "civil engineers may encounter problems during each stage of their work." An excerpt from a real geotechnical engineer resume shows how this skill is central to what a geotechnical engineer does: "served as expert witness for litigation related to construction dispute resolution specific to soil/groundwater and construction materials issues. "
Communication skills. Another skill commonly found on geotechnical engineer job descriptions is "communication skills." It can come up quite often in geotechnical engineer duties, since "civil engineers must be able to explain, both orally and in writing, the details of their projects." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day geotechnical engineer responsibilities: "perform project management of governmental and private geotechnical projects includingproject setup, coordination, scheduling and inter-department communication. "
The three companies that hire the most geotechnical engineers are:
- CDM Smith1,486 geotechnical engineers jobs
- Stantec49 geotechnical engineers jobs
- Wsp USA Buildings Inc.45 geotechnical engineers jobs
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Compare different geotechnical engineers
Geotechnical 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, geotechnical engineer responsibilities require skills like "civil engineering," "project management," "gint," and "engineering analysis." 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, geotechnical engineers make the biggest average salary, $78,584, in the manufacturing industry.representative projects tend to reach lower levels of education than geotechnical engineers. In fact, representative projects are 14.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Geotechnical engineer vs. Civil designer
Civil engineer interns work to improve their knowledge about construction and its relevant works. An internship provides them insight into various aspects of construction and how things run at the site. Through an internship, they learn how to differentiate between reality and engineering. Civil engineering interns will typically perform various tasks, including preparing and monitoring documents, working closely with the civil engineer to resolve issues and review complaints, and preparing plans and maps. They are also expected to visit construction sites to do their planning, quality control, documentation, and site execution.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, geotechnical engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "project management," "gint," "engineering analysis," and "engineering reports." Meanwhile, a civil designer has duties that require skills in areas such as "civil 3d," "civil design," "site design," and "gis." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, civil designers earn a lower salary than geotechnical engineers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, civil designers earn the most pay in the construction industry with an average salary of $74,665. Whereas geotechnical engineers have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $78,584.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Civil designers tend to reach lower levels of education than geotechnical engineers. In fact, they're 21.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for geotechnical engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Alan Hancock
Civil Engineering Technology Instructor, Dakota County Technical College
Geotechnical engineer vs. Civil engineering internship
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.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, geotechnical engineers are more likely to have skills like "autocad," "gint," "engineering analysis," and "engineering reports." But a civil engineering internship is more likely to have skills like "civil 3d," "gis," "roadway design," and "powerpoint."
Civil engineering interns earn the best pay in the construction industry, where they command an average salary of $65,780. Geotechnical engineers earn the highest pay from the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $78,584.When it comes to education, civil engineering interns tend to earn lower degree levels compared to geotechnical engineers. In fact, they're 15.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Geotechnical engineer vs. Structural designer
Types of geotechnical engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
