Home / Careers / Staff Engineer (EIT) / Lake Charles, LA

Now hiring · Lake Charles, LA 70601 · $85k–$115k / year

Staff Engineer (EIT) — Lake Charles, LA

Staff engineers get the full exposure this industry can offer: geotechnical investigations, materials testing programs, forensic assignments, and report writing under the supervision of licensed professional engineers. You will see the ground truth behind design assumptions on projects from building pads to heavy industrial programs.

This is a project-site position supporting programs in and around Lake Charles, Louisiana, staffed through the Houston, TX regional hub on a project basis with travel as assigned.

This territory around Lake Charles brings soft deltaic clays, surcharge programs, and petrochemical-grade QC, and certifications that travel with you, on us.

What you'll do

  • Plan and observe drilling and field testing programs
  • Reduce and review laboratory data; draft geotechnical and materials reports
  • Support forensic investigations, coring programs, and distress evaluations
  • Coordinate field crews and laboratory scheduling on assigned projects
  • Progress toward PE licensure with mentorship and exam support

What we're looking for

  • BS in Civil Engineering or related; EIT certificate or exam scheduled
  • Field-willing: real projects, real dirt, real weather
  • Clear technical writing
  • Interest in geotechnical, materials, or forensic practice

What a week in this job looks like

One week you are logging borings behind a drill rig and hand-classifying samples; the next you are reducing consolidation data, drafting a geotechnical report, or standing on a distressed slab with a senior engineer working out why it moved. Staff engineers here rotate through geotechnical investigation, materials programs, and forensic assignments deliberately, because engineers who have touched all three make better calls for the rest of their careers.

You will write constantly, and your writing will be edited hard by licensed engineers who care that a recommendation says exactly what the data supports, no more and no less.

There is also the unglamorous middle of engineering that no classroom teaches: coordinating a drill crew and a landowner, chasing a utility locate, deciding whether a boring can shift ten feet without breaking the investigation. You will learn to make those calls, document them, and move.

Licensure, mentorship, and where this leads

This role is built around your path to the PE. You work under licensed professional engineers who review your work and sign what you grow into, your experience record is structured with licensure in mind, and exam support is part of the deal. EIT certification in hand or an exam date scheduled is where we expect you to start.

From licensure the paths open: project engineer on geotechnical programs, materials engineering and laboratory direction, or the forensic practice, where engineering judgment meets evidence and occasionally a courtroom.

Pay, schedule, and travel

Salary runs $85,000 to $115,000 depending on experience and progress toward licensure. The schedule mixes office and field unevenly, drilling programs and big pours do not respect calendars, but field time is the point at this stage, not a burden.

Texas-based engineers work from the Sugar Land hub across active programs; project deployments to major industrial sites are defined-scope assignments with terms set before travel, and they are the fastest experience accumulator this industry offers.

Safety, quality, and the standards we work under

You will work inside a documented quality system, on active construction sites and drill rigs, with the training, PPE, and pre-task discipline that implies. Report review is layered and real: data, analysis, and language all get checked before anything carries the company's name.

You will also learn the professional side of caution early, what a recommendation commits, what a seal means, and why the engineers you respect say less and support it better.

How hiring works, and our commitment

Apply with your degree, EIT status, and anything you have written or built, class projects count when they are real work. Expect a technical conversation with a licensed engineer, not a personality quiz, and a clear offer. The role requires field capability on construction sites and drilling operations, a valid driver's license, and pre-employment screening consistent with jobsite requirements.

We are an equal opportunity employer and consider every applicant without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.

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Current certifications

The work behind this job in Lake Charles

Materials Testing in Lake Charles · Geotechnical in Lake Charles · Forensic in Lake Charles

Nearby openings

Staff Engineer — New Orleans, LAStaff Engineer — Baton Rouge, LAStaff Engineer — Shreveport, LAStaff Engineer — Lafayette, LA

FAQ

Working in Lake Charles — common questions

Is the Staff Engineer (EIT) position in Lake Charles an office job or a field job?

Field-based. You report to jobsites in and around Lake Charles, LA, with specimens and paperwork returned to the dispatching hub at the end of the day.

Which hub covers Lake Charles?

The Houston, TX regional hub, about 133 miles away. Work in Lake Charles is staffed on a project basis through that hub.

Do I need to relocate to Lake Charles?

Not necessarily. Project-site positions are staffed with travel and per diem as assigned; candidates already living near Lake Charles are preferred when a project starts there.

What certifications does a Staff Engineer (EIT) in Lake Charles need?

None to start; ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician Grade I and nuclear density gauge safety training come first and are paid for by the company. NICET Construction Materials Testing and ICC special inspector certifications raise scope and pay from there.

What tests will I run on Lake Charles projects?

Fresh concrete testing at the truck — slump (ASTM C143), air content (ASTM C231), temperature (ASTM C1064), unit weight (ASTM C138), cylinder casting (ASTM C31) — and nuclear density on fill lifts (ASTM D6938) against the ASTM D698 or D1557 Proctor, plus aggregate and soil sampling for the laboratory.

What should I include in my application?

Years of experience, any certifications (ACI, NICET, ICC, nuclear gauge), and either a resume file or a short work history in the form. Applications without certifications are welcome for entry-level roles.