Structural Engineer, Product Development & Innovation - Modular Building Start-Up (Secaucus NJ)
If your best engineering decisions come from seeing, touching, and testing what you design, you’ll feel at home here.
This Structural Engineer role sits inside a product development team focused on modular building systems. You’ll combine simulation with hands-on testing to validate ideas and turn them into repeatable, buildable solutions — not just calculations on paper.
Sound good? Read more.
Structural Engineer – Product Development & Innovation
Location: Secaucus, NJ
Position Type: Full-time, primarily in-person
Reports To: Head of Product Development
Salary: $130,000 - $160,000
Opportunity Overview
This company is seeking a Structural Engineer to join its product development team and play a central role in shaping the next generation of modular building systems. This is not a desk-only engineering role — it is hands-on and highly collaborative, blending design, simulation, and physical testing.
You will work at the intersection of creativity and rigor, ensuring that every new product developed is both innovative and structurally sound. From early concepts to production-ready prototypes, you will validate, test, and refine designs that rethink how modular systems are built.
This role exists to replace slow, conservative third-party engineering workflows with embedded, in-house structural thinking that enables faster iteration and more ambitious product development.
If you enjoy designing, building, testing, and learning in equal measure — and find energy in solving structural challenges through experimentation — this role offers an environment where you can thrive.
Role Description
The Structural Engineer supports the development and evolution of modular building systems through integrated structural design, analysis, and testing. This role focuses on translating concepts into validated, buildable solutions that meet performance, safety, and constructability goals.
The Structural Engineer also serves as a technical translator, working with external Engineers of Record to communicate testing results and system logic while allowing the internal team to remain aggressive and innovative.
Grounded in engineering fundamentals and informed by hands-on testing, this role bridges simulation and real-world performance. The engineer collaborates closely with designers, fabricators, and delivery teams to ensure structural strategies are refined, repeatable, and ready for field implementation.
What You’ll Do
Design and develop structural systems for new modular building products, with an emphasis on cold-formed steel (CFS)
Perform structural simulations and analyses using tools such as SimScale, RISA, Tekla, or equivalent
Develop and execute physical testing programs in an in-house prototyping shop to validate performance and guide design refinement
Establish repeatable workflows linking simulation, testing, and design to accelerate the concept-to-production process
Conduct structural value engineering across the product roadmap, including reducing fastener counts, optimizing hold-downs, evaluating balloon framing strategies, and validating bathroom pod systems
Collaborate closely with project delivery teams to ensure designs translate effectively into field implementation
Document testing results, learnings, and recommendations to support a growing internal knowledge base
Act as the internal structural point of contact when coordinating with external Engineers of Record
Take ownership of structural strategy across assigned product workstreams, from early concept through testing and implementation
What You Bring
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Structural or Civil Engineering (Master’s preferred)
3–6 years of structural engineering experience in the AEC, modular construction, or building systems industry
Demonstrated experience in structural analysis and simulation using SimScale, RISA, Tekla, or similar software
Working knowledge of cold-formed steel (CFS) design principles
Experience designing and executing physical structural tests and interpreting results for design improvement
Strong understanding of building codes, load paths, and constructability considerations
Preferred Qualifications
Professional Engineer (PE) license or eligibility within 12 months
Experience with CAD tools such as Rhino, Fusion 360, or SolidWorks
Familiarity with Revit or BIM coordination workflows
Prior experience developing or testing modular or panelized building systems
Who You Are
A hands-on engineer who enjoys turning ideas into prototypes and data into design decisions
A creative problem solver who balances structural rigor with innovation
A collaborative builder who enjoys working alongside designers, fabricators, and project teams
Someone who values experimentation over perfection and approaches challenges with curiosity and discipline
Why Join
This team is redefining how buildings come to life by combining component thinking, product design, and human-centered engineering.
The culture is hands-on, collaborative, and driven by curiosity. Few structural engineering roles allow you to simulate, physically test, and validate your own ideas in-house. This one does — and expects you to.
Joining means contributing directly to how modular systems are designed, tested, and brought into real-world use.
