Structural Engineer Intern

Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

Thornton Tomasetti applies engineering and scientific principles to solve the world’s challenges. An independent organization of creative thinkers and innovative doers collaborating from offices worldwide, our mission is to bring our clients' ideas to life and, in the process, lay the groundwork for a better, more resilient future. We provide support and opportunities to our employees to achieve their full potential and cultivate a rewarding career.

Our Protective Design & Security team prioritizes the protection of life and assets by mitigating consequences of security risks in the built environment. With more than 75 years of experience, our risk-led and strategic solutions safeguard people, property, and operations from intentional harm, evolving and emerging threats.

Whether safeguarding a cultural landmark, securing a healthcare facility, or planning for crowd safety at a major event, our approach is grounded in intelligence, simulation, and human-centered design to deliver resilient solutions with demonstrable performance and lasting impact.

Within our practice, you’ll be develop knowledge on how risk-based design brings together security planning, physical security, and electronic security to develop layered protection strategies. You’ll support the development of performance-based solutions—from secure site planning to physical hardening, access control, surveillance, and detection—and how these measures integrate with security operations.

Your Role

As a Structural Engineer Intern in our Protective Design & Security practice, you will support risk-led security strategies, hardened façades and structures, and secure site design for facilities and campuses across a range of sectors. You will gain exposure to threat-informed engineering, structural hardening, and protective design strategies that help mitigate security risks in the built environment.

What You'll Do

Support engineering work involving blast effects, progressive collapse, structural hardening, and related topics.

Assist with analysis, modeling, and calculation tasks related to protective design and physical security.

Help prepare reports, calculations, technical summaries, and design documentation.

Coordinate with architects, engineers, planners, and security specialists in a multidisciplinary team environment.

Participate in on-site assessments, field surveys, and construction-phase activities.

Build familiarity with TT’s collaborative culture, service offerings, and performance-based approach to protective design.

What You'll Bring

Current undergraduate or graduate student pursuing civil or structural engineering, or a related field.

Interest in protective design, security, resilience, and hazard-resistant engineering.

Strong analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.

Familiarity with design, visualization, documentation and computational tools such as Revit, AutoCAD, Rhino/Grasshopper, Adobe Creative Suite, Bluebeam, SAP2000, ETABS, or similar platforms is a plus.

Ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance.

Compensation

The rate for this position generally is $20 - $35 hourly. This range is a good faith estimate provided pursuant to the California Pay Transparency Law. It is based on what a successful California applicant might be paid and assumes that the successful candidate will be in California or perform the position from California. Similar positions located outside of California will not necessarily receive the same compensation. Actual pay rates may vary from the range, as permitted by California Equal Pay Transparency Law. Compensation offers will be based on various factors, including operational needs, individual education, qualifications and experience, work location and comparison to employee already in the role, as well as other considerations permitted by law. A potential new employee’s pay history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits

Depending on your employment status, benefits may include

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, AD&D, Disability and other voluntary benefits

Flexible Spending Accounts for Medical and Childcare

Paid Time Off, Family Leave for New Parents, Volunteer Time

Tuition Reimbursement

Commuter Transit (where available)

401k retirement savings with Company matching on employee contributions and/or qualified student loan repayments

Fitness Reimbursement

And other various wellness, diversity/inclusion and employee resource programs and initiatives

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Thornton Tomasetti is proud to be an equal employment workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Thornton Tomasetti are considered without regards to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

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