Engineer Inspector

Foundation & Drainage Inspector / Engineer (On-Site in the Bay Area, CA)

BEAR Engineering provides independent, objective & data driven foundation, drainage, seismic & retaining wall inspections for homeowners, buyers & sellers, both onsite & remote.

Working at BEAR Engineering is a unique engineering opportunity. Our clients are a mix of people who are in the process of purchasing a home and they need an expert evaluation of the foundation & drainage in a tight timeframe or homeowners who are observing troubling signs of issues and need the expert, independent & objective guidance. The wide variety of construction styles and ages, combined with the variety of challenging soil conditions (hillsides, reclaimed land, expansive soils, seismic hazards) mean that you will see something new and interesting on every inspection. It is not unusual for homeowners to have past geotechnical reports, design drawings, structural calculations, and other inspection reports for their properties.

Combined with BEAR Engineering’s archive of reports and open source geotechnical and geological data, you will need to make on the ground observations and apply engineering judgement to determine possible causes of the client’s problem, possible safety hazards and risks, and possible solutions based on each client’s budget and priorities. It really is an interesting and unique practice of engineering judgement. You are working with limited data points and need to build a picture of what is going on through the course of the inspection. Many clients have no idea how foundations are designed or function.

Every house is different in some way. It’s very rewarding to know you are helping people out with one of their most valuable assets.

Civil Engineering Degree (or similar)

Adventurous - ability to enter crawlspaces below homes, work hard & get dirty

Full Health, Dental & Vision Insurance (administered through TriNet)

~Partial mileage reimbursement

~5 weeks total combined time off (vacation, holidays & sick days)

Excellence - strive for a personal best on every job