Location: Alexandria, MN — in-office, with flexible hours. Relocation assistance available for the right candidate.
Hagstrom Engineering is a small, established (13+ years) civil engineering firm performing residential, educational, and commercial land development work across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. We’re growing and are looking for an experienced project engineer who wants to take on a larger role and run their own projects.
What makes this opportunity different
At a big firm you’d design a piece of a project, hand it down the line, and wait your turn to advance within the company. Here, you will take ownership of the entire project — the grading, the utilities, the client and agency coordination, all of it. Your name will be on the project and your decisions will carry it. If you’ve ever been frustrated being a small part in a big machine, this job is for you.
The honest part — read this
Because we’re small, we do our own drafting. That means you design and produce your own work in Civil 3D — you’re not handing redlines to a drafting department and waiting a week to see the results. For the right person this is the best part of the job: no bottlenecks, no telephone game, just complete control of your plans from the first feature line to the final sheet. This job is hands-on, and it’s not for everyone. If you want to design and never touch production again, we’re not the right fit for you, and that’s okay. If you like owning your work from beginning to end and taking pride in a clean plan set that you built yourself, keep reading.
What you’ll do
- Run site/land development projects from concept through stamped construction documents.
- Design and draft grading and site utilities (storm, sanitary, water) in Civil 3D, meeting our firm standards.
- Coordinate directly with clients, cities, counties, watershed districts, and review agencies.
- Self-check your work against our quality control standard and help review coworkers’ projects.
- Grow with us and help shape how the firm works as we scale.
Who you are
- Hold a BS in Civil Engineering and are a licensed PE, or an EIT on track to sit for the PE exam.
- Have hands-on site/land development design experience, with real strength in grading and utility design — enough to take a project from concept to a stamped set.
- Are comfortable and productive in Civil 3D — surfaces, grading, and pipe networks.
- Are a self-starter who takes initiative and moves work forward without being told the next step.
- Have sound judgment, an ownership mindset, and the communication skills to represent our company well with clients and agencies.
Nice to have
- Minnesota jurisdictional experience (or clearly transferable experience and the drive to learn local standards).
- Hydrology and hydraulics (H&H) design experience; HydroCAD a plus.
What we offer
- Real ownership of projects and direct client relationships — now, not in ten years.
- Variety across project types instead of one repetitive slice.
- Flexible hours and a genuine work-life balance — we mean it.
- Mentorship directly from the owner and a front-row seat to how the business runs.
- A credible path toward leadership and ownership for the right person.
- A low-cost-of-living region where your income goes further and the commute is short.
- Life in west central Minnesota — lakes, open space, good schools, and a real community.
Compensation & Benefits
- Base salary: $80,000–$95,000 for an EIT; $95,000–$115,000 for a licensed PE, depending on experience — with a salary increase when you earn your license.
- Health insurance: 100% of the employee’s single plan paid, plus a $1,000/year employer HSA contribution.
- Retirement: Simple IRA with a 3% company match.
- Insurance: $100,000 company-paid life insurance and long-term disability coverage.
- Time off: Two weeks of vacation, one week of sick/personal time, and seven paid holidays.
- Professional development: Paid license renewals and approved continuing education.
How to apply
Submit your resume through the Join Us page on our website: hagstromeng.com/join-us. Hagstrom Engineering is an equal opportunity employer.