Structural Engineering in 2026: What the Market is Telling us Now
The structures market is heading into 2026 with a familiar mix of confidence and constraint. Project demand remains strong, but the availability of the right talent, particularly at senior level, continues to be the defining challenge for many employers.
That theme sat at the heart of our webinar, “Structures Engineering in 2026: Market Trends, Skills and the Future of the Profession,” where our panel explored what’s really shaping hiring decisions, candidate priorities, and the future skills mix across structural engineering.
Our panellists were Kent Streek and Claire Shinar, from Carrington West, Brylea Purnell, Talent Acquisition Manager at BakerHicks and Kevin Payne, Associate Director (Structures) at Wintech.
The Summary: Hiring Trends in Structural Engineering
One message came through clearly: organisations are competing hardest for experienced engineers who can do more than “do the job”. The most sought-after people are those who can lead and deliver complex work, guide teams through design decisions, and mentor those coming up behind them. As the market stretches, the gap at senior level has knock-on effects, from delivery pressure to slower progression for mid-level engineers who need stronger support and oversight.
Salary movement reflects this competitiveness, with pay continuing to rise steadily in line with inflation. However, the discussion also highlighted a subtle shift in how candidates assess opportunities. For many, particularly those with experience and options, salary is only one part of the decision. Employers offering higher headline pay sometimes do so to compensate for areas where their overall offer is less compelling, whether that’s limited flexibility, less attractive benefits, or projects that don’t excite or develop people. Increasingly, the “package” is judged as a whole: the work, the culture, the leadership, the progression, and how well the role fits around life outside work.
That balance looks different depending on career stage. Early-career engineers often place a premium on development: progression routes that are clear, support towards chartership, exposure to a variety of projects, and the chance to learn directly from experienced colleagues. In many cases, that’s why junior professionals still prefer being in the office more frequently, because proximity to senior engineers accelerates learning in ways that can’t always be replicated remotely. Senior candidates, on the other hand, tend to weigh flexibility and work-life balance far more heavily. Hybrid working isn’t viewed as a “nice to have”, it’s often a baseline expectation, and sometimes a non-negotiable.
The Changing Skills Landscape
The panel also explored how skill requirements are evolving. The profession’s fundamentals remain as important as ever: sound engineering judgement, the ability to sense-check, and the core principles that underpin safe design. But alongside this, the market is putting growing value on digital capability and future-focused specialisms. Digital design, BIM, automation and AI-adjacent skills are becoming increasingly relevant, while sustainability and retrofit expertise are rising quickly up the priority list as the industry responds to net zero targets and the realities of adapting existing assets.
An audience question prompted the panel to discuss pathway to different qualifications. Professional registration was another area where expectations are broadening. While CEng remains a key benchmark, there is growing awareness and demand for alternative registrations such as IEng and EngTech, both for engineers and technicians. Across the panel, these routes were seen as valuable signals, demonstrating capability, ambition, and an understanding of professional standards, and something employers should support more actively and visibly.
The panel moved on to discuss AI. And while AI isn’t yet driving core structural design processes, it is already present in the workplace and the hiring journey. Tools like Microsoft Copilot are being used for administrative support, and candidates are increasingly using AI to polish CVs and applications. That has created a new challenge for hiring managers: the gap between a highly polished written application and a candidate’s real-world capability in interview or technical discussion. As a result, many employers are doubling down on robust assessment and human review to ensure accuracy and authenticity.
There were a few questions from the audience on hybrid working and the panel agreed that the market is settling into patterns that are increasingly consistent. Two to three days in the office is a common standard, with flexibility often applied case by case. Importantly, flexibility isn’t only about where people work, it’s also about how. Adjustments around core hours, particularly for childcare and caring responsibilities, are becoming a key part of attracting and retaining talent. The panel emphasised that the best outcomes come when expectations are discussed openly from the start, ideally in the interview process before offer stage, with clarity from employers and honesty from candidates.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the webinar reinforced that the most pressing issue for 2026 isn’t a lack of opportunity, but a lack of experienced capacity. For employers, the challenge is to build teams that develop capability: investing in mentoring, creating progression routes that genuinely work, supporting professional registration, and shaping a flexible offer that reflects how structural engineers want to work today. For candidates, the message was equally direct: be authentic about your experience, focus on development, and remember that communication and attitude continue to carry real weight especially early in a career.
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