About this role
At UES, we’re a team of more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, geologists, inspectors, technicians, and drillers united by a shared purpose—to make a meaningful impact in the communities we serve. As a national leader in geotechnical engineering, environmental consulting, and materials testing and inspection, we collaborate on transformative projects across transportation, energy, water, healthcare, and more. Learn more about the benefits of joining Team UES and our core values at careers.teamues.com.
Position Overview
This internship is designed to bridge your classroom knowledge with applied construction materials testing. Over 10 weeks, you’ll rotate through key focus areas—including field testing and laboratory analysis —so you can experience the full scope of how engineers and technicians ensure quality in construction projects. You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how soils, concrete, and other materials behave in real-world conditions, as well as how testing and analysis directly impact project success.
Where This Can Take You:
By completing this program, you’ll gain practical skills in both field and laboratory testing, and experience interacting with engineering teams. You’ll graduate from the internship with a capstone project, technical competencies, and industry insight that will set you apart as you pursue a career in engineering or construction material testing.
Responsibilities
Soils Laboratory Testing: Conduct Atterberg limits, sieve analyses, proctor compaction, and swell tests to evaluate soil performance.
Concrete Laboratory Testing: Prepare and test specimens, measure cylinder dimensions, and determine material strength.
Field Testing – Soils: Perform density tests, observe proof rolling, and monitor lime treatments while learning how compliance ensures safe and durable structures.
Field Testing – Concrete: Conduct plastic concrete testing, cast cylinders, and verify rebar placement, connecting your findings to structural performance.
Capstone Project: At the end of the internship, you’ll complete a specialized capstone project that pulls together your field and lab experiences into a formal presentation for department leadership. This deliverable will highlight your technical and analytical skills—and provide a résumé-ready example of your ability to apply engineering principles in practice.
Qualifications
Travel Requirements
• Occasional Travel: This position requires occasional travel up to 10%, primarily for occasional off-site
meetings, training sessions, or company events
Physical Demands & Work Environment
- Work is conducted outdoors with exposure to outdoor conditions, including:
- Sites that may not be accessible by vehicle, requiring travel on foot through wetlands, swamps, grasslands, construction zones, and other uneven or rugged terrain with natural and man-made obstacles such as sand, brush, and debris.
- Moderate to loud noise levels due to lab equipment, field operations, and construction environments.
- Exposure to dirt, dust, chemicals, sun, heat, humidity, and varying weather conditions as part of field sample collection and testing.
- Physical requirements include:
- Ability to lift and carry between 35 and 75 lbs. over distances up to 75 feet, involving regular repetitive motion.
- Ability to stand, walk, drive, and operate laboratory and field equipment for extended periods.
- Ability to bend, twist, reach, stoop, pull, kneel, climb, balance, lift, carry, and push as required for laboratory and fieldwork.
- Ability to use your senses to see (including close, distant, and peripheral vison, depth vision, and ability to focus) smell, hear, touch (use hands to reach climb or balance, crouch, stoop, crawl, kneel and sit).
- Ability to communicate effectively through verbal and written means in a lab and field environment, often requiring the use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).
- This position operates in a professional office environment, requiring the ability to work at a desk for extended periods while using a computer, phone, and standard office equipment.
- The position involves sitting for extended periods, performing data entry, and engaging in frequent communication via email, phone, and in-person interactions.
- The role involves regular communication with team members, clients, and stakeholders, both in person and through virtual platforms.
- The physical demands of the job may include occasional standing, walking, bending, and lifting of office materials up to 15 pounds.
EEO Statement
UES is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is proud to recruit the most qualified candidates. Please see our full EEO Statement at the bottom of the page here
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