Trainee-Graduate Engineer

and the job listing Expires on March 7, 2026

The Minnesota Department of Transportation does not sponsor applicants for work visas or Optional Practical Training Extensions for STEM Students. Individuals must be legally authorized to work in the US at the start of employment.

This vacancy will be used to fill multiple Trainee-Graduate Engineer positions. Trainee positions will be located throughout the state of Minnesota and may include the following locations:
Baxter, Mankato, St. Cloud, the Metro Area or in one of our specialty offices located in St. Paul such as Golden Valley Construction or Design, Roseville in CAV-X or Traffic Engineering, or the Bridge Office in Oakdale.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Graduate Engineer Training Program is a 2-year rotation program. Trainees participate in the program for up to 2 years, gaining professional engineering experience by completing a series of 3 to 6-month-long rotations. Trainees rotate through functional areas such as Construction (6 months is required and you will work overtime during this rotation), Design (6 months is required), Materials, Project Management, Traffic, or Water Resources.

Trainees hired to work in the Bridge office will rotate through functional areas such as Bridge Design, Construction, Foundations, Pre-Design, Scoping, Fracture Critical Inspections, or Hydraulics. All Trainees are supported with structured mentorship, training opportunities, and a large support network of professional engineers engaged in the Trainee’s growth and development as an engineer.

The selected Trainee(s) will begin employment after all educational requirements have been met.

To complete the program, a Trainee must:

• Complete 2 years of professional engineering experience
• Achieve a passing score on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam
• Complete and demonstrate satisfactory performance in all rotations
• Complete all required rotations – Design, Construction and an outstate rotation
• Complete 20 hours of recruitment outreach and/or public engagement service

After all criteria are met, the Trainee will be non-competitively converted to a permanent, probationary Engineer 2 Graduate position in the trainee’s permanent (home base) office. All Trainees must become a registered Professional Engineer within 6 years of being appointed as a Trainee. To receive credit for your education and experience, your resume must clearly describe your experience in the areas listed and indicate the beginning and ending months and years for each job held.

• A Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geoengineering or Structural Engineering from an ABET accredited college/university or equivalent as rated by EAC/NCEES by the date of hire. If the selected candidate does not possess a bachelor’s degree, all offers of employment will be contingent upon successful completion of this requirement.
• GPA higher than 2.5
• A valid class D driver’s license.

Applicants will be evaluated for an interview based on the following: (1) applicant’s GPA; (2) an advanced degree in civil engineering or closely related field; (3) possession of the Fundamentals of Engineering certification or a Professional Engineers license; (4) engineering related work experience; and (5) previous MnDOT experience.

All applicants must submit the following information via email to Edgar Gonzales Reyes at
edgar.gonzalesreyes.us :
1) Your transcripts and identifying credentials, i.e., Proof of FE certification, Proof of PE licensure;
2)
If you have a degree from an international university and have not passed the FE in the state of Minnesota, you must provide proof that you are eligible to become licensed in the state of Minnesota once you meet the professional engineering experience requirement and any paperwork you have submitted that proves your degree is equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geoengineering or Structural Engineering;
3) A list ranking the job locations you are interested in being permanently placed in at the end of the two years; and
4) In…