Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Airport Civil Engineer

🎯 Role Definition

The Airport Civil Engineer is responsible for planning, designing, delivering and maintaining airfield and landside civil infrastructure to ensure safe, efficient and compliant airport operations. This role focuses on runway, taxiway and apron pavement systems, drainage/stormwater, airfield lighting and signage, utilities and structural works while ensuring compliance with FAA/ICAO regulations, environmental permits and airport design standards. The Airport Civil Engineer coordinates multidisciplinary teams, manages budgets and schedules, administers construction contracts, and provides technical leadership across planning, design, construction and asset management phases.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Civil Engineer with transportation/airport project exposure
Airport Project Engineer or Airside/Operations Technician
Civil design engineer or site/civil construction inspector

Advancement To:

Senior Airport Civil Engineer / Lead Engineer
Airport Engineering Manager / Airport Capital Projects Manager
Director of Engineering or Chief Engineer (Airport Authority)

Lateral Moves:

Airside Operations Manager
Pavement/Materials Specialist
Environmental & Permitting Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the planning, civil design and engineering for airfield infrastructure projects including runways, taxiways, aprons, aircraft parking areas, and service roads, ensuring compliance with FAA ACs, FAA P-501/527, ICAO Annexes and airport design standards.
Conduct detailed pavement design and rehabilitation programs, including flexible and rigid pavement structural analysis, FAA P-401/P-501 methodologies, soil subgrade investigations, pavement management system inputs and life‑cycle cost analyses.
Prepare and review construction documents, technical specifications, contract drawings, and bid packages for airfield and landside civil works, ensuring clarity for procurement and contractor execution.
Manage construction administration and inspection for airport civil projects: monitor progress, approve pay estimates, perform site inspections, enforce quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC), and document as-built conditions.
Develop, manage and report capital project budgets and schedules, perform cost estimating and value engineering reviews, and track project financials against Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants and local funding sources.
Coordinate FAA grant applications, AIP/PR grant compliance, grant assurances, and closeout documentation; prepare funding exhibits and justification narratives for federal/state agencies.
Perform drainage and stormwater system design for airside and landside areas including detention/retention design, conveyance systems, LID/green infrastructure options, and NPDES MS4 permitting coordination.
Lead subsurface utility engineering (SUE) and utility coordination efforts: locate, protect or relocate gas, water, sewer, communications and electrical utilities, and incorporate utility phasing into construction sequencing.
Provide technical leadership for airfield lighting, signage, electrical vaults, NAVAIDs foundations and conduit systems in collaboration with electrical and navigation teams to ensure safe aircraft movement and regulatory compliance.
Conduct geotechnical review and coordinate field geotechnical investigations, boring logs interpretation, settlement analyses, slope stability and foundation recommendations for pavements, retaining structures and building foundations.
Perform condition assessments, pavement condition indexing (PCI), FOD risk assessments and runway safety area (RSA)/obstacle limitation surface (OLS) evaluations; develop prioritized rehabilitation plans.
Prepare technical reports, engineering calculations, risk assessments, environmental documentation (CEQA/NEPA/EA), and permit applications for local, state and federal agencies.
Oversee contract administration: evaluate contractor submittals, issue RFIs and change orders, negotiate claims, enforce safety and environmental compliance, and resolve construction disputes.
Drive coordination across stakeholders including airlines, fixed-base operators, tenants, FAA Airports District Office (ADO), TSA, Port Authority, municipal agencies and community groups to align project scope and mitigate operational impacts.
Implement and maintain airport-specific asset management strategies, updating asset registers in CMMS/GIS and recommending CAPEX vs. OPEX interventions based on lifecycle analysis.
Lead safety and airfield operations coordination for construction phasing, NOTAM preparation, temporary traffic plans, hot work permits and maintenance of safe airfield operations during construction.
Integrate sustainability and resilience practices into designs: stormwater best management practices, energy-efficient materials, reuse of pavement millings, and climate adaptation measures for sea-level rise and extreme weather.
Conduct constructability reviews and pre-construction risk workshops to identify logistical constraints, minimize operational interruptions and optimize sequencing for airside activities.
Mentor and supervise junior engineers and technical staff, review design work, establish performance metrics and provide career development guidance.
Prepare and deliver presentations to airport boards, executive leadership and community stakeholders detailing project benefits, schedule, budget and regulatory compliance.
Support emergency response planning and runway/airfield recovery strategies, including rapid repair methods, contingency repairs, and coordination with operations and emergency services.

Secondary Functions

Assist in development of airport design standards, technical manuals and standard details to reflect best practices and regulatory updates.
Support environmental permitting and mitigation monitoring: wetland avoidance, erosion control, cultural resources coordination and wildlife hazard management plans (WHMP).
Participate in planning studies and master plans, forecasting future airfield capacity needs, and identifying infrastructure investments to support aviation growth.
Provide input to procurement and vendor selection processes, evaluate technical proposals and lead engineering scopes in consultant contracts.
Maintain and update GIS, CAD and BIM models for airfield assets; ensure drawings, as-built records and O&M manuals are current and accessible.
Attend public meetings and stakeholder workshops to communicate technical information in plain language and incorporate community input into project planning.
Contribute technical sections to grant applications, environmental documents and regulatory submissions; assist in preparing scope, schedule and fee proposals for external clients.
Stay current with FAA/ICAO guidance, industry standards, and emerging technologies (e.g., pavement sensors, automated inspection) and implement pilot programs where applicable.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Airport airfield engineering and design (runway/taxiway/apron layout, RSA, RESA, ICAO surfaces)
Pavement engineering: FAA pavement design methods, pavement evaluation, flexible/rigid pavement design and rehabilitation
Drainage and stormwater design (detention, conveyance, NPDES/MS4, LID)
Construction administration and contract management (RFI, submittal review, change orders, claims)
FAA grant and regulatory compliance (AIP grants, grant assurances, FAA ACs)
Geotechnical coordination: soils analysis, borings, settlement and foundation recommendations
Airfield lighting, signage and NAVAID foundations coordination
Civil 2D/3D design software: AutoCAD Civil 3D, MicroStation, Bentley OpenRoads (or equivalent)
Pavement management and asset management systems (PMS, CMMS, GIS integration)
Structural analysis for pavement slabs, retaining walls and foundations (STAAD, SAP, or similar)
Construction inspection and QA/QC procedures and testing (compaction, density, material testing)
Cost estimating, budgeting and schedule control (MS Project, Primavera P6)
Environmental permitting and documentation (NEPA, CEQA, ESA, wetland permitting)
Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) and utility coordination best practices
Experience with specification writing and technical report preparation

Soft Skills

Strong verbal and written communication — translate technical issues to non‑technical stakeholders and present to boards
Project management and leadership — prioritize tasks, manage cross-functional teams and deliver on schedule
Stakeholder management — coordinate with airlines, FAA, TSA, tenants and municipal agencies diplomatically
Problem solving and critical thinking — anticipate constructability and operational constraints and devise pragmatic solutions
Attention to detail and documentation discipline — ensure traceable decision records and high-quality deliverables
Negotiation and conflict resolution — manage contractor disputes, change orders and inter-agency coordination
Mentoring and team development — coach junior engineers and foster continuous learning
Adaptability and decisiveness under operational constraints and tight airfield working windows
Safety-first mindset with experience integrating risk-based operational controls on active airfields

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (or closely related engineering discipline) from an accredited institution.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Structural Engineering, or Airport Planning.
Professional Engineer (PE) license in civil engineering (state-level) strongly preferred.
Additional certifications desirable: FAA Part 139 familiarity, PMP, Envision/LEED, ACI or NICET certifications.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Civil Engineering
Structural Engineering
Transportation Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering
Construction Management
Environmental Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–15 years of progressive civil engineering experience with minimum 3–7 years specifically in airport or airfield engineering and construction.

Preferred:

7+ years of airport-focused civil engineering experience including runway/taxiway design and construction.
Demonstrated experience working with FAA ADOs, grant programs (AIP), and airport master planning.
Proven record of leading medium-to-large capital projects ($1M–$100M+), construction administration and contract closeout.
Experience with airport operations coordination, NOTAM preparation, and working on active airfields during construction.