Talent Maps / San Antonio / Structural Engineers
San Antonio Structural Engineer Talent Map (2026)
What structural engineers earn in San Antonio, how Texas licenses them, which structural firms employ them and the manufacturing, hospital, airport, arena and data center projects competing for them.
Hiring structural engineers in San Antonio?A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers structural engineers in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts structural engineers as civil engineers, so we pair its May 2025 wage data with real pay ranges from San Antonio job postings in 2026. Our civil and structural engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our San Antonio civil, architect and CAD designer talent maps.
Structural engineer salaries in San Antonio
BLS does not publish a separate figure for structural engineers. The civil engineer figures below include them. San Antonio’s median of $88,290 is $8,570 below the Texas median, but structural engineers with a PE and building, bridge or industrial experience usually earn at or above the 75th percentile ($113,760).
| Annual pay percentile | San Antonio metro | Texas | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $64,490 | $63,240 | $68,240 |
| 25th percentile | $73,730 | $77,200 | $79,930 |
| Median | $88,290 | $96,860 | $100,840 |
| 75th percentile | $113,760 | $127,340 | $129,680 |
| 90th percentile | $133,900 | $164,330 | $163,220 |
Civil Engineers (SOC 17-2051), which includes structural engineers. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine.
What San Antonio structural jobs are posting in 2026
| Role | Level | Posted base pay |
|---|---|---|
| Wiss, Janney, Elstner, Entry-Level Civil/Structural Engineer | Entry level | $79,280 to $118,920 |
| Gessner Engineering, Design Lead, Structural Engineer | Design lead | $100,000 to $115,000 |
| Vestal, Structural Engineer, Senior | Senior | $100,000 to $125,000 |
Pay ranges provided by the employer on San Antonio postings live in October 2026. Few San Antonio structural postings list pay.
How Texas licenses structural engineers
Texas does not license engineers by discipline and has no separate structural engineering (SE) license. Structural work is sealed under a Texas PE license from the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, which accepts NCEES exam results, including the 16-hour structural exam. Candidates must also pass the Texas Ethics exam.
Where San Antonio’s structural engineers work
San Antonio structural firms
Structural Engineering Associates, founded in September 1976, has 46 staff and 19 registered engineers. Its main lines are bridges, parking garages and schools, and it joined JMT in February 2024.
Persyn Engineering, founded in 1984, does structural work only. Danysh Structural Engineers is also based in San Antonio.
Multi-office and multi-discipline firms
Datum Engineers, founded in 1937, has a San Antonio office on Navarro Street. Unintech Consulting Engineers, founded in San Antonio in 1992, does civil and structural work, and Kimley-Horn’s San Antonio office lists structural services.
Architectural Engineers Collaborative, with staff in Austin and San Antonio, became part of TYLin in 2023.
Who is posting jobs
Wiss, Janney, Elstner, Gessner Engineering and Vestal all posted San Antonio structural roles with pay in 2026.
Black & Veatch’s senior structural role for hydropower work lists San Antonio among its locations and asks for 11+ years.
Manufacturing and data centers
Toyota’s plant expansion and new data center campuses from CyrusOne and Microsoft need structural engineers for large industrial buildings. See our Texas data centers page.
Where the talent sits: San Antonio submarkets
Downtown
Design firmsVenues
Datum Engineers’ office at 711 Navarro Street and the site of the planned $1.3 billion Spurs arena.
Loop 410 corridor
BridgesParking
Structural Engineering Associates is at 3838 NW Loop 410, and Pape-Dawson’s headquarters is also on NW Loop 410.
San Antonio International Airport
Aviation
Terminal C, now 18 gates and 850,000 square feet, is due to open in the second quarter of 2028.
South San Antonio
Manufacturing
Toyota Texas is adding 2.5 million square feet and 2,000 jobs at its San Antonio plant.
Medina County and Castroville
Data centers
CyrusOne’s 460,000 square foot Castroville campus and two Microsoft data center buildings in Medina County.
What’s driving demand for structural engineers in San Antonio
- Toyota Texas. Toyota announced a $3.6 billion expansion on July 6, 2026, adding 2.5 million square feet and 2,000 jobs by 2030.
- University Health hospitals. Two new University Health hospitals, Retama and Palo Alto, are due to open in 2027, and both are built to expand.
- SAT Terminal C. The 18-gate, 850,000 square foot terminal, designed by Corgan and Lake Flato, is due to open in the second quarter of 2028.
- Spurs arena. Bexar County voters approved funding for the $1.3 billion downtown arena in November 2025. Opening is expected in the second half of 2032, though the Spurs say the date is not set.
- Data centers. CyrusOne plans a $500 million, 460,000 square foot campus in Castroville, with construction from December 2026 to June 2027. Microsoft is building two 245,000 square foot data centers in Medina County at $350 million each, due by June 2027.
The talent pipeline
- UT San Antonio (formerly UTSA). UT San Antonio offers an ABET-accredited BS in civil engineering, the usual route into structural work.
- Trinity University. Trinity’s ABET-accredited engineering science BS has no civil or structural track.
- St. Mary’s University. St. Mary’s does not offer a civil engineering degree.
- Nearby schools. Texas State University in San Marcos has an ABET-accredited civil engineering BS, and UT Austin’s civil program ranked No. 4 in the 2025-2026 U.S. News graduate rankings.
- Licensing. Senior structural engineers in Texas hold a PE license, since the state has no separate SE license.
What this means if you’re hiring
- Buildings, bridges and industrial are different markets. A strong parking garage or bridge engineer and a strong plant or data center engineer rarely swap. Be specific about the project type.
- Price licensed engineers above the civil median. Plan on the 75th percentile ($113,760) or more. Posted senior roles reach $125,000.
- Expect Austin to compete. Austin’s civil median is $100,470, and firms such as Datum work in both cities.
- Post your pay range. Few San Antonio structural postings do, so the ones that do stand out.
Need structural engineers in San Antonio?
Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place structural, civil and bridge engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.
Call 512.686.1181 or see our San Antonio engineering recruiters page.
Hire structural engineersFrequently asked questions
How much do structural engineers make in San Antonio?
BLS groups structural engineers with civil engineers, whose San Antonio median is $88,290. Posted San Antonio structural roles in 2026 ranged from $79,280 at entry level to $125,000 for a senior engineer.
Do structural engineers earn more in San Antonio or Austin?
Austin pays more. The BLS civil engineer median, which includes structural engineers, is $100,470 in Austin and $88,290 in San Antonio. See our Austin structural engineer talent map.
Which structural engineering firms are in San Antonio?
They include Structural Engineering Associates (now part of JMT), Persyn Engineering, Danysh Structural Engineers, Datum Engineers and Unintech, plus firms posting structural roles such as Wiss, Janney, Elstner, Gessner Engineering and Vestal.
Sources (22)
- O*NET OnLine: Local wages for civil engineers (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors: Licensing FAQ
- Glassdoor: San Antonio structural engineer postings with employer-provided pay
- Indeed: San Antonio structural engineer postings
- Black & Veatch: Senior Registered Engineer, Structural posting
- Structural Engineering Associates: About
- JMT: SEA joins JMT
- Persyn Engineering
- Danysh Structural Engineers
- Datum Engineers: Offices
- Unintech Consulting Engineers
- Kimley-Horn: San Antonio
- FinSMEs: TYLin acquires Architectural Engineers Collaborative
- Pape-Dawson
- Toyota: San Antonio plant expansion
- University Health: Expansion
- Construction Dive: San Antonio airport Terminal C
- KSAT: Terminal C adds 18th gate
- KSAT: Props A and B results
- KSAT: When will the Spurs arena open
- DatacenterDynamics: CyrusOne Castroville campus
- DatacenterDynamics: Microsoft Medina County data centers