About Samara

Join Samara to help create new ways of living that help people dream bigger. Our flagship product, Backyard, is a fully turnkey, premium accessory dwelling unit (ADU) designed for California property owners and real estate developers.

Job Title: Structural Systems Engineer

Location: Redwood City, CA, Los Angeles, CA and/or Mexicali, MEX

Job Type: Full-Time, Hybrid

Overview

Ready to play a key role in building the future of living? Join Samara in tackling California’s

housing shortage and enabling people to attain sustainable housing without compromising

design or quality. Our flagship product, Backyard, is a fully turnkey, premium accessory dwelling

unit (ADU) designed for homeowners and real estate developers. As we expand our offerings

and scale our in-house development initiatives, we’re at a pivotal moment, redefining

homeownership through high-quality, attainable infill housing. Backed by top-tier investors,

including Airbnb, Thrive Capital, and 8VC, Samara is positioned for significant growth and

market impact.

To support our next phase of growth, we’re hiring product-focused engineers to advance and

scale the technical foundation of our modular system. These roles go beyond traditional design

work - they refine system standards, improve factory repeatability, and ensure our units are

code-compliant, manufacturable, and built to the highest standards of quality and performance.

The Structural Systems Engineer will serve as Samara’s in-house structural engineering expert.

This role requires deep knowledge of cold-formed steel design, code compliance, and hands-on

experience in modular construction and offsite manufacturing.

In addition to core structural responsibilities, the role demands a strong focus on designing for

lifting, transportation, site installation, and factory workflows. Success requires fluency in Design

for Assembly (DFA), tolerance management, and the creation of production-ready, repeatable

detailing.

You’ll lead the development of scalable and efficient structural systems across Samara’s full

product line—driving standardization of framing design and working closely with architectural,

MEP, and factory teams to ensure Samara’s structural solutions balance performance with

real-world constraints—from shipping logistics to in-factory build sequencing.

What You'll Do

• Serve as the in-house structural authority for all volumetric modular designs, primarily
  
  

light gauge steel.

• Perform and review calculations to ensure compliance with state and local building code
  
  

requirements.

• Develop and maintain standard structural details and repeatable assemblies optimized
  
  

for factory-built construction.

• Design structural systems that account for lifting, rigging, and transportation loads,
  
  

including craning and over-the-road transit.

• Develop repeatable shipping and handling strategies that reduce cost and simplify
  
  

logistics while preserving structural performance.

• Support integration of structural systems with mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and
  
  

architectural layouts.

• Contribute to 3D modeling workflows and the development of reusable structural libraries
  
  

in collaboration with the broader engineering team.

• Work crossfunctionally to enable Design for Assembly (DFA) by supporting fixture/jig
  
  

design and sequencing in collaboration with factory teams.

• Provide cross-functional technical leadership during design reviews, prototyping, and
  
  

early product trials.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in structural engineering, ideally with a California
  
  

Professional Engineer (PE) or Structural Engineer (SE) license.

• Modular construction experience in factory builds, multi-mod, stackable and/or other
  
  

hands on related experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil or Structural Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven expertise in cold-formed steel framing, connection detailing, and structural code
  
  

compliance (IBC, ASCE 7, AISI, AISC).

• Experience applying Design for Assembly (DFA) and Design for Manufacturing (DfM)
  
  

principles in real-world production environments.

• Proficiency in structural analysis tools such as RISA, SAP2000, ETABS, or similar.
• Familiarity with 3D modeling tools such as Onshape, SolidWorks, Inventor, or Revit;
  
  

must be comfortable reviewing models and contributing to digital design workflows.

• Demonstrated understanding of modular transportation loads, craning/lifting
  
  

requirements, and regulatory constraints for road transport in California.

• Hands-on mindset with willingness to travel to and engage with the factory floor to
  
  

validate design intent.

• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, especially with
  
  

architecture, permitting, and factory teams.

What We're Looking For

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in structural engineering, ideally with a California
  
  

Professional Engineer (PE) or Structural Engineer (SE) license.

• Modular construction experience in factory builds, multi-mod, stackable and/or other
  
  

hands on related experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil or Structural Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven expertise in cold-formed steel framing, connection detailing, and structural code
  
  

compliance (IBC, ASCE 7, AISI, AISC).

• Experience applying Design for Assembly (DFA) and Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
  
  

principles in real-world environments.

• Proficiency in structural analysis tools such as RISA, SAP2000, ETABS, or similar.
• Familiarity with 3D modeling tools such as Onshape, SolidWorks, Inventor, or Revit;
  
  

must be comfortable reviewing models and contributing to digital design workflows.

• Demonstrated understanding of modular transportation loads, craning/lifting
  
  

requirements, and regulatory constraints for road transport in California.

• Hands-on mindset with willingness to travel to and engage with the factory floor to
  
  

validate design intent and troubleshoot manufacturing issues in realtime.

• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, especially with
  
  

architecture, permitting, and factory teams.

• Ability to travel to our factory in Mexico up to 25-40%.
  
  

What We Offer

• Salary range of $150-170K and performance-based bonuses.
• Hybrid work schedule with 3 days each week in our Redwood City office.
• Snacks and Lunch on in-office days
• Early stage employee equity.
• Exceptional health, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401k eligibility after 6 months.
• Flexible PTO policy.
  
  

How to Apply

If you're excited to support Samara’s mission and have the skills to match, we’d love to hear

from you. Please submit your resume and a brief letter of introduction to our team.

Let’s build something extraordinary—together.