As a Staff Designer in our Structural Engineering Studio, Jon McCall gives us a look into a day in his life and wants you to know it’s about a lot more than just the math!

In the latest installment of our Emerging Professionals (EP) Series at Lionakis, we’re profiling Jon, who has been with Lionakis for just over one year and is working towards achieving his license as a Structural Engineer. As a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Jon has already passed one of the three exams he’ll need to complete to become a Professional Engineer. The first National Exam was 8 hours long! Next month he’ll apply for the second exam which focuses on Seismic and Survey work now that he’s had one full year of on-the-job experience. After three full years of experience he can apply for the final exam and official certification as a Structural Engineer. Currently he has his Engineer in Training (EIT) certification.

Right now Jon is working on an average of one or two larger projects at a time, along with three to four smaller ones. The Structural Studio supports all the markets of the firm, so unlike some of his other colleagues in the EP program, Jon works on education, healthcare and civic projects as needed. Jon says that he likes working across all the Studios and even sometimes with outside architects as a consultant on their projects. The Structural Studio’s multi-discipline approach is a great opportunity for him to work on a lot of different projects.

“I like working in the built environment, all the details and fitting the pieces of the puzzle together to create something bigger.”

As an EP, Jon finds seeing how the other studios work, watching the evolution of the project and getting to know everyone throughout the whole firm to be very valuable. He tells us that soaking up knowledge from senior management who have been doing this, in some cases – for decades, is especially inspiring too. Jon works confidently using Building Information Management (BIM) and Revit. He tells us that these design technologies, in addition to hand rendering are absolutely crucial now as part of school curriculum and out in the real world of design. Clash detection and coordination between disciplines on a building are also paramount to making something translate from paper into the actual built environment.

Jon is also an enthusiastic and active player in many of the Lionakis after work extracurricular activities, like our Softball and Flag Football Teams. Thanks Jon for sharing your journey towards becoming a Structural Engineer at with us!