Employee Spotlight: Mike Senior

Building from the Ground Up in the Pacific Northwest

When you drive past a highway expansion, navigate a landslide-prone corridor, or witness a dam restoration, chances are a geostructural engineer is working behind the scenes to make it all possible. At Schnabel, that’s where Mike Senior thrives. Based in our Seattle office, Mike is a Senior Engineer (pun unavoidable!) in the Geostructural Group. He splits his time between taking on technically complex projects across the country and helping expand Schnabel’s presence in the western U.S.

From Legos to Large-Scale Infrastructure

Mike’s journey into engineering started with a familiar childhood obsession: Legos.
“I loved to build,” he says. “Not much deeper than that.” That early passion led him to consider architecture, but when he realized some college programs required high-quality drawings for admission, he pivoted.
“I’m not saying I’m bad at drawing,” he jokes, “but I never took anything past Art II in 10th grade.” Instead, he leaned into math and chose civil engineering.
At Temple University, Mike discovered geotechnical engineering thanks to Dr. Joe Coe, a professor whose engaging lectures and research opportunities sparked his interest. By coincidence, Temple’s small civil engineering department meant Mike took a mix of geotechnical and structural courses—laying the groundwork for Mike’s career in geostructural engineering, even before he knew the field existed.
Mike joined Schnabel as an intern in 2016 while finishing his master’s degree. Because he was hiking the Appalachian Trail that summer, he interned during the school year in the fall instead—an arrangement that gave him hands-on experience before starting full time in 2017. He spent five years in the Chadds Ford, PA office before relocating to Seattle in 2021.

Solving Unique Challenges, One Project at a Time

Mike leads geostructural projects across sectors like energy, transportation, and water. His work spans tall walls, excavation support, cofferdams, soil nailing, landslide stabilization, deep foundations, and post-tensioned anchors, to name some.

What he enjoys most is the mix of technical complexity and strong mentorship.

“We often deal with outside the box solutions, so work is a fun mix of using new research, contractor’s means and methods, getting creative with design solutions, and learning from one another.” Schnabel’s size allows for one-on-one learning and close collaboration, which Mike values deeply.

His projects have a tangible impact on communities—rehabilitating dams to reduce failure risk, widening highways to support growing populations, raising seawalls to protect against flooding, and restoring slopes after failures. Whether or not they make headlines, they are critical to public safety, quality of life, and infrastructure resilience.

Advice from the Field

Mike’s advice for aspiring engineers is rooted in authenticity and balance.
“Get involved in extracurriculars early—groups like the Geo-Institute, DFI, or ASCE are great places to meet people and find future jobs,” he says.

He also encourages students to be themselves during networking and interviews.
“Show you’re serious but also let your personality come through. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Growing at Schnabel

Mike describes Schnabel as a people-first company that invests heavily in professional growth.
“We like being experts in our profession, and the amount we invest in development reflects that,” he says. Whether you’re interested in technical depth, leadership, or business development, Schnabel supports a wide range of career paths.

His favorite part of working at Schnabel is the team.
“We work across offices around the country tackling difficult problems—there is a lot of collaboration, team bonding in crunch time, and one-on-one mentorship.” He also appreciates the opportunities to travel and attend conferences, which keep him connected to new research and industry trends.

From attending local Geo-Institute meetings to publishing papers and presenting at conferences, Mike has enjoyed steady, continuous professional growth through his time at Schnabel. Today, he serves as the Immediate Past President of the Seattle Geo-Institute Chapter and is active in ADSC and PTI committees.

Behind the Hard Hat

Before joining Schnabel full time, Mike hiked the first 800 miles of the Appalachian Trail.
“It’s been entertaining to see job sites pop up near places I hiked through,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll look at a map and think, ‘I hitchhiked in the back of a FedEx truck right there,’ or remember a hostel I passed by.” It’s a reminder that life and work often intersect in unexpected ways. Especially in mountainous terrain when you are a geostructural engineer working on landslide projects.