Forensic Structural Engineer

Experience Aviva Indivdually we are people, but together we are Aviva. Indivdually these are just words, but together they are our Values – Care, Commitment, Community, and Confidence.

At Aviva Canada, we put people first, our employees, our customers, and our communities. We’re proud of a culture built on care, inclusion, and collaboration, where your voice matters and your growth is supported. We’re not just about insurance; we’re about making a real difference by protecting what matters most.

The opportunity Are you a passionate engineer eager to make a meaningful impact on a bigger scale? Aviva is thrilled to announce a new innovative role that offers an unparalleled opportunity to shape the future of engineering services for our customers and claims team. This is an exciting chance to build key strategies and initiatives as part of a growing team. Aviva recognizes the importance of being flexible and the benefits of being together; this role will be hybrid – the best of both worlds.

In this role, you will serve as an internal technical resource for Aviva, providing expert evaluation and guidance on matters related to structural integrity, design, and failure analysis. This role will focus on supporting claims by assessing damage to buildings, bridges, and other structures, determining root causes of structural failures, and advising on repair feasibility and compliance with building codes and industry standards. You will collaborate closely with claims professionals, underwriters, and risk management teams to deliver accurate assessments that inform claim decisions, loss mitigation strategies, and underwriting guidelines. Additionally, you will be conducting site inspections, reviewing engineering reports, and preparing technical documentation to support claim resolution, subrogation efforts and litigation processes.

What You’ll Do

• Perform building and structural failure investigations and determine the root and cause of failure and damage to buildings, foundations, structures, and building envelope mechanisms.
• Support our claims professionals, independent adjusters and customers by investigating losses to determine the origin and cause of failures, damages or defects within residential, commercial and industrial sites as well as product, equipment and material failures. You will investigate losses through on-site inspection and forensic evaluation to support claims handling, coverage determination and recovery efforts against third parties.
• Analyze the failure of building systems, determine the cause of failures, evaluate the quality of construction or review design or maintenance procedures.
• Assess the physical damage to building components, systems and materials including determination of the extent of damage and required remediation. This includes applying engineering judgment to distinguish between damage due to the loss and unaffected or pre-existing damage in order to recommend repair versus replacement considerations.
• Research failure modes and code requirements as needed and prepare recommendations for repair and / or remediation as appropriate.
• Conduct field investigations of structural failures, documenting your work and collecting all necessary evidence, including capturing data, photographs, videos, and interviewing parties and associated with the incident. Safely secure evidence for further analysis, and presentation.
• Perform Provincial Code and Standards compliance analysis and reviews.
• Provide engineering opinions and technical guidance to Claims Professionals, leadership and other key stakeholders to support decision-making. This includes preparing reports and letters outlining your opinions in a clear, concise manner adapting to a non-technical audience.
• Guide the technical direction of investigations, including determining when external specialty expertise is required or reviewing external forensic opinions, including conducting peer reviews of external investigations and opinions.
• Interact with customers to explain the investigation process, gather relevant information, coordinate site access, and communicate findings clearly and professionally without making coverage decisions.
• You will use your expertise to make decisions on (1) the most plausible reason for a failure based on data; (2) whether the design, installation or maintenance met industry standards or, if appropriate, building codes; (3) whether the loss was due to design error, manufacturing defect, improper maintenance or external factors.
• Contribute to engineering expertise including multi-disciplinary initiatives or emerging risk areas, as required.
• Collaborate with other groups on multidisciplinary projects to provide solutions on complex losses and failures.
• Provide guidance to internal and external partners on operationalizing strategies for engineering services.

What You’ll Bring

What You’ll Get

Aviva Canada may use AI tools to assist us throughout the recruitment process to screen, assess or select applicants for a position. Aviva Canada welcomes applications from all qualified individuals and has a process in place to provide accommodations for persons with disabilities at all stages of the hiring process and during employment. If you require accommodation during the interview or hiring process, please contact your Aviva Talent Acquisition Partner so that an appropriate accommodation can be arranged.

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