PND Vice President & Principal Engineer Brian Nielsen, PE, SE, accepts the ASCE Juneau Branch 2026 Outstanding Engineer of the Year Award earlier this year at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall in Juneau. PND Vice President & Principal Engineer Sean Sjostedt, PE, pictured at left, won the award in 2025.
American Society of Civil Engineers' Peer Awards
By Julia Mogen, PND Marketing & Administrative Coordinator
JUNEAU, AK―PND Engineers, Inc. (PND) Vice President & Principal Engineer Brian Nielsen, PE, SE, was named the 2026 Outstanding Engineer of the Year, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Juneau Branch announced earlier this year. Brian is the sixth PND engineer from our Juneau office to win the award over the last 20 years.
ASCE annually recognizes a local engineer who demonstrates excellence in the profession and within the community—an honor Brian was proud to receive.
A professionally licensed civil and structural engineer with more than 20 years of experience, Brian specializes in building design across Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Brian, who was hired at PND on July 19, 2004, after graduating from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering, has dedicated more than two decades to designing vertical infrastructure projects to communities throughout Alaska, consistently providing engineering solutions to complex structural engineering challenges. Brian designs adaptive constructible solutions for builders in any situation.
“Brian’s experience from harbors to high-rises brings a unique breadth of knowledge to our office and the community,” said PND Vice President & Principal Engineer Sean Sjostedt, who manages PND’s Juneau office and Southeast Alaska operations. “He is a trusted and valued mentor to peers and young engineers, leading by example and gladly sharing his expertise for the betterment of our profession.”
Brian served as PND’s structural engineering principal-in-charge of the Mount Edgecumbe Medical Center Campus, a new 245,000-square-foot hospital and clinic for the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) in Sitka, Alaska. The building is a steel-framed structure consisting of two four-story towers connected by a two-story atrium, creating a cohesive and functional campus environment. (Photo by PND Engineers, Inc.)
Industry Expert, Trusted Resource
Brian leads a broad range of structural engineering efforts at PND, including new building design, additions, and complex seismic retrofits where harsh weather and remote locations make construction particularly challenging. His expertise spans projects of all sizes, from schools and tenant improvements to commercial and multistory buildings requiring materials such as steel, timber, concrete, and masonry.
Brian has been a trusted resource at PND for nearly 20 years, routinely providing peer reviews for engineers at all levels. He plays a key role in training and professional development for PND’s emerging structural engineers, leveraging his unique ability to teach complex engineering concepts.
“It is an honor to receive this award, especially when it comes from your engineering peers.”
Brian was the structural engineering lead on the Kodiak High School Renovation & Addition, an award-winning $66M expansion that included upgrading the lateral resisting system in the existing building and adding a four-story steel braced-frame structure designed to be an emergency response center for the Kodiak, Alaska, community in a major disaster. (Photo by Ken Graham Photography)
PND Engineers ASCE Honors
Brian’s award comes one year after Sean won the honor in 2025. PND Principal Engineer Mark Sams, PE, SE, won the award in 2022, while PND Vice Presidents & Principal Engineers John DeMuth, PE, SE, and Dick Somerville, PE, won the awards in 2012 and 2006, respectively. All are still actively practicing in our Juneau office. Chris Gianotti, PE, SE, who recently retired from PND, won the award in 2007.