Dwayne Watson Gutierrez - Structural Engineer

Structural Engineer

St. Paul, MN

651.414.6154

Dwayne received his Bachelor of Science in 2010 from Universidad Latina de Costa Rica and has worked at various engineering firms, both locally and in Costa Rica, before joining ERA in 2021. His experience ranges from managing to cost estimating, construction material testing and construction inspection, and beyond for a wide variety of projects including multi-purpose mid to high-rise housing and retail buildings, student, senior, and affordable housing, historic repurpose and adaptive use, projects, and government facilities additions. Because of his 10+ years of experience, Dwayne is able to effectively merge his innate artistic abilities with his engineering expertise to make a significant impact.

What is the most unusual challenge you’ve helped solve on a project and how did you solve it?

I got a call from the architect one time while doing the final punching list who told me the third-floor slab was cracking and deflecting to the point that the windows looked like rhombuses rather than rectangles. Come to find out the architect had moved our columns which effectively increased the span to 42-feet. I had to design a massive beam to support the load and oversee the construction for it.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to become an architect. I always loved art and was a curious kid. I was interested in learning how things work and how you can put them all together, but when I was in high school, I met the physics professor that changed my life. Physics explained a lot of aspects in life that I didn’t understand before and you could create things out of nothing. I knew then I wanted to become an engineer.

What is a hidden talent about yourself?

I am a very good digital drawing/painting artist. I have spent hundreds of hours doing this.