Geotechnical Engineer CDR Example
Geotechnical Engineer · 15+ years experience
About this CDR
Three Career Episodes from a senior geotechnical engineer with over 15 years of international project experience in hydropower infrastructure, tailings storage facilities, and slope stability. This CDR was assessed and approved by Engineers Australia under the Professional Engineer (PE) competency standard.
How to use this CDR
Use this CDR as a guide to the structure, technical detail and writing style that Engineers Australia assessors accept, then write your own Career Episodes about your own projects, in your own words. This CDR was written entirely by a human writer, with no AI tools used at any stage.
Complete CDR: Career Episodes, Summary Statement and CPD
You receive all five documents below as editable Word files.
Rock-Fill Dam for a Hydropower Project
Led geotechnical design for a hydropower dam for an international engineering consultancy. Designed a rock-fill dam with an HDPE geomembrane liner and performed limit equilibrium stability analysis using Rocscience Slide 2 with Spencer and Bishop methods. Encountered an unusual bearing capacity challenge at a lahar deposit and proposed pressuremeter testing (PMT) in place of conventional plate load testing, a solution that achieved the required design outcome and was later recognised with a national geotechnical engineering award. Demonstrated PE2 engineering judgment in selecting non-standard testing and PE3 professional contribution through award-recognised innovation.
Remediation Design for a Tailings Storage Facility
Senior geotechnical engineer for a tailings storage facility at an operating mine. The facility has a design capacity of 62 million tonnes. Performed CPTu and SCPTu in-situ testing and conducted liquefaction susceptibility analysis in accordance with ANCOLD 2019 Guidelines on Tailings Dams. Developed a range of remediation options for a saddle dam including rock fill buttress, toe berm, and ground improvement alternatives, and prepared design recommendations for the preferred solution. Demonstrated PE2 advanced geotechnical analysis and PE3 professional accountability in high-consequence dam safety engineering.
Slope Drainage and Erosion Protection at a Hydroelectric Power Plant
Geotechnical design for a hydroelectric power plant. Designed a horizontal drain system to relieve excess pore water pressure in unstable slopes adjacent to the powerhouse intake structure. Designed steel mesh mattress erosion protection and a riprap blanket using the US Army Corps of Engineers formula for riprap sizing. Used GeoStudio 2007 (SLOPE/W and SEEP/W) for coupled stability and seepage analysis, and RocData for rock mass classification and strength parameter derivation. Demonstrated PE2 competency in slope stability engineering and PE3 accountability in critical infrastructure safety design.
Summary Statement
Maps all 16 Professional Engineer competency elements (PE1.1 to PE3.6) to the exact paragraphs in the three Career Episodes where it is demonstrated, so the assessor can check each element quickly.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
A list of the professional development completed since graduation, such as courses, training, conferences, seminars and self-study, set out in the format Engineers Australia asks for.
Tools and Technical Skills
How you receive your CDR
After payment we email the complete CDR to the email address you used at checkout, as editable Word files. Files are sent shortly after payment, within a few hours at most. If you cannot find the email, please check your spam folder or write to cdr@cdrsample.com.
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