ENTRUST Solutions Group · A Leidos Company · Summer 2026

ENTRUST
Solutions

Mechanical Engineering Intern on the High Pressure Pipeline Team — designing, updating, and modernizing high pressure natural gas transmission pipelines and stations.

Role ME Intern
Team High Pressure Pipeline
Duration Summer 2026
Status Completed
✓

Internship Complete — Summer 2026
Completed my first year engineering internship at ENTRUST Solutions Group (a Leidos company), contributing to live natural gas transmission pipeline and station projects from calculations to site visit.

Overview

First Year
Industry Experience

I joined ENTRUST Solutions Group, now part of Leidos, as a Mechanical Engineering Intern on the High Pressure Pipeline Team. ENTRUST delivers engineering and innovation to utilities across North America, and I was embedded directly on a team managing over a dozen active pipeline and station projects simultaneously.

Working alongside licensed engineers, I contributed to the full project lifecycle — from HDD calculations and bid analyses to drawing markups, 60% submittal meetings, and a pre-construction site visit.

Gas Transmission Pipeline Engineering HDD Calculations Bid Analysis Drawing Markups Leidos
Jamison at ENTRUST Solutions Group

// ENTRUST Solutions Group — Lisle, IL

Project Work

Pipeline Loop & Lateral Projects

My primary assignment involved supporting two related pipeline projects: a loop installation and a lateral retrofit, both involving high pressure gas infrastructure. I worked across multiple engineering disciplines — from stress analysis and documentation to vendor coordination and design review meetings.

▸

HDD Calculations — Verified that pipe would not be overstressed during installation, that pipe integrity would not be compromised, and that proper borehole clearance was maintained for Horizontal Directional Drilling crossings.

▸

Bid Analyses — Gathered details from vendor quotes, learned the business and client-facing side of project engineering, and developed familiarity with technical systems, vocabulary, and specifications.

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Google Earth KMZ Files — Built spatial visuals of pipeline routes and station layouts for project documentation and team review.

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Drawing Markups & 60% Submittals — Reviewed and marked up cathodic protection, mechanical, structural, BOM, and alignment sheets leading up to the 60% design submittal milestone.

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Previous Project Research — Researched prior projects to inform current design decisions and provide context for markups and documentation.

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Contact Lists & BOM Descriptions — Created and maintained vendor contact lists and compiled bill-of-materials descriptions to support project organization across the team.

Design Process

60% Submittal
Meeting Workflow

The 60% submittal process was a key milestone on every project. It followed a repeating four-step cycle to move from raw work toward a client-ready deliverable.

01
Crunch Time

Get everything ready to submit: finish markups, clarify open questions, and reach a clean stopping point before the client meeting.

02
Meet & Discuss

Present the submittal to the client, walk through the design, and discuss any details that need to be changed, clarified, or revisited.

03
Review & Compile

Review the client's feedback, compile meeting minutes, and create action items. Communicate internally to make sure all comments are understood.

04
Identify & Execute

Create new markups, implement redesigns, and continue developing the project drawing set and files toward the 90% review cycle.

Field Experience

Pre-Construction
Site Visit

One of the highlights of the internship was attending a pre-construction meeting at an active job site. Seeing a real station site brought every drawing, calculation, and markup into physical context.

  • Attended the pre-construction kickoff meeting on-site
  • Discussed safety protocols, design intent, and implementation sequence with the full project team
  • Worked through real field challenges: overhead electrical lines, landowner compliance, easements, and workspace constraints
  • Witnessed a last-minute bypass change in station design and saw how the team adapted in real time
Pre-Construction Site Visit

// Pre-Construction Station Site Visit

Project Support

Project Organization

Beyond core engineering tasks, I took on several project organization responsibilities that kept the team running efficiently across multiple simultaneous active projects.

01
Creating Visuals
02
Organizing Drawing Indices
03
Easement Tracking
04
Test Station Tracking
05
Creating Vendor Contact Lists
06
Meeting Minutes
07
BOM Research & Parts Compilation
08
Team Coordination & Intern Training
Takeaways

What I Learned
at ENTRUST

The technical skills were valuable, but the professional lessons proved equally important going into my second year of engineering.

01
Communicating Early & Often

As a young engineer, I had to break the habit of working in isolation. Checking in early ensured quality work and kept my understanding aligned with what the team actually needed.

02
Professionalism

Engineering in industry means looking, sounding, and acting professional at all times — in client meetings, on-site, and in every deliverable. It's a habit, and it starts early.

03
Being Prudent

There is no rubric or step-by-step guide. Understanding client expectations and delivering to professional standards — without explicit instructions — is what real engineering demands.

04
Time Management

This is not a school assignment. It's a continuous group project with many tasks running at once. Managing multiple active deliverables across a live project team required a different mindset entirely.

People

Intern
Connections

One of the most valuable parts of the summer was the people. I had the chance to build real connections with fellow interns who were going through the same experience — learning the industry, navigating a professional environment, and figuring out what it means to be an engineer outside of a classroom.

Whether it was working through problems together, grabbing lunch, or celebrating the last day, those relationships made the internship more than just a job. It was a reminder that the people around you are just as important as the work itself.

ENTRUST Intern Connections

// ENTRUST Solutions Group — Last Day, Summer 2026

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