This is not unusual for design firms, especially small ones. Engineers are expected to manage contracts, make sure payments are being received, and eventually bring in new work. How you do that varies by engineer. Some network, get out and meet people, cold call or whatever. But what has worked well for us is to build good relationships with people you work with (but not necessarily for), and they'll recommend you. Often times big name architects will develop a design and then hand it over to a local architect to do the nitty gritty stuff to make everything meet code. Stuff that's not sexy, tough to attract top architectural talent to develop your door and window schedules for you. By having a good relationship with the small shops, you can get your foot in the door with the big ones. And remember that not all work is glitz and glam, new buildings. Sometimes it's helping get a contractor out of a jam when something that was supposed to be pre-engineered doesn't come pre-engineered. Or doing some construction-related engineering work like doing crane foundations or (re)shoring calculations. Help them out and do it well and they're more likely to recommend you for the job or insist that you be on the job when an owner or architect comes asking for them to team up.