Fire & Life Safety Engineer

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, a place where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and novel ideas to work every day. As we foster a culture of inclusion throughout our company and within our communities, we constantly ask ourselves: What is our impact on the world?
Watch Our Story:' https://www.hdrinc.com/our-story'
Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change the world for the better. Read further to learn how you could help make great things possible not only in your community, but around the world.
Fire & Life Safety Engineer:
HDR’s Fire & Life Safety (FLS) team is continuing to expand our market sector expertise across HDR’s client base, including Civic (eg: high-rises, auditoriums/arenas, detention, recreational), Federal (DoD, NASA, VA, NPS, GSA), Data Centers, Healthcare, Resources (hazardous materials, power, hydropower, waste, oil/gas/LNG, mining, industrial, fuels, material handling), Science/Tech/Labs, Transportation (aviation, rail, roads/bridges, marine, public transit), Water (water/waste/storm treatment), and many more.
Due to rapid growth in our Fire & Life Safety services, we are seeking a highly motivated Fire & Life Safety Engineer to join our multi-discipline design and engineering teams located in Denver, CO. This individual will work closely with regional Fire & Life Safety Area Business Class Leads, serving as a consultant to both internal project teams and external clients, while also playing a key role in developing, growing, and leading a Colorado based team.
As a member of our FLS team, successful candidates will be tasked with executing production and managing projects. You will also have a key role in providing leadership in continually evolving and delivering our fire & life safety design services which includes: active and passive fire and life safety systems, code consulting, life safety and egress evaluations, performance based design, fire/smoke/egress modeling, inspection and plan review, hazard and risk analysis, emergency management and planning, structural fire protection, fire root cause analysis, and accessibility consulting.
If you are self-motivated, goal and detail oriented, take pride and responsibility for your work, and want to advance your career in FLS within a leading A/E Firm that appreciates you and your ambitions, look no further.
Travel (domestic and international) may be required at various times. Travel is estimated to be 15% or less.
The Team:
You will join a rapidly-growing Fire & Life Safety team that provides seamless coverage to projects located across the United States. The overall FLS team is distributed throughout the USA and works as an integrated element in larger A/E teams in a broad range of industries. The majority of our Colorado-based A/E team members are located in Denver.
Success in this role will require the ability to:

Know your strengths, foster relationships, and be a proactive communicator.
Share our desire to grow our FLS team globally.
Collaborate in a Team environment with a positive and helpful attitude.
Be highly motivated, constantly seek improvement in how we do things, and be willing to take on new challenges.
Be able to participate in multiple projects immediately in a technical design and consulting role for successful delivery of projects through independent work and engaging other FLS teammates.
Cultivate good working relationships with project managers, project teams, FLS teammates, and other clients as we grow our team.
Effectively network with other fire and life safety industry professionals.
Duties and Skills:

Fire protection engineering and code consulting efforts; you may be responsible as engineer of record for projects in Colorado and other locations across the country.
Project management, responsible for managing dedicated fire & life safety projects and FLS content of interdisciplinary projects.
Performing analysis of existing fire protection systems, as well as designing new fire protection systems including suppression systems, fire detection, alarm and mass notification systems
Providing consulting for life safety, building, and fire code compliance.
Develop thorough and clear Design Analysis, Summary of Code Requirements and Life Safety Plans, and accurate Reports.
Planning and design details including engineering concepts, distribution plans, riser diagrams, detail drawings, schedules, specifications, design analysis, engineering reports, etc.
Occasional on-site project observations and reviews; duties required to fulfill contractual obligations for construction phase services; overseeing other personnel assigned to this responsibility.
Experience in designing fire sprinkler, suppression, and fire alarm systems layouts utilizing hydraulic calculation programs, and knowledge of NFPA Codes, and International Building and Fire Codes is required.
Preferred Qualifications

Minimum of 5 years of technical and experience in a technical fire protection design or consulting role involving fire protection systems.
Working knowledge of NFPA codes as applicable to HDR’s project types.
Cultivate good working relationships with project managers, project teams, FLS teammates, and other clients as we grow our team.
Project management experience is desirable.
Experience with one or more of the following: electric fleet vehicle charging facilities, healthcare facilities, data center/mission-critical facilities, higher education, water/wastewater, industrial process facilities.
Experience identifying, recruiting, hiring, and managing team members.
Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering
Professional Engineer (PE or P.Eng) license
Previous experience in commercial or institutional facilities
Computer experience using MS Office, Trane TRACE or similar software, manufacturer selection software
An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must
What We Believe
HDR is our company. Together, we build on each other's life experiences and perspectives to make great things possible every day. This shapes our collaborative culture, encourages organizational trust and connects us closer to the clients and communities we serve.
Our Commitment
As employee owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected and empowered to bring our authentic selves to work every day.
Our eight Employee Network Groups (Asian Pacific, Black, Hispanic/Latino(a), LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Young Professionals) help create a sense of belonging and foster a supportive environment where everyone is empowered to engage and contribute. Each group has an executive sponsor and is open to all employees.
We provide a comprehensive benefits package that promotes employee ownership, employee health, performance, and success, which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time away, parental leave, paid holidays, a retirement savings plan with employer match, employee referral bonus and tuition reimbursement. The expected compensation range for this position depends upon skills, experience, education and geographical location. (Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions. Temporary and part-time roles eligible for limited benefits.) Colorado: $88,704.00 - $145,728.00
Primary Location:
United States-Colorado-Denver
Industry:
Building Engineering
Schedule:
Full-time
Employee Status:
Regular
BusinessClass:
Fire and Life Safety
Job Posting:
Dec 16, 2025

At HDR, we are committed to the principles of employment equity. We are an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer (https://www.hdrinc.com/equal-employment-opportunity-employer). We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.