Fire Engineer

Description:

Hoare Lea’s Fire Engineering group is a leading team of experienced fire safety specialists, many Chartered through the Institution of Fire Engineers. As part of one of the UK’s largest building engineering consultancies we collaborate with top engineers, access advanced technical resources, and work on major, high‑profile projects—while also delivering standalone fire engineering commissions and maintaining long‑term client relationships.

Notable projects include Heathrow Terminal 2, Doha Metro, the £1bn Elephant & Castle redevelopment, the ExCeL extension, the Royal Hospital for Children and Young Persons (Edinburgh), seven of Manchester’s ten tallest buildings (including the UK’s tallest residential tower), several major UK airport terminals and two World Cup stadia.

We invest heavily in research and testing—covering computational modelling, emerging risks and novel techniques—and recently led two of the world’s largest CLT compartment fire tests to validate a sustainable timber office design.

Training and professional development are central to our culture: weekly internal sessions, regular away‑days and access to external events support career growth and CEng attainment. Our team’s diverse background includes ex‑fire service, building control and specialists in physics, mechanical/chemical engineering, materials science and forensics.

We are active in SFPE, the Smoke Control Association, BSI and the Institution of Fire Engineers.

Why join us?
 

• World‑class fire engineering on high‑quality, varied projects.
• Strong client repeat business and long‑term relationships.
• Exceptional training and a clear route to Chartered status.
• Flexible working and generous benefits (including a 9‑day fortnight option).
• A supportive, inclusive team culture with regular socials.
   

About The Role

Join Hoare Lea’s Fire Engineering team to deliver fire safety design for buildings across the UK (occasional international projects). We work as part of multi‑disciplinary project teams and maintain a significant portfolio of long‑term external clients. Our work requires strong technical knowledge of UK regulations and design guidance, excellent collaboration with other construction professionals, and clear, timely communication across project teams.

Key Responsibilities
 

• Deliver and/or lead fire safety design outputs: strategies, calculations, reports and drawings that comply with UK regulations and client requirements.
• Coordinate fire requirements with multidisciplinary teams to produce integrated designs.
• Attend and represent the fire team at design workshops, client meetings, site visits and design team meetings; communicate progress and act on feedback.
• Apply fire‑modelling and analysis tools (evacuation, smoke, heat‑radiation, structural fire) to support design decisions.
• Travel to client or project sites in the UK and occasionally internationally as required.
• Ensure clear documentation and timely delivery of work while maintaining quality and risk awareness.
   

Senior‑level Responsibilities (for Senior Engineer Applicants)
 

• Lead technical delivery on medium to large projects and act as primary client contact.
• Provide technical review, quality assurance and sign‑off of junior engineers’ work; mentor and develop team members.
• Manage stakeholder expectations, workloads and project risks; contribute to business development and repeat client relationships.
• Use advanced modelling/analysis to resolve complex design challenges.
   

About You
 

• Consultancy experience in fire engineering or a closely related fire safety role.
• Degree or equivalent qualification in Engineering, Building Services, Architecture, Physics, Maths or similar.
• Working knowledge of fire‑modelling/analysis software.
• Strong technical understanding of fire safety principles and UK design guidance.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and a collaborative approach to teamworking.
• Good organisational skills, ability to prioritise and deliver to tight deadlines.
   

Desirable
 

• Chartered status (CEng) or working towards it.
• Active membership of relevant professional bodies (e.g., IFE, SFPE).
• Experience of site inspections, stakeholder liaison and business development.
• Sector experience in residential, healthcare, stadia or timber structures (if relevant).