Senior Fire & Safety Specialist

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At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, an environment that empowers authentic selves and novel ideas. We foster a culture of inclusion and ask ourselves:
What is our impact on the world? Building engineering is more than systems; it’s about powering progress and enabling innovation. As part of HDR’s Building Engineering Services Group, you’ll help design critical infrastructure that supports the digital age and shapes the spaces where people work, connect, and thrive. From high-performance data centers to dynamic commercial environments, your work directly supports technological advancement, sustainability, and human experience.

Due to rapid growth of HDR’s Fire & Life Safety (FLS) team, we are seeking a highly motivated Senior Fire & Life Safety Specialist to join our multi-disciplined design and engineering teams. This individual will work closely with the regional Fire & Life Safety Business Class Lead, serving as a consultant to both internal project teams and external clients.

As a Senior Fire & Life Safety Specialist, you must be capable of creating fire suppression or fire alarm system designs in a BIM model from design information and data provided by the Engineer/Architect. You may produce sketches, detail diagrams, and/or calculations, generate contract documents from the Model, and perform other BIM uses identified in the planning documents. Experience in design analysis software and integration of analysis models/data with Revit is a plus.

Familiarity with NFPA and industry standards design criteria related to fire protection systems is required.

This role also requires solid multi-discipline facility design experience, understanding the project lifecycle from concept through construction and how discipline designs interact throughout. You will work with engineers and architects with minimal oversight. Exceptional leadership and communication skills are essential for coordination among multiple consultants, disciplines, and project team members. Excellent verbal and written communication, familiarity with applicable codes, design standards, materials, software integration with the BIM model(s), editing specifications, reviewing shop drawings, CPR’s and RFIs is a plus.

You will also work with clients both internal and external.

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.
• Manage multiple projects immediately, including project planning, staffing, and 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.

• A minimum of twenty (20) years of similar experience in building design within an A/E firm, or related industries.
• NICET certified or Bachelor of Sciences degree is preferred.
• Experience with Autodesk Products is a plus. Most notably Revit, AutoCAD, and Navisworks.
• AutoSPRINK or EASE software experience or other design analysis software is a plus.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office and PDF creation software (Bluebeam and Adobe).
• Commitment to being an active participant of our employee‑owned culture is a must.
• Share our desire to grow our FLS team nationally.
• Commitment to 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.
• Cultivate good working relationships with project managers, project teams, FLS teammates, and other clients as we grow our team.
• Travel may be needed at various times, both domestically and internationally.
• Travel is…