Fire Protection Planner​/Technical Lead

Overview

Location(s):
California Practice/Department:
Urban Forestry/Fire Work Environment:
Hybrid/Remote Compensation: $,000/annually*

Dudek’s journey began in 1980 with a vision to serve Southern California’s water and wastewater agencies.

Today, we are a 100% employee‑owned firm supporting clients nationwide and delivering projects that improve and protect the built and natural environments of communities throughout the United States. Our work has been recognized by leading industry organizations, andwe’vebeen honored with multiple national Top Workplace Awards.

Our employee‑ownersare unified by a singular commitment to supporting projects that address key societal issues, such as the transition to renewable energy, infrastructure hardening and repair, environmental protection, and community resilience.

Learn more about our
award‑winning culture
, the
benefits and perks
of being aDudekian, and the
projects
you will have the opportunity to shape.

Who You Are

As an
employee‑owner
, you embrace accountability, working safely, andcollaborationwhile thinking resourcefully and independently.

Like all Dudekians, you are curious and
solution‑oriented
, with the ability to adapt quickly to changes and approach challenges with a spirit of
innovation
.

How You’llMake an Impact

We are seeking an experienced, technically skilled, and highly motivated Fire Protection Planner to serve as the technical lead for spatial wildfire analysis and quality assurance within Dudek’s fire protection planning team. For nearly 25 years, Dudek has partnered with landowners, developers, public agencies, and land management organizations to evaluate wildfire hazards and develop practical, defensible strategies that reduce wildfire risk.

The successful candidate will lead the development, execution, interpretation, and review of spatial wildfire analyses; establish consistent modeling and data standards; and support integration of modeling results into community wildfire protection plans, wildfire risk assessments, evacuation corridor assessments, utility wildfire mitigation plans, fire protection plans, wildfire technical studies, environmental review documents, presentations, and client recommendations. This role requires strong geospatial and fire‑science expertise, sound technical judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to communicate complex methods and limitations to technical and non‑technical audiences.

The position will be either remote or hybrid depending upon applicant proximity to one of Dudek’s offices, with travel to project sites and client or agency offices throughout California as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the team’s technical lead for spatial fire behavior modeling, providing direction on model selection, scenario design, assumptions, inputs, calibration, validation, and appropriate application of results.
• Design, parameterize, execute, and interpret landscape‑scale wildfire modeling using tools such as Flam Map, FARSITE, FSPro, IFTDSS, or equivalent systems.
• Perform spatial analyses of vector and raster datasets across project sites and large landscapes, including fire spread, flame length, fireline intensity, rate of spread, arrival time, burn probability, ember exposure, and related outputs.
• Develop customized community wildfire risk assessment model approaches utilizing spatial datasets related to community wildfire risk.
• Develop, evaluate, and document model inputs, including fuels, topography, weather, wind, ignition locations, and project‑specific conditions.
• Establish and maintain modeling protocols, data standards, file‑management practices, reproducible workflows, and technical guidance for the team.
• Lead quality assurance and quality control reviews of modeling inputs,…