Senior Fire Safety Engineer

Overview

Shape the Fire Safety Strategies Behind the UK’s Most Complex Engineering Projects
. Join a specialist team at the forefront of fire engineering within some of the nation’s most challenging technical environments. This role offers the opportunity to influence major infrastructure projects, contribute to safety critical decisions and develop deep, first principles engineering expertise within a collaborative and highly respected consultancy.

As a Senior Fire Safety Engineer, you will be central to the delivery of rigorous, technically assured fire safety strategies and fire hazard analysis across a diverse range of sectors, with a significant focus on nuclear and other high hazard environments. You will shape fire safety considerations from the earliest design stages, reviewing building layouts, advising multidisciplinary design teams and guiding complex projects towards compliant, resilient and well engineered solutions.

Working with architects, regulators and technical specialists, you will help define the fire protection requirements that underpin the design of some of the UK’s most strategically important buildings.

You will independently manage and deliver mid sized projects while supporting larger, multidisciplinary projects. Much of the team’s work involves first principles fire engineering, advanced modelling and bespoke analytical methods where prescriptive guidance is limited, offering genuine opportunities to apply technical judgement. Around three quarters of the team’s portfolio sits within the nuclear sector, including major new build schemes on licensed sites and fire hazard assessments for legacy facilities with complex constraints.

Project values range from focused commissions through to multifaceted projects of national significance, providing both breadth and depth of technical exposure.

From your first year, you will contribute to technically demanding and innovative fire engineering work where standard solutions are rarely available. Your insights will directly influence design decisions that affect safety, operability and regulatory alignment across some of the UK’s highest profile engineering projects.

As your experience grows, you will take on increased technical responsibility, contribute to regulatory strategy and help shape the fire engineering approach across complex design challenges. Over time, you will build rare expertise spanning both conventional and high hazard contexts, supported by a structured progression pathway linked to technical capability, leadership potential and professional accreditation. Whether your ambitions lie in deep technical specialist or future leadership roles, you will find sustained opportunities for growth within a consultancy known for its technical excellence, collaborative ethos and trust in professional judgement.

At Tetra Tech RPS we recruit using core capabilities - the toolkit of essential skills, experience, competencies, and responsibilities required to perform the role effectively. As we strive to find the best fit for this position, we are seeking individuals that meet a benchmark level of expertise. But we’ll let you in on a secret: there’s no such thing as the ‘perfect’ candidate.

If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you.

Central to the role is the thoughtful application of fire engineering principles to establish clear, compliant and technically robust fire safety strategies from early design through to completion. This includes undertaking site assessments, evaluating fire hazards and applying proportionate analytical methods supported by senior colleagues where needed. A strong grasp of relevant codes, including Approved Document B, BS 9999, BS 9991 and PD 7974, will underpin your work, with opportunities to deepen your skills in fire modelling tools such as CFAST and FDS.

The role calls for clear engineering judgement, analytical thinking and the ability to contribute effectively within multidisciplinary design environments.