Associate Director - Fire Safety Engineering

Shape the Future of Fire Engineering on Some of the UK's Most Complex and Safety-Critical Projects

Are you an experienced Fire Safety Engineer looking for an opportunity to apply genuine engineering expertise rather than relying on prescriptive solutions? Join Tetra Tech's growing Fire Engineering team and take a leading role in delivering innovative, performance-based fire engineering solutions across nationally significant infrastructure projects, complex nuclear facilities, major commercial developments and high-hazard environments.

This is a rare opportunity to influence major projects, lead technical excellence and help shape the future growth of a specialist team where engineering judgement, innovation and professional development are genuinely valued.

As an Associate Director within the Fire Safety Engineering team, you will combine technical leadership, project delivery and strategic oversight to support a diverse portfolio of complex projects across sectors including nuclear, residential, commercial, industrial, waste and recycling, and other high-hazard environments.

You will lead the development of fire safety strategies, fire engineering assessments and specialist technical advice, working closely with clients, regulators, architects, design teams and multidisciplinary project stakeholders.

The role requires the ability to solve challenging technical problems, integrate fire safety requirements into complex designs and ensure compliance with relevant legislation, standards and regulatory expectations.

As a senior leader within the team, you will be responsible for overseeing technical quality, project performance, resource planning and commercial delivery across multiple commissions.

You will also play a key role in strengthening client relationships, supporting business growth, mentoring colleagues and driving continuous improvement within the fire engineering discipline.

The Fire Engineering team is entering an exciting phase of growth and currently delivers projects ranging from focused specialist commissions through to large multidisciplinary projects.

Around 75% of the team's workload is within the nuclear sector, providing opportunities to work on bespoke engineering challenges where innovation, analysis and technical judgement are essential. This includes supporting major new-build nuclear infrastructure projects, existing licensed facilities and some of the UK's most significant safety-critical developments.

Unlike many traditional fire engineering consultancies, this role offers exposure to projects where standard guidance is often limited, allowing you to apply fire engineering fundamentals, modelling, calculations and performance-based design approaches to develop innovative and defensible solutions.

In the short term, you will establish yourself as a trusted technical leader, taking ownership of major projects, providing senior technical oversight and delivering high-quality outcomes for clients across a varied project portfolio. You will strengthen relationships with key clients and identify opportunities to expand existing frameworks and secure new business.

As your influence grows, you will help shape technical standards, support business strategy, develop team capability and take an increasingly prominent role in mentoring and leading colleagues. Your expertise will contribute directly to the continued growth and maturity of the Fire Engineering team.

Longer term, this role offers a strong pathway towards Technical Director and broader senior leadership opportunities. You will have the opportunity to build your profile through involvement in nationally significant infrastructure projects, challenging nuclear projects and multidisciplinary engineering environments, while shaping a career aligned to your technical interests and professional ambitions.

You will bring extensive experience in fire safety engineering and a passion for solving complex technical challenges. Working across novel designs, high-hazard facilities and safety-critical environments, you will lead the development of fire safety strategies, undertake engineering assessments and provide expert technical guidance throughout project life cycles.

This role offers the opportunity to apply advanced fire engineering principles, modelling techniques and engineering judgement to projects where innovative thinking is required. Your expertise…