Principal Fire Engineer - Healthcare - Fully Remote

Location: Fully remote - anywhere in the UK

Salary: Up to £100,000

Bonus: Up to 20%

Employment type: Permanent, full-time

Working arrangement: Home based with travel to client sites

An experienced Principal Fire Engineer is required to lead the technical delivery of complex fire engineering projects across the UK.

This is a fully remote, home based position that can be based anywhere in the country. The role will involve national travel to client sites when required.

The workload is primarily within healthcare, hospitals and complex operational estates, alongside selected high rise residential projects. Applicants must therefore possess strong knowledge of Healthcare Technical Memoranda, particularly the HTM 05 fire safety guidance, and be comfortable applying fire engineering principles within live, occupied and highly regulated buildings.

This is a technical building fire engineering position combining fire strategy development, design review, site inspection, construction stage assurance and client advice. The successful Principal Fire Engineer must be confident attending sites, inspecting completed and ongoing works, identifying non compliant installations and challenging contractors where work does not meet the fire strategy, specification, relevant standards or regulatory requirements.

The position would suit an established Principal Fire Engineer or an experienced Senior Fire Engineer ready to assume greater technical leadership, project ownership and client responsibility.

Principal Fire Engineer responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of fire strategies for new and existing buildings.



• Provide specialist fire engineering advice across healthcare and high rise residential projects.



• Apply HTM 05 guidance to healthcare buildings and operational hospital environments.



• Undertake fire engineering assessments, design reviews and technical appraisals.



• Develop practical and proportionate fire engineered solutions.



• Review architectural, mechanical, electrical and fire safety design information.



• Assess designs against Building Regulations, Approved Document B, British Standards and relevant fire safety legislation.



• Review fire strategies, technical reports, calculations, drawings and specifications.



• Provide technical assurance throughout design, construction and completion.



• Attend sites to inspect fire safety measures and assess installation quality.



• Review compartmentation, fire stopping, fire doors, fire dampers, penetrations and other passive fire protection measures where relevant to the fire strategy.



• Identify defects, departures from the approved design and non compliant installations.



• Challenge contractors, consultants and project teams where installations or proposed solutions are unsuitable.



• Produce clear inspection reports, technical advice and remedial recommendations.



• Support projects through Building Control, regulatory review and approval.



• Advise healthcare estates teams, project managers, designers, contractors and other stakeholders.



• Attend design team, progress, technical and client meetings.



• Manage several concurrent fire engineering projects.



• Review and technically assure work produced by other fire engineers.



• Mentor and support less experienced engineers.



• Contribute to the development of technical standards, checking procedures and consistent delivery processes.



• Maintain strong client relationships and support repeat business.



• Assist with fee proposals, project scopes and commercial management where required.



• Maintain accurate project records and professional documentation.

Healthcare and HTM responsibilities

A significant proportion of the work is undertaken within hospitals and other complex healthcare environments. Applicants should be able to demonstrate experience of:

• Healthcare fire safety and fire engineering.



• NHS hospitals, healthcare estates or similarly complex operational buildings.



• HTM 05-01 and the wider HTM 05 fire safety guidance.



• Fire strategies for occupied healthcare environments.



• Progressive horizontal evacuation and healthcare evacuation principles.



• Compartmentation and fire resisting construction within hospitals.



• Assessing fire safety measures in bui