Fire Protection Engineer Jobs in California

DLR Group is an integrated design firm with a promise to elevate the human experience through design. This fuels the work we do around the world and inspires our mission to improve the lives of our clients, our communities, and our planet. If this sparks your interest, you're in the right place.

As a Senior Fire Protection Engineer, you will lead fire protection engineering services from schematic design through construction administration across a wide range of sectors including Federal, K-12, Healthcare, Higher Education, Justice/Civic, Sports and Culture & Performing Arts. As a key member of an integrated design team, you will collaborate closely with other disciplines to deliver highly coordinated building designs that elevate human experience through thoughtful, performance-driven design solutions.

Position Summary:

You will lead the design of fire protection systems and collaborate closely with the mechanical engineering team to develop engineering drawings and perform required calculations.

The successful candidate will

• Lead fire protection engineering teams across multiple regions, providing technical leadership, staff oversight, mentorship, and project-specific support.
• Manage the planning, execution, and delivery of fire protection design services firmwide, ensuring schedules, milestones, budgets, and quality standards are met.
• Develop fire protection scopes of work, project budgets, proposals, and design strategies across a diverse range of project types and market sectors.
• Prepare and review fire and life safety analyses, building code compliance reviews (IBC Chapters 1–10), and applicable NFPA standards.
• Oversee the production, coordination, and quality assurance of construction documents, technical reports, specifications, and plan review deliverables.
• Coordinate with clients, consultants, vendors, and local and state authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) to support permitting, approvals, and effective project execution.
• Lead construction administration activities including submittal reviews, site observations, construction meetings, and issue resolution during implementation.
• Support business development efforts through client relationship management, participation in interviews, and contributions to proposals/RFP responses.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related engineering
• 7+ years of experience in the design and analysis of fire protection systems within the built environment
• Active Fire Protection Professional Engineer (PE) licensure required.
• Demonstrated experience with both new construction and renovation/retrofit of fire protection systems.
• Strong working knowledge of International Building Code (IBC), International Fire Code (IFC), and applicable NFPA codes and standards.
• Excellent verbal, written, and organizational skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across multidisciplinary teams, clients, and stakeholders.

DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new builds, renovations, and adaptive reuse projects.

We are 100% employee-owned: every employee is literally invested in our clients' success. At the core of our firm are interdisciplinary teams engaged in every step of project lifecycles. Our teams champion true collaboration, open information sharing, shared risk and reward, value-based decision making, and proficient use of technology to deliver exceptional design. We are pursuing the goals of the 2030 Challenge, the ME2040, and the SE2050, and are an initial signatory of the China Accord and the AIA 2030 Commitment.

Through our values – commitment, creativity, environmental stewardship, fun, integrity, ownership, sharing, teamwork – we elevate the human experience through design, together.

DLR Group follows a four-day in-office work model, with employees having the flexibility to work somewhere other than the office on Fridays.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/M/F/Veteran/Disabled employer.