Senior Fire & Life Safety- Rail Projects

Jacobs; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Jacobs is seeking a Senior Fire & Life Safety Engineer to lead FLS strategies for rail and transit projects across the GCC, including KSA, UAE, and Qatar. You will guide design teams, coordinate with authorities, and ensure regulatory compliance throughout concept to handover.

Expect to review reports, provide technical leadership on fire safety systems, and mentor junior engineers while supporting bid work and technical excellence initiatives.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of relevant FLS engineering experience.
• Minimum 4 years of experience in railway, metro, light rail, high‑speed rail, or major transportation infrastructure projects.
• Proven experience delivering projects within GCC countries, particularly KSA, UAE, and/or Qatar.
• Experience in Design Consultancy, PMC, Independent Checking Engineer (ICE), Independent Safety Assessment (ISA), or FLS Technical Advisory roles.
• Demonstrated experience through concept, design, construction, testing, commissioning, and handover phases.

Responsibilities

• Lead Fire & Life Safety strategies for rail and transit projects, including metro, LRT, high‑speed and conventional rail.
• Review multidisciplinary designs to ensure compliance with project‑specific FLS requirements.
• Ensure integration of fire protection systems with architectural, structural, MEP, rail, and operational systems.
• Review contractor submissions and support technical reviews during construction, testing, commissioning, and handover.
• Coordinate with clients, PMC, contractors, architects, MEP, rail systems, safety assurance teams, and operators.
• Mentor junior engineers and support team capability development.

Skills

Fire engineering

Life safety

Code compliance

CFD modelling

Regulatory liaison

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Fire Protection Engineering

Master's Degree in Fire Engineering or Fire Safety Engineering

Job description

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission‑critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting‑edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

The Senior Fire & Life Safety (FLS) Engineer is responsible for leading and delivering fire engineering, life safety, and code compliance services for railway and transit infrastructure projects across the GCC region, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar.

The role supports projects throughout all phases of development, from concept and preliminary design through detailed design, construction, testing & commissioning, and operational readiness. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership in the development and/or review of FLS deliverables for railway stations, tunnels, depots, maintenance facilities, operational control centers, and associated infrastructure.

The position involves a variety of responsibilities, such as working as part of a project multidisciplinary design team, an independent reviewer, or a PMC team representing the client to ensure compliance with local regulations, international standards, project requirements, and railway‑specific safety objectives.

Job Requirements

Technical Leadership

• Lead Fire & Life Safety (FLS) strategies for rail and transit projects, including metro, LRT, high‑speed and conventional rail.
• Prepare and review Fire Engineering Reports, FLS Strategies, Fire Risk Assessments, and FLS system designs.
• Assess FLS requirements for stations, tunnels, depots, OCCs, substations, and other rail facilities.
• Provide technical guidance on fire engineering, railway safety systems, rolling stock, SCADA, traction power, communications, and train control systems.

Design & Engineering Review

• Review multidisciplinary designs to ensure compliance with project‑specific FLS requirements.
• Ensure integration of fire protection systems with architectural, structural, MEP, rail, and operational systems.
• Review drawings, specifications, calculations, and technical reports prepared by contractors and junior engineers.
• Evaluate performance‑based fire engineering solutions and support CFD smoke modelling, evacuation modelling, and fire risk assessments.

Railway Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure compliance with local, national, and international FLS and rail standards, including Saudi/UAE/Qatar regulations, NFPA, NFPA 130, TSI, EN 45545, EN 50553, and EN 50126.
• Liaise with railway authorities, Civil Defence, operators, and approval bodies.
• Support AHJ submissions, approvals, and regulatory compliance processes.

Project Delivery & Coordination

• Coordinate with clients, PMC, contractors, architects, MEP, rail systems, safety assurance teams, and operators.
• Participate in design reviews, HAZID, HAZOP, safety assessments, and value engineering workshops.
• Review contractor submissions and support technical reviews during construction, testing, commissioning, and handover.

Construction, Testing & Commissioning

• Conduct site inspections and audits to verify compliance with approved FLS designs.
• Witness fire system testing, integrated testing, emergency drills, and commissioning activities.
• Support emergency response planning, operational readiness, punch lists, and verification reports.

Mentoring & Business Support

• Mentor junior engineers and support team capability development.
• Contribute to proposals, technical bids, resource planning, quality assurance, and technical excellence initiatives.

Here’s what you’ll need

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Fire Safety Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Safety Engineering, or related engineering discipline from a reputable institution.
• Master's Degree in Fire Engineering or Fire Safety Engineering preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 8 years of relevant FLS engineering experience.
• Minimum 4 years of experience in railway, metro, light rail, high‑speed rail, or major transportation infrastructure projects.
• Proven experience delivering projects within GCC countries, particularly KSA, UAE, and/or Qatar.
• Experience working in Design Consultancy, PMC, Independent Checking Engineer (ICE), Independent Safety Assessment (ISA), or FLS Technical Advisory roles.
• Demonstrated experience through concept, design, construction, testing, commissioning, and handover phases.

From our inclusive employee networks to our positive mental health champions – we’re committed to driving a culture of caring where you can be you. Joining Jacobs not only connects you locally but globally – and together, our diverse perspectives and unique backgrounds power our collective strength. We collaborate and share! By supporting one another, we all succeed.

With safety and flexibility always top of mind, we’ve gone beyond traditional ways of working so you have the support, means and space to maximize your potential. You’ll uncover flexible working arrangements, benefits and opportunities to do good too – from participating in our global giving and volunteering program, to exploring new and inventive ways to help our clients make the world a better place.

No matter what drives you, you’ll discover how you can cultivate, nurture and achieve your goals – all at a single global company.

We value collaboration and believe that in‑person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

Your application experience is important to us, and we’re keen to adapt to make every interaction even better. If you require further support or reasonable adjustments with regards to the recruitment process (for example, you require the application form in a different format), please contact the team via Careers Support.