FIRE DESIGN MANAGER

Thentic; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Thentic is seeking a senior leader to take ownership of the Fire Design division in Sydney. You will lead an established 10+ designer team, drive technical direction, and ensure high‑quality fire protection designs across commercial, high‑rise, and industrial projects.

You will mentor designers, coordinate with engineering, estimating and construction teams, and contribute to tender and commissioning phases. A strong background in fire design and stakeholder management is essential.

Qualifications

• Strong background in fire protection design.
• Experience leading or mentoring a team is preferred.
• Ability to manage design workloads, priorities and deadlines across multiple projects.
• Strong knowledge of relevant standards and fire protection design principles.
• Advantage: wet fire design experience (sprinklers, hydrants, hose reels).

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the Fire Design division and lead an established team of designers.
• Oversee delivery, quality and technical direction of fire protection designs across a diverse project portfolio.
• Manage design workflows, project allocation, deadlines and department performance.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring and development to designers at varying levels.
• Review designs and documentation for technical accuracy, compliance and constructability.
• Collaborate with engineering, estimating, project management and construction teams through the project lifecycle.
• Contribute design input during tender, pre-construction, delivery and commissioning stages.
• Address complex technical issues and provide practical design solutions for project teams and clients.
• Drive consistency, quality and continuous improvement across design processes and standards.

Skills

Fire protection design

Team leadership

Project management

Stakeholder management

Hydraulic design

Job description

• Established and highly regarded fire protection contractor delivering projects across Sydney and NSW.
• Large, well-resourced business with dedicated teams across design, engineering, project delivery, techs and operations.
• Work across major commercial, high-rise, industrial, infrastructure and exciting built-environment projects.
• Strong in-house design capability with an established team of over 10 fire designers.
• Deliver a broad range of fire protection solutions across both wet and dry fire disciplines.
• Long-standing presence in the fire industry with an established client base, strong project pipeline and continued growth.
• Structured business offering the systems, technical resources and support expected of a larger fire engineering firm and contractor.

Position

• Take ownership of the Fire Design division, leading and managing an established team of over 10 designers.
• Oversee the delivery, quality and technical direction of fire protection designs across a diverse project portfolio.
• Manage team workflow, project allocation, design deadlines and overall design department performance.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring and development to designers at varying levels of experience.
• Review designs, drawings and documentation to ensure technical accuracy, compliance and constructability.
• Work closely with engineering, estimating, project management and construction teams throughout the project lifecycle.
• Provide design input during tender, pre-construction, delivery and commissioning stages.
• Assist with complex technical issues and provide practical design solutions for project teams and clients.
• Drive consistency, quality and continuous improvement across design processes and standards.
• Maintain strong communication with clients, consultants, builders, engineers and internal stakeholders.
• Opportunity to bring additional engineering and wet fire design expertise into the leadership of the department.
• $150,000 - $200,000 salary package, depending on experience and technical capability.
• Management position leading an established 10+ person design team.
• Join a well-established and growing fire brand with a strong Sydney market presence.
• Genuine opportunity to influence technical direction and outcomes of the design dept.
• Work across major and technically interesting fire protection projects.
• Strong internal support across engineering, projects, operations and field delivery.
• Opportunity to utilise both design leadership and engineering capability rather than being limited to people management.
• Stable project pipeline and long-term career opportunity within an established fire business.

Experience needed

• Strong background in fire protection design.
• Ideally experience leading, managing or mentoring a team, or ready to step up
• If not in management now you could be senior stepping up to management for this.
• Demonstrated ability to manage design workloads, priorities, deadlines and quality across multiple projects.
• Strong technical knowledge of relevant standards and fire protection design principles.
• Advantage having experience from wet fire such as sprinklers, hydrants, hose reels and associated hydraulic systems.
• Advantage to have a fire engineering background, hydraulic engineering or broader engineering experience would be highly regarded.
• Ability to review and provide technical direction on detailed fire protection designs.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to work with builders, consultants, engineers, project managers and clients.
• Previous experience working across commercial, high-rise, strata, industrial or other major construction projects.
• Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to develop and get the best from an established technical team.

Sydney based role full time perm.