Senior Engineer, Fire Protection - Data Center

Ramboll Group A/S; Chennai District; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Ramboll India invites an experienced Senior Fire Protection Engineer to lead fire suppression design for Data Center projects in Chennai. You will manage lifecycle design from concept through handover, ensuring code compliance and reliability for hyperscale facilities.

The role emphasizes client engagement, technical leadership, and cross-disciplinary collaboration across global teams. The candidate should have 10–18 years of data center experience, a BE/B.Tech/ME/M.Tech in mechanical or fire

Qualifications

• BE/B.Tech/ME/M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering or Fire Engineering.
• 10–18 years of experience with a minimum of 5 years in Data Center or Mission Critical projects.
• Proven ability to lead fire protection design and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams.
• Strong knowledge of NBC/NFPA and IS standards for critical facilities.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary Fire Protection interface with clients and stakeholders.
• Lead design of Fire Protection Systems and perform hydraulic calculations.
• Coordinate with architectural, structural, HVAC, electrical and BIM teams; review submissions and provide construction support.
• Lead testing, commissioning and project handover activities for data center projects.

Skills

Data Center Fire Protection

Hydraulic Calculations

Fire Protection System Design

NFPA Standards

BIM / Coordination

Client Engagement

Education

BE/B.Tech/ME/M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering or Fire Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

Revit MEP

Navisworks

Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC)

BIM Collaborate Pro

HASS

Elite Fire

Canute FHC

AutoSPRINK

Job description

Founded in Denmark, Ramboll is a foundation-owned people company. We have more than 18,000 experts working across our global operations in 35 countries. Our experts are leaders in their fields, developing and delivering innovative solutions in diverse markets including Buildings, Transport, Planning & Urban Design, Water, Environment & Health, Energy, and Management Consulting. We invite you to contribute to a more sustainable future working in an open, collaborative, and empowering company. Combining local experience with global knowledge, we together shape the societies of tomorrow.

Ramboll in India

Ramboll has more than 1,800 experts working across five offices in India applying their passion to deliver innovative solutions in markets as diverse as Buildings, Transport, Planning & Urban Design, Water, Environment & Health and Energy. Founded in Denmark, Ramboll is a people company. We invite you to contribute to a sustainable future working in an open, collaborative, and empowering culture.

The Senior Engineer, Fire Suppression - Data Center(Lod 200, LoD300, LOD350, LOD400) will act as the technical lead and Subject Matter Expert (SME) for mission-critical Data Center projects, responsible for complete Fire Protection and Fire Suppression system design, engineering, statutory compliance, multidisciplinary coordination, construction support, commissioning and authority approvals.

The role requires complete lifecycle ownership from Fire Strategy, Basis of Design, Concept Design and Detailed Design through IFC documentation, construction support, testing, commissioning and project handover. The engineer will work directly with clients, global stakeholders and multidisciplinary teams to deliver resilient, code-compliant and highly reliable fire suppression systems for hyperscale Data Centers.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Client Engagement & Technical Leadership

• Act as the primary Fire Protection technical interface with clients and stakeholders.
• Lead technical discussions, prepare Fire Strategy Reports, Basis of Design (BOD), Design Basis Reports (DBR), technical specifications, presentations and engineering reports, while providing technical guidance and value engineering throughout the project.

2. Design Leadership & Engineering Ownership

• Fire Protection System Design- Lead the design of Fire Hydrant Systems, Wet Risers, Wet Pipe Sprinklers, Single & Double Interlock Pre-action Systems, Deluge Systems, Water Mist Systems, Clean Agent Systems (Novec 1230, FM200, Inergen, IG-541), Fire Pumps, Fire Water Tanks, Diesel Generator Fire Protection, Transformer Protection, Fuel Storage Protection, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), Cable Basements, Underfloor and Ceiling Void Protection, Data Halls, UPS Rooms, Battery Rooms and support facilities.
• Engineering Calculations- Perform and review hydraulic calculations, fire water demand, pipe sizing, pump head calculations, tank sizing, sprinkler density calculations, clean agent calculations, water mist calculations, fire load assessment, hazard classification, smoke management and system performance validation using industry-standard hydraulic software.
• Design Documentation- Prepare and review Concept Design, Schematic Design, IFC Drawings, Tender Documents, Technical Specifications, Equipment Layouts, Pump Room Layouts, Fire Water Networks, BOQs, Revit Models, AutoCAD Drawings, Shop Drawings and Construction Documentation.
• Code Compliance- Ensure compliance with NBC 2026, NBC 2016, previous NBC editions, IS Standards, NFPA, FM Global, UL, TIA-942, Uptime Institute guidelines, Local Fire Authority regulations and statutory approval requirements.
• Coordination & Construction Support- Coordinate with Architectural, Structural, HVAC, Electrical, ELV, ICT, Security and BIM teams, review vendor submissions, support procurement, resolve site issues, review RFIs and Shop Drawings, participate in inspections and provide construction support through project completion.
• Commissioning- Lead testing and commissioning activities including fire pump testing, sprinkler testing, clean agent testing, water mist testing, cause & effect verification, integrated system testing (IST), BMS integration, final acceptance testing and project handover documentation.

3. Team Leadership & Quality Assurance

• Lead and mentor Fire Protection Engineers and BIM Modelers, review engineering calculations and drawings, manage design risks, ensure QA/QC compliance, standardize engineering practices and deliver high-quality, coordinated designs.

Mandatory Skills & Experience:

1. Must have

• BE/B.Tech/ME/M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering or Fire Engineering.
• 10–18 years of experience with a minimum of 5 years in Data Center or Mission Critical projects.

2. Technical Expertise

• Extensive experience in Data Center Fire Protection Systems including hydrants, wet risers, pre-action systems, clean agent systems, water mist, fire pumps, fire water storage, hydraulic calculations, fire engineering and mission-critical redundancy philosophies (N, N+1, 2N).
• Strong understanding of Data Center design, Uptime Tier III/IV requirements and hyperscale facilities.

3. Software & Digital Capability

• AutoCAD, Revit MEP, Navisworks, Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), BIM Collaborate Pro, HASS, Elite Fire, Canute FHC, AutoSPRINK or equivalent hydraulic calculation software.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, ability to lead technical discussions with client SMEs, prepare high-quality technical documentation, resolve complex engineering issues and work effectively with multidisciplinary global teams.

Good to Have (Strong Differentiators):

• CFPS, NFPA Certification, Uptime Institute ATD, FM Global training, BIM/Revit certification, experience with Hyperscale Data Centers, international projects and Integrated System Testing (IST).

Equality, diversity, and inclusion is at the heart of what we do

We believe in the strength of diversity and know that unique experiences and perspectives are vital for creating truly sustainable societies. Therefore, we are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive work environment where everyone can flourish and reach their potential. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and encourage you to contact our recruitment team to discuss any accommodations you need during the application process.

Buildings, Transport, Energy, Environment & Health, Water and Management Consulting