Senior Engineer, Fire Protection - Data Center

Ramboll; Chennai District; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 3,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Ramboll in India seeks a Senior Engineer, Fire Suppression for data center projects. You will own the complete fire protection lifecycle from design through commissioning, lead technical discussions with clients, and ensure regulatory compliance across NBC, IS standards and NFPA guidelines.

You will coordinate with architects, structural, electrical and BIM teams, oversee calculations, prepare design documentation, and drive quality control for high-availability data center installations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor level engineering degree in mechanical or fire engineering.
• Minimum 10–18 years in engineering with 5+ years in data centers or mission-critical projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead fire protection system design for data centers, including hydrants, wet risers, pre-action and clean agent systems.
• Coordinate with multidisciplinary teams, ensure code compliance, and support construction and commissioning.

Skills

Fire protection

Data center

Hydraulics

NFPA standards

Project leadership

BIM coordination

Client engagement

Communication

Education

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

Tools

AutoCAD

Revit MEP

Navisworks

Autodesk ACC

BIM Collaborate Pro

Elite Fire

Canute FHC

Job description

• Full-time

Company Description

About Ramboll

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.

Job Description

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.

Qualifications

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).

Equal opportunity & inclusion

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.

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