Principal Fire Engineer

TRS Staffing Solutions; Waikato; On-site; NZD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

TRS Staffing Solutions is recruiting a Principal Fire Engineer to set up a dedicated fire engineering team and lead fire protection design and project management for industrial dairy, food, and pharmaceutical projects. You will own planning, execution, and delivery while upholding safety, quality, and environmental standards.

Ideal candidates will have a tertiary Fire Engineering qualification, Chartered Engineer status, and proven experience leading complex projects and teams from design

Qualifications

• Tertiary Fire Engineering qualification required.
• Chartered Engineer status preferred.
• Experience as a senior fire engineer on industrial design and projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead fire engineering systems and fire protection input across dairy, food, or pharmaceutical projects.
• Manage project planning, design reviews, procurement, and construction management.
• Oversee installation and onsite commissioning of fire systems.
• Build strong client, contractor, and supplier relationships.
• Drive health, safety and quality across all projects.

Skills

Fire engineering

Project management

Team leadership

Client relationship management

Communication skills

Problem-solving

Education

Tertiary Fire Engineering qualification

Chartered Engineer status

Job description

Our client is a niche multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy who provide engineering design and construction of production processing plant, utilities and supporting infrastructure in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and biosciences industries.

With existing mechanical, electrical, chemical process, and structural teams they are currently looking to expand their teams, and set up a fire engineering team. As such, we are looking for a Principal Fire Engineer to set up the team to lead fire engineering systems and fire protection design and project management work.

The Opportunity

As a Principal Fire Engineer, you will take ownership of the planning, execution and delivery of multiple fire engineering systems and fire protection projects, ensuring outcomes meet client expectations while maintaining the highest standards in health & safety, quality, environmental compliance, and financial performance. You will work closely with other engineering leaders and client stakeholders, while managing contractors and suppliers to deliver projects from design through to commissioning.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead industrial fire engineering systems and fire protection input to all projects in the dairy, food, or pharmaceutical sectors
• Manage project planning, design reviews, procurement, and construction management
• Oversee installation and onsite commissioning
• Build strong client, contractor, and supplier relationships
• Drive high standards of health, safety, and quality across all projects

Being an experienced fire engineer, you will also mentor less experienced engineers and assist in the ongoing development of systems and processes.

To be successful in the role you will have:

• A tertiary Fire Engineering qualification, ideally with Chartered Engineering status
• Proven fire engineering experience at a senior level working on industrial design and project management
• Proven ability to manage complex projects from design through to commissioning
• Experience leading project teams
• Strong relationship management and communication skills
• A proactive, organised approach with excellent problem-solving ability

This is an opportunity to set up a new team and to work on a variety of design and build projects (new and upgrades) and be influential in further developing systems and processes, with potential for further career advancement opportunities. Be part of a respected consultancy with a reputation for excellence, working in a collaborative, professional, and supportive team environment.

On offer is a highly competitive salary, not to mention the prospect of working within a proactive organisation and seeing industrial projects through from design to completion.

PLEASE NOTE: We can only consider applications from people already living in New Zealand and holding a New Zealand passport.