Fire Protection Engineer

City of Oakland; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid holidays

Vacation

Retirement plan

Health insurance

Dental

Vision

Sick leave

Deferred compensation

Wellness program

Tuition reimbursement

Life insurance

Job summary

The City of Oakland is recruiting for two Fire Protection Engineers within the Oakland Fire Department. This role inspects buildings and fire protection systems to verify compliance with laws, codes, and regulations.

The Fire Protection Engineer reviews architectural plans and fire modeling, and evaluates sprinkler, alarm, and life safety systems. Joining the Oakland Fire Department means joining a team engaged with the community, innovative, and committed to making Oakland safer through

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in fire protection or engineering or related field.
• California Driver's License required or able to travel.
• Fire Protection Engineer license or PE license desirable.

Responsibilities

• Review plans to identify fire and life safety issues.
• Evaluate fire protection and life safety systems.
• Conduct field inspections of construction sites and existing buildings.
• Analyze complex engineering information.
• Address specialized fire protection needs.
• Document findings and communicate requirements.
• Serve as a technical resource for the community.

Skills

Technical problem-solver

Detail-oriented

Fire/building safety knowledge

Clear communicator

Collaborative

Organized & self-directed

Education

Bachelor's degree in fire protection or engineering

Job description

The City of Oakland is an equal opportunity employer that values workforce diversity, inclusion, and equity. Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city’s historical roots and the lives of its residents to this day. As public servants in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we strive to develop employees who understand the harm and impacts of systemic inequity to create lasting, meaningful outcomes for everyone. Oakland strives to establish an environment that embraces the richness of culture, community, and individualism of employees.

Why join the City of Oakland's Fire Department?

The City of Oakland is recruiting for two Fire Protection Engineers within the Oakland Fire Department. This role is responsible for inspecting buildings and fire protection systems to verify compliance with applicable laws, codes, and regulations. The Fire Protection Engineer reviews and interprets architectural plans and computer-based fire modeling, evaluates fire and life safety systems—including sprinkler and fire pump systems, fire alarm and smoke control systems, fire-resistive construction, and means of egress and performs other related duties as assigned.

Joining the Oakland Fire Department means becoming part of a team that is deeply engaged with the community, energized by innovation, and committed every day to making Oakland safer for everyone.

We are looking for someone who is:

• A strong technical problem-solver. You use engineering principles, sound judgment, and analytical skills to evaluate complex fire protection and life safety issues.
• Detail-oriented and thorough. You pay close attention to plans, calculations, specifications, inspections, and code requirements while recognizing how individual systems work together.
• Knowledgeable about fire and building safety. You understand fire protection systems, building design, engineering concepts, and applicable fire, building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing requirements.
• A clear communicator. You explain technical requirements and engineering concepts in a way that is understandable to architects, engineers, contractors, property owners, City staff, and community members.
• Collaborative and professional. You build productive working relationships with a diverse range of people and approach disagreements or challenging code issues with professionalism and respect.
• Organized and self-directed. You manage multiple projects, inspections, plan reviews, deadlines, and follow-up activities while maintaining accurate records and consistent work quality.

What you will typically be responsible for:

• Reviewing and developing plans, evaluating architectural, engineering, site, and development plans to identify fire and life safety issues.
• Evaluating fire protection and life safety systems.
• Conducting field inspections and visiting construction sites and existing buildings to assess fire protection features.
• Analyzing complex engineering information.
• Addressing specialized fire protection needs.
• Documenting findings and communicating requirements.
• Serving as a technical resource for the community.

A few reasons you might love this job:

• Your work directly protects the community. You will help make buildings safer for Oakland residents, workers, visitors, and firefighters.
• You will work on projects that present different challenges, from new construction and development projects to complex fire protection systems and specialized hazards.
• You will see the impact of your work through technical office work and field inspections.
• You will collaborate with architects, engineers, contractors, developers, City staff, fire service professionals, and community members while serving as a technical source on fire and life safety issues.

A few challenges you might face in this job:

• You will need to balance complex technical requirements. Projects may involve multiple building systems, engineering disciplines, codes, standards, and competing design considerations that must be evaluated together.
• You will need to manage multiple priorities at the same time. The position may involve multiple plan reviews, inspections, meetings, inquiries, and follow-up activities at the same time, requiring strong organization and time management.
• You will need to communicate technical decisions clearly and professionally, including when explaining corrections or requirements that may affect a project’s design, schedule, or cost.

Competencies:

• Analyzing & Interpreting Data: Drawing meaning and conclusions from quantitative or qualitative data
• Attention to Detail: Focusing on the details of work content, work steps, and final work products
• Critical Thinking: Analytically and logically evaluating information, propositions, and claims
• Customer Focus: Attending to the needs and expectations of customers
• Informing: Proactively obtaining and sharing information
• Innovative Problem Solving: Identifying and analyzing problems in order to propose new and better ways of doing things
• Oral Communication: Engaging effectively in dialogue
• Professional & Technical Expertise: Applying technical subject matter to the job
• Professional Integrity & Ethics: Displaying honesty, adherence to principles, and personal accountability
• Writing: Communicating effectively in writing

This recruitment will produce one eligible list. The open list will be for all applicants who pass all stages of the recruitment process.

This is a public contact position. The City highly encourages all bilingual candidates to apply! Some positions may require bilingual skills in Spanish, Cantonese, or Mandarin. Under the authority of Civil Service Rules Section 5.03, if a position requires bilingual language skills, only those candidates who have indicated they are bilingual in the required language(s) will be referred. Bilingual candidates will be required to successfully pass a language proficiency test if selected for hire.

Any combination of education and experience that is equivalent to the following minimum qualifications may be acceptable.

Education:

A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in fire protection; civil, electrical, chemical or mechanical engineering; or a related field.

Experience:

Three years of progressively responsible experience in fire protection inspection and analysis including building design, specification writing, construction inspection, and plan review. Note: a degree in fire protection engineering, as documented by a copy of college transcripts, may be substituted for one year of professional experience.

License or Certificate/Other Requirements:

• Individuals who are appointed to this position will be required to maintain a valid California Driver's License throughout the tenure of employment OR demonstrate the ability to travel to various locations in a timely manner as required in the performance of duties.
• Possession of a valid Fire Protection Engineer license issued by the California Board of Registration for Professional Engineers or a valid registration as a Fire Protection Engineer from another state, which is transferable to the State of California,
• OR
• Possession of a valid Professional Engineer license issued by the California Board of Registration for Professional Engineers in mechanical, electrical, civil or chemical engineering with qualifying experience in fire protection engineering.

Desirable Qualifications:

• CA Fire Alarm Association Training Classes
• Building Code/M.E.P. Training
• Technical writing skills/experience
• M.E.P. Design experience
• Fire Protection Design experience

The Recruitment Process:

The City of Oakland works with a Civil Service system. Applicants apply online, and HR staff reviews their experience, education, and training listed on the application against the “minimum qualifications” listed for each position.

Candidates who demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements are then invited to participate in an assessment process (or testing) to measure their knowledge, skills, and abilities in job-related areas.

Candidates who do not demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualification requirements will have an opportunity to request a final review. Candidates must request a final review within 5 business days of being notified that they did not meet the minimum qualifications.

In the final review, candidates may clarify information already provided on their application. No additional work history, education, or certifications will be accepted. Any decisions made during this review process will be final.

For this recruitment, all qualified applicants will be sent a writing exercise (weighted 100%), which will then be evaluated and rated by subject matter experts. You will have 7 days from the time you receive the exam link to complete and submit your written responses. The tentative date that the writing exercise will be sent to you for completion is the week of October 26th.

Candidates requesting reasonable accommodations for the examination process must request accommodations no later than one week before they are scheduled to take the exam; otherwise, it may not be possible to arrange accommodations for the selection process. Please complete the Request for Reasonable Accommodation in Testing form by clicking on this link or by copying and pasting the link into your browser to open it: https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Request-for-Reasonable-Accommodation-in-Testing-2.9.22-Fillable.pdf. Send the completed form and any supporting documentation to the exam analyst: Will Sun at [e-mail].

Candidates who pass each stage in the process will be placed on an eligible list. Some candidates may receive extra points, for example, if you are a Veteran with an honorable discharge, or if you are a current City of Oakland resident. If you’re applying to a “restricted” posting and you are eligible as a current City employee, you may also receive additional points for your City service. Extra points are only applied to passing scores, so if you do not pass every element of the testing process, you cannot use extra points to pass.

The City of Oakland reserves the right to modify the selection process and date of examination as necessary to conform to administrative or business necessity. The information contained in this announcement is subject to change and does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract.

What's in it for you?

• 15 paid holidays
• Vacation: 2 weeks per year minimum with the ability to accrue more depending on public sector years of service
• Retirement: CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) with a pension formula of 2.5% @ 55 (for Classic CalPERS members) and 2% @ 62 for new CalPERS members. Classic Employees contribute 8% of pre-tax wages. The City of Oakland does not participate in Social Security
• Health: The City of Oakland pays the full cost of employee and eligible dependent coverage at the Kaiser rate. Other plans include Anthem, Blue Shield, United Health Care, and other HMO and PPO plans
• Dental: Delta Dental full premium for employees and eligible dependents
• Vision: VSP full premium for employees and eligible dependents
• Sick leave: Employees accrue12 days per year
• Deferred Compensation: 457(b) pre-tax plan and an after-tax ROTH 401(k)plan
• Other benefits include a Flexible Spending Account, Wellness Program, Employee Assistance Program, Tuition Reimbursement, Life Insurance up to $200k & Employee Training.

*Benefits described here do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found here: Working for Oakland | City of Oakland, CA

Applicants are required to submit criminal history information upon request after receiving a conditional offer of employment. If the requested information is not furnished in a timely manner, applicants will not qualify for further consideration and will be removed from the eligible list.

All employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.