Principal Fire Protection Engineer

SOLV Energy; Pennsylvania; Remote; USD 145,000 - 174,000; Full time

Job summary

SOLV Energy is seeking a Principal Fire Protection Engineer to lead fire and life safety systems for utility-scale energy storage, power, and industrial EPC projects. This fully remote role requires establishing standards, interacting with authorities and insurers, and guiding design from concept through commissioning.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years in fire protection, a relevant degree, and a P.E. license is preferred.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of fire protection engineering experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering or closely related discipline; Mechanical/Electrical acceptable.
• P.E. license in Fire Protection Engineering is preferred.
• Experience working with AHJs, fire marshals and code officials to secure approvals and navigate permitting.

Responsibilities

• Provide SME-level guidance on complex fire safety challenges and risk mitigation.
• Establish company-wide engineering standards, design criteria, and best practices.
• Lead and participate in national fire protection code committees and contribute to energy storage safety codes.
• Serve as primary technical interface with AHJs, insurers, and engineers; travel for in-person meetings as required.
• Develop project basis-of-design documents, scopes of work, and evaluation criteria for external EOR firms and vendors.
• Oversee design deliverables, budgets, and QA/QC of third-party work products to ensure compliance with SOLV standards and project requirements.
• Collaborate with electrical and SCADA teams to ensure design consistency and efficiency.
• Provide technical support during fire system testing and commissioning.

Skills

Fire protection engineering

Project management

AHJ liaison

Code compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Fire Protection Engineering

Job description

SOLV Energy is a leading provider of infrastructure services to the power industry, designing, building and maintaining utility scale solar, battery storage and high voltage substation projects nationwide.

Job Description Summary

The Principal Fire Protection Engineer serves as the technical authority and strategic lead for fire and life safety systems across utility‑scale energy storage, power, and industrial EPC projects. This role ensures that all fire protection systems meet applicable codes, standards, insurance requirements, and client specifications while supporting safe and cost-effective project delivery from conceptual design through commissioning.

This role is fully remote. Specific location details and expectations will be discussed during the interview process.

Job Description

• This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned

Position Responsibilities and Duties

Technical Subject Matter Expertise (SME)

• Provide expert-level guidance on complex fire safety challenges and risk mitigation.
• Establish company-wide engineering standards, design criteria, and best practices.
• Lead and actively participate in national fire protection code and standards committees, contributing technical expertise to energy storage fire and life safety codes.
• Serve as primary technical interface with Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs), fire marshals, insurers, and independent engineers on fire and life safety topics while leveraging 3rd party EORs as needed. Travel to attend in-person meetings as required.

Project-level oversight of the BESS fire protection system

• Develop project-specific basis-of-design documents for fire protection systems.
• Develop scopes of work, RFPs, and evaluation criteria for 3rd party fire protection engineers-of-record (EOR) firms and equipment vendors.
• Daily management and oversight of fire protection EORs, including design deliverable schedules and engineering budgets.
• QA/QC of 3rd party work products (Hazard Mitigation Analysis, Emergency Response Plan, Fire Alarm Design, etc.) to ensure consistency with industry standards, SOLV standards, OEM Requirements, and project requirements.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other engineering disciplines (primarily electrical and SCADA) to ensure design consistency and project efficiency.
• Support the fire protection design optimization for cost, performance, and constructability.
• Provide technical support during fire system testing and commissioning.

Leadership

• Lead engagement with Owners as needed to answer relevant questions around fire protection design and strategy.
• Provide technical training to the larger SOLV team as needed.

Minimum Skills or Experience Requirements

• 10+ years of fire protection engineering experience with at least 2 years of energy infrastructure experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering or a closely related discipline (Mechanical, Electrical, or similar) from an accredited institution.
• A license (P.E.) in Fire Protection Engineering is preferred.
• Proven experience working with Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs), including fire marshals and code officials, to secure approvals, ensure regulatory compliance, and successfully navigate permitting, design review, and inspection processes for complex fire protection systems.
• Advanced understanding of fire protection engineering principles.
• Demonstrated experience managing or reviewing work by external engineering consultants, owner’s engineers, or peer review on complex projects.
• Working knowledge of applicable building codes (NFPA, IBC, UL 9540/9540A, UL855 etc.), engineering principles, and industry best practices.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and within a team environment.
• Proven ability to work across disciplines and time zones, and to manage multiple consultant contracts and deliverables in parallel.
• Commitment to safety.
• Strong sense of urgency.
• Strong communication and project coordination skills.
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without requiring employer sponsorship now or in the future.

SOLV Energy Is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At SOLV Energy we celebrate the power of our differences. We are committed to building diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces that improve our communities. SOLV Energy prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind against an employee or applicant based on race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, or ethnicity, mental or physical disability, veteran status, parental status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Benefits

• Employees (and their families) are eligible for medical, dental, vision, basic life and disability insurance.
• Employees can enroll in our company’s 401(k) plan and are provided vacation, sick and holiday pay.

Compensation Range

$144,963.00 - $173,956.00

Pay Rate Type

Salary

Job Number

J13123