Senior Fire Protection Engineer-Data Center

Arcadis; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 101,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401K

Paid parental leave

Wellbeing benefits

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Arcadis is seeking a Senior Fire Protection Engineer with a strong data center background to lead fire protection across multiple projects. You will collaborate with mechanical, electrical, architectural teams and clients, driving design from pursuit through construction.

Responsibilities include technical leadership, IFC packages, and mentoring junior staff. Occasional site travel supports client engagement and delivery in a hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering or related discipline.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license in Fire Protection (US) required.
• Experience designing fire protection systems for data centers or mission-critical facilities.
• Strong knowledge of NFPA codes and FM Global guidelines.
• Familiarity with IFC/IBC standards and coordination with MEP teams.
• Ability to lead IFC design packages and mentor junior engineers.

Responsibilities

• Lead the fire protection design for data center and mission-critical facility projects.
• Develop construction-ready design packages including drawings, specs, and BIM models.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and designers.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and architectural teams to integrate fire protection systems.
• Support business development including proposals, costs, and client engagement.
• Perform site assessments and fire protection studies for data centers.

Skills

Fire Protection Design

Data center experience

Leadership

BIM coordination

Communication

Team collaboration

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering

PE license in Fire Protection (US)

Experience in data centers / mission-critical facilities

Tools

Revit

AutoCAD

Navisworks

HydraCAD

Sprink Cad FDT

Aspire

BIM platforms

Job description

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 34,000 people, in over 30 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Role description

We’re looking for an experienced Senior Fire Protection Engineer with a strong background in data center and industrial environments to support our U.S. Places Design & Engineering business.

In this role, you will partner closely with multidisciplinary teams—including Mechanical, Electrical Engineers, Architects, and clients—to deliver fire protection design solutions for mission‑critical facilities, with a primary focus on data centers and industrial projects. You will lead the fire protection discipline across multiple concurrent projects, guiding efforts from early pursuit and proposal through detailed design and construction administration. Periodic travel to project sites is expected (approximately 1 week per month) to support client engagement, site assessments, and project delivery.

Role accountabilities

• Lead the fire protection design for data center and mission‑critical facility projects, ensuring systems meet reliability, redundancy, and uptime requirements
• Develop construction‑ready design packages including drawings, specifications, and coordinated BIM models, ensuring alignment across all disciplines
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and designers
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, and architectural teams to integrate fire protection systems within complex, high‑density environments
• Support business development efforts, including proposals, cost estimates, schedules, and client engagement
• Perform site assessments, field investigations, and fire protection studies specific to data centers (e.g., suppression strategy, hazard analysis, system retrofits)
• Utilize and support modeling and design through tools such as Revit, BIM platforms, AutoCAD, Navisworks, and fire protection‑specific software (e.g., HydraCAD, Sprink Cad FDT, Aspire)
• Maintain strong client relationships and serve as a technical advisor on fire protection strategies for data center projects

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline
• Professional Engineer (PE) license in Fire Protection (U.S.) required
• Demonstrated experience designing fire protection systems for data centers, mission‑critical facilities, or high‑tech industrial environments
• Strong understanding of fire protection system strategies in data centers, including:
  • Clean agent systems (e.g., FK‑5‑12, Sapphire, Inergen, Aragonite)
  • Wet, Pre‑action, Deluge and dry pipe systems
  • Fire Alarm Design including VESDA Type and Beam Detection
  • Redundancy and cost‑effective design considerations
• Deep knowledge of applicable codes and standards including NFPA (e.g., NFPA 13, 20, 22, 24, 72, 75, 76), IFC, IBC, and FM Global guidelines
• Experience delivering Issued for Construction (IFC) design packages, ideally in complex or regulated environments
• Familiarity with high‑availability facility requirements and coordination with MEP systems supporting critical loads
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to present technical solutions to clients and internal teams
• Strong team‑working skills for a hybrid work environment utilizing Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zoom

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We are an equal opportunity employer. We are dedicated to a policy of non‑discrimination in employment on any basis including race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Benefits

Arcadis offers benefits for full‑time and part‑time positions. These benefits include medical, dental, and vision, EAP, 401K, STD, LTD, AD&D, life insurance, paid parental leave, reward & recognition program and optional benefits including wellbeing benefits, adoption assistance and tuition reimbursement. We offer nine paid holidays and 15 days PTO that accrue per year. The salary range for this position is $101,000 - $175,000. Actual salaries will vary and are based on several factors, such as experience, education, budget, internal equity, project and location.