Fire Protection Engineer

Overview

At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the Fire Protection (FP) Office serves the Laboratory, DOE/NNSA, and the surrounding community by providing fire protection engineering and program services to minimize fire-related risks. The FP Office manages and ensures implementation of the LANL Fire Protection Program. The FP Office is LANL's Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for fire protection-related codes, standards, and recommended practices (e.g., NFPA).

This position will be filled at either the Fire Protection Engineer 1 or Fire Protection Engineer 2 level, depending on the skills of the selected candidate. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if the candidate is hired at the higher level.

Fire Hazard Evaluation (FHE) Program Support

• Support the development, review, and maintenance of FHEs for glove boxes, fume hoods, and other process enclosures.
• Perform hazard identification and qualitative fire hazard analyses to document materials, fire scenarios, potential failure mechanisms, and appropriate controls.
• Collect and analyze enclosure information including process descriptions, equipment configurations, combustible inventories, and fire protection features.
• Assist in planning and tracking FHE development efforts by coordinating with facility operations, fire protection engineers, subcontractors, document control, and other stakeholders.
• Support the integration of FHE requirements into facility procedures, authorization basis documents, and operational planning.
• Participate in walkdowns of enclosures to verify configuration, document hazards, validate technical assumptions, and provide oversight to subcontractor personnel performing data gathering, mapping, or related FHE support activities.

Fire Protection Engineering Evaluations

• Review fire protection engineering evaluations and related documents to support FHE conclusions.
• Perform analyses of existing fire protection features to determine adequacy, identify gaps, and propose corrective actions.
• Interface with operations, project teams, and other engineering disciplines to ensure FHEs meet technical expectations and program needs.

General Fire Protection Engineering Activities

• Review fire protection system designs and calculations.
• Support life safety analyses.
• Participate in fire protection system testing and inspections.
• Perform code compliance evaluations.
• Contribute to fire hazards analyses and engineering evaluations as needed.

Fire Protection Engineer 1 ($94,500 - $154,600)

• FHE program support as listed above.
• Fire Protection Engineering Evaluations; general fire protection activities as listed above.

Fire Protection Engineer 2 ($104,100 - $172,200)

• Technical leadership within the FHE program: lead complex FHE development efforts, oversee programmatic strategies for maintaining FHE quality and consistency, and serve as a subject matter expert on fire hazards related to glove boxes, process enclosures, pyrophoric materials, and related features.
• Coordination and program execution: lead coordination with facility operations, nuclear safety, engineering disciplines, subcontractors, and document control; prepare and review fire protection engineering evaluations, equivalencies, and exemptions related to FHE conclusions.
• Fire Hazard Analysis and Technical Guidance: conduct advanced fire hazard analyses in nuclear and high-hazard facilities; develop technical guidance to improve program processes and standardize evaluation methods.
• Communication and mentorship: communicate findings through technical reports and briefings; mentor and support early-career engineers.

Minimum Job Requirements:

• Knowledge of office software, including MS365.
• Ability to perform technical reviews of facility design documents and provide actionable comments.
• Ability to communicate compliance concerns verbally and in writing to management, customers, peers, and craft personnel.
• Experience in design or plans review of fire protection and life safety features, or evaluation of fire hazards and risks of facilities or processes.
• Strong teamwork, interpersonal skills, and attention to detail.

Additional Job…