Senior Fire

About Us:

VA Sciences is a STEM consultancy that is dedicated to providing evidence-based solutions to complex problems facing our Clients. Our team of experts in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to deliver cutting-edge solutions.

The Engineering Division offers consultancy services in building services, building physics and energy studies. We utilise advanced digital-based methods and analytics to create fully immersive digital twins of buildings and spaces.

Our team is a blend of like-minded professionals who collaborate seamlessly to address intricate challenges. We are committed to fostering a workspace where every member feels valued, included, and empowered to contribute meaningfully.

Position purpose

The Senior Fire & Hydraulic Engineer provides technical leadership for wet fire protection and building/site hydraulic services. The role delivers safe, compliant and efficient outcomes from concept through to handover, balancing design, coordination, stakeholder engagement and quality assurance to meet client objectives, relevant standards and project budgets and programmes. The position contributes to practice development through mentoring, standard-setting and continuous improvement.

Key responsibilities

Design leadership: The engineer develops, reviews and integrates wet fire and hydraulic designs in coordination with architecture, structures, civil and other building services. Fire scope typically includes hydrants, hose reels, sprinklers, fire water storage, fire pumps, fire brigade connections and interfaces to detection/evacuation systems. Hydraulic scope includes potable and non‑potable cold water, heated and warm‑water systems, backflow prevention, TMVs, sanitary plumbing and drainage, trade waste pre‑treatment, roof and surface stormwater, rainwater harvesting and reuse, pumps and booster sets, and metering. Interfaces with passive fire, BMS/monitoring and smoke‑control systems are coordinated as required. Designs are coordinated in BIM and emphasise buildability, maintainability and resource efficiency.

Project delivery: You will be expected to plan and manage your work and that of junior staff to meet agreed deliverables. Typical outputs include basis-of-design documents, calculations, equipment selections, schematics, P&IDs, specifications, schedules and construction details. As a project engineer you will support procurement, respond to RFIs, review shop drawings, and commissioning and defect resolution where appropriate on projects.

Compliance and assurance: The engineer verifies that designs and installations align with the National Construction Code (NCC), relevant Australian Standards and any client or jurisdictional requirements. This includes documenting performance solutions where appropriate, maintaining design records, and undertaking formal reviews at defined gateways. The engineer promotes safe design and supports risk assessment workshops as needed.

Sustainability and energy: The engineer identifies practical opportunities for demand reduction, electrification of heat, and low-carbon outcomes, evaluating life-cycle cost and operational risk. Where applicable, the engineer leads energy and thermal modelling inputs, contributes to ratings and certifications, and advises on metering and ongoing performance measurement.

Stakeholder engagement: The engineer communicates technical matters clearly to clients, authorities, contractors and end users, facilitating decisions and resolving conflicts. The role includes chairing or contributing to workshops and presenting options, trade-offs and recommendations in a balanced, evidence-based manner.

People and practice: The engineer mentors junior staff, contributes to templates, guides and lessons learned, and supports bids with scope, methodology and fee inputs. The role participates in peer review and helps maintain a positive, inclusive team culture.

Key relationships

Internal: Project managers, discipline leads, BIM managers, designers and graduates.

External: Clients, facility managers, user groups, architects, structural/civil consultants, specialist suppliers, head contractors and authorities.

Decision-making authority

Autonomy to develop and sign off discipline designs within project governance and QA frameworks. Authority to recommend equipment selections and design changes within approved budgets and risk profiles. Escalation of material scope, cost, program or risk matters to the Engineering Manager or Project Director.

Qualifications, registrations and checks

Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Mechanical or Building Services Engineering or a related field. Chartered or working towards (for example, CPEng with Engineers Australia) and RBP where applicable. Construction White Card. Police and Working With Children checks may be required for health and education projects. Valid driver's license.

Experience profile

Substantial post‑graduate experience delivering mechanical and hydraulic services on multidisciplinary projects from concept to commissioning. Proven coordination on complex, occupied or staged projects; experience with brownfield refurbishment is valued. Demonstrated competence with BIM-enabled delivery (for example, Revit-based workflows) and common design or analysis tools. Track record mentoring junior engineers and contributing to QA and practice development.

Technical competencies

Strong working knowledge of NCC (particularly Volume 1) and core Australian Standards for wet fire and hydraulics, including AS 2118 (automatic fire sprinkler systems), AS fire hydrant installations), AS 2441 (installation of fire hose reels), AS 2941 (fixed fire protection pumpsets), AS/NZS 3500 series (plumbing and drainage), AS/NZS 2845 (backflow prevention), AS 4032 (thermostatic mixing valves), AS/NZS 3666 (water‑system hygiene) and AS 1851 (routine service of fire protection systems). Familiarity with AS fire detection and alarm systems) and interfaces, and with passive fire standards (e.g., AS and AS for service penetrations. Ability to size pipework and storage, model pressures/flows, perform sprinkler/hydrant hydraulics, design pump and booster systems, select backflow and TMV assemblies, design trade waste and grease management, and develop roof drainage and overland flow solutions. Understanding of commissioning, acceptance testing and verification requirements, and the practicalities of access, maintenance and lifecycle cost.

Behavioural competencies

Clear written and verbal communication suited to both technical and non‑technical audiences. Professional judgement, organised work habits and a collaborative approach. Constructive leadership in design reviews and site meetings.

Key performance indicators

Delivery: Agreed design milestones achieved to programme with low rework rates.

Quality: Compliance findings resolved at the appropriate design stage; positive outcomes from internal and external reviews.

Cost: Designs meet budget and whole‑of‑life objectives; change driven by services design is well controlled and justified.

Stakeholders: Client and contractor feedback reflects responsive, practical and coordinated engineering.

People: Documented mentoring and contribution to templates, standards or lessons learned each quarter.

Tools and systems

Proficiency with typical office and engineering software (for example, Revit, Navisworks, hydraulic network modelling tools and sprinkler/hydrant calculation software, Microsoft 365). Ability to interpret and mark up models, manage model exchanges and apply office QA systems including drawing, specification and calculation review processes.

Work health and safety

The role supports safe design by considering construction and operational risks, documenting residual risks and engaging with the project team to eliminate or reduce hazards. The engineer follows site induction requirements and reports incidents and near misses in line with company policy.