How to hire a fire engineer

How to hire a fire engineer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step fire engineer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a fire engineer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new fire engineer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the fire engineer you need to hire. Certain fire engineer roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a fire engineer to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a fire engineer that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of fire engineers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Fire Engineer	Description	Hourly rate
   Fire Engineer	Health and safety engineers develop procedures and design systems to prevent people from getting sick or injured and to keep property from being damaged. They combine knowledge of systems engineering and of health and safety to make sure that chemicals, machinery, software, furniture, and other consumer products will not cause harm to people or damage to buildings.	$29-53
   Fire Sprinkler Designer	A fire sprinkler designer is in charge of designing and developing sprinkler systems to prevent or aid fire. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis, utilizing feedback from customers and other experts, producing prototypes or samples, and coordinating with engineers and technicians... Show more	$19-38
   Protection Engineer	Protection engineers supervise the maintenance of protection equipment of an electric power distribution system to reduce interruption to service. They coordinate the repair, tests, and installation of equipment... Show more	$33-69

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Fire Protection
   • Fire Alarms
   • Fire Prevention
   • OSHA
   • EMT
   • Emergency Response
   • Hazardous Materials
   • Fire Code
   • Emergency Situations
   • Firefighting
   • Emergency Calls
   • Fire Apparatus
   • EMS
   • Fire Equipment

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
   • Expedite and simplify the quotation process for solar water heating systems by accurately representing solar water heating system performance through MATLAB models
   • Review system interface between the detection and sprinkler systems to ensure compatibility of equipment and acceptability by the AHJ.

   More fire engineer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your fire engineer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A fire engineer salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a fire engineer in Kansas may be lower than in New Mexico, and an entry-level fire engineer usually earns less than a senior-level fire engineer. Additionally, a fire engineer with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average fire engineer salary

   $82,964yearly

   $39.89 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level fire engineer salary

   $61,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average fire engineer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$105,589	$51
   2	Tennessee	$99,800	$48
   3	Washington	$99,664	$48
   4	Arkansas	$99,342	$48
   5	Texas	$96,602	$46
   6	Oregon	$95,746	$46
   7	Michigan	$95,677	$46
   8	Virginia	$93,757	$45
   9	New York	$89,027	$43
   10	Indiana	$86,868	$42
   11	Massachusetts	$84,098	$40
   12	Maryland	$83,891	$40
   13	South Carolina	$81,680	$39
   14	North Carolina	$78,584	$38
   15	Illinois	$67,760	$33

   Average fire engineer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Amazon	$129,300	$62.16
   2	Tesla	$99,389	$47.78
   3	Wacker Chemie	$91,873	$44.17
   4	UL	$90,863	$43.68	4
   5	Fluor Corporation	$87,027	$41.84	6
   6	McWane	$86,945	$41.80
   7	Arup	$83,475	$40.13	4
   8	Samsung Electronics Device Solutions (Semiconductor & Display)	$83,056	$39.93	2
   9	M.C. Dean	$81,394	$39.13	24
   10	CoorsTek	$78,901	$37.93
   11	Jensen Hughes	$73,454	$35.31	87
   12	Total Safety U.S., Inc.	$72,209	$34.72
   13	Forsyth County	$68,100	$32.74	1

4. Writing a fire engineer job description

   A fire engineer job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a fire engineer job description:

   Fire engineer job description example

   **Overview**
   
   Jensen Hughes is seeking a talented Senior Fire and Egress Modeling Engineer in Mid-Atlantic Region (Baltimore/Rockville, MD or Blacksburg, VA).
   
   Since 1939, we have been at the leading edge of safety, security and risk-based engineering and consulting, serving the most complex global projects. In addition, we pride ourselves on driving code and standard development and adoption throughout the world and across industries. We planted our roots with a commitment to earning your trust and protecting lives, property and reputation. Today, we continue to work at the forefront of the professional services industry in safety, security and risk-based science, engineering and consulting. Our Company + Principles honor our past while looking to the future. The range of services we provide are how we achieve our Purpose: to make our world safe, secure and resilient. This purpose and commitments within each of four Principles (People, Industry, Client, Performance) reflect our company culture and how we serve our clients within the world we work and live today.
   
   **Responsibilities**
   
   The position will be for the Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation (RDTE) division. This exciting group includes an interdisciplinary team of CFD engineers, FEM engineers, machine learning engineers, and laboratory/testing engineers. The position will require detailed knowledge of performance-based design evaluations using computational fluid dynamics for smoke control applications.
   
   **Qualifications**
   
   + P.E. License in Fire Protection Engineering
   
   + Knowledge of building/fire codes and standards related to fire/life safety
   
   + Ten (10) or more years of hands-on industry experience in using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), Consolidated Fire and Smoke Transport Model (CFAST) and CONTAM
   
   + Ten (10) or more years of hands-on industry experience in using egress models such as PathFinder, Exodus, and MassMotion, etc.
   
   + Five (5) or more years of experience as project manager for projects including performance-based design, fire and egress modeling
   
   + Ability to work both as an individual contributor as well as in a team environment
   
   + Ability to mentor junior engineers on smoke control modeling using FDS
   
   + Ability to analyze, prepare and review smoke control modeling and egress analysis
   
   + Ability to present the information prepared by others to clients and AHJs
   
   + Existing client-base with a willingness to grow in new areas
   
   \#LI-JF1
   
   **_Jensen Hughes is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status._**
   
   *Policy on use of 3rd party recruiting agency for direct placements
   
   Jensen Hughes will occasionally augment a recruiting search through agencies for certain positions when business conditions warrant. Jensen Hughes will not accept resumes, inquiries or proposals from recruiting agencies as an acceptable method to consider a candidate. 3rd party recruiting agencies must sign a standard Jensen Hughes agreement after being evaluated and accepted by a Human Resources or Talent Acquisition manager, or member of the talent acquisition team. Hiring managers and employees of Jensen Hughes are not authorized to accept resumes, engage in fee-based searches through recruiting firms or sign a search agreement. Please note this policy does not apply to "staffing firms" or firms that are involved with hiring temporary staff. Any recruiting agency interested in being considered may contact our recruiting team at jensenhughesrecruiting.com.
   
   **Job Locations** _US-MD-Baltimore | US-MD-Rockville | US-VA-Blacksburg_
   
   **ID** _2021-1455_
   
   **Category** _Experienced Engineering and Consulting_
   
   **Type** _Full-Time_

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right fire engineer for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your fire engineer job on Zippia to find and recruit fire engineer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit fire engineers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new fire engineer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the fire engineer position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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