Senior Fire Engineer SME at NTT Global Data Centers, Hemel Hempstead

Your role at a glance

As Senior Fire Engineer, EMEA Design Execution SME, you will lead the localisation and delivery of NTT’s fire engineering standards and data centre designs across the full project lifecycle, from design and permitting through construction and handover. You will provide technical leadership to consultants, contractors, and vendors, ensuring compliance with NTT standards while adapting global designs to regional EMEA requirements. The role involves driving design reviews, resolving complex technical issues, collaborating with cross-functional teams, improving design processes, and supporting the management, prioritisation, and development of the Design Execution team.

What you will do

• Lead and oversee complex engineering projects from a fire engineering perspective, from concept to execution, ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations. Implement and localise the Owners Project Requirements (OPR) and the Global Reference Design (GRD) to ensure minimum viable product (MVP) execution
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to mid-level and entry-level fire engineers
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive continuous improvement and innovation in electrical systems for Data Centre infrastructure
• Contribute to the development and optimisation of active and passive fire protection systems and upgrades
• Stay informed about emerging trends and best practices in fire systems and engineering and apply them to enhance our operations.
• Prepare and present technical reports and updates to senior management
• Lead Root Cause Analysis studies
• Support the commissioning team as necessary to ensure "green and clean" delivery
• Make decisions to drive projects aligned with NTT's strategic business objectives during the design, construction, and commissioning phases
• Review and sign off AEs', OFCI Vendors', and GCs' design and technical submissions to minimise errors and ensure minimum viable product delivery throughout the project lifecycle, including design, construction, commissioning, and handover
• Perform QA/QC during the design and construction phases, including periodic visits to site to ensure Resident Engineers (REs), along with NTT Construction and QA Managers, are properly supervising GCs and OFCI Vendors to ensure that what is being built meets the required technical and construction standards
• Resolve technical disputes between third parties during design, construction, and commissioning
• Contribute to the continual improvement of Design and Engineering processes and procedures
• Interface with customers and assess the technical impact of customer changes

What we are looking for

• In-depth expertise in core life safety systems for the protection of high-value, high-airflow, continuously operating IT infrastructure, including Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus (VESDA), aspirating smoke detection systems that perform reliably under high-airflow server cooling conditions, specialised fire suppression systems, water mist systems, structural fire engineering, smoke control modelling, and passive fire protection measures such as compartmentation, intumescent paints, and fire stopping
• Regulatory and code compliance expertise across Europe, including performance-based codes such as BS 9999, as well as NFPA, ISO, and EN standards. Strong business continuity focus and understanding of insurance risk standards
• Highly developed understanding of commissioning (CX) processes and test scripts related to fire protection systems
• Comprehensive understanding of data centre infrastructure and its integration with engineering systems
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills, with the ability to guide internal and external engineering teams
• Proficient in managing personal and professional commitments while collaborating with teams across multiple time zones
• Strategic thinker with a structured and goal-oriented approach.
• Strong qualitative and analytical skills
• Ability to work effectively in multinational, interdisciplinary, and culturally diverse teams
• Passion for start-up and scale-up environments
• Passion for engaging with stakeholders and customers, combined with a world-class delivery and service mindset
• Recognised technical expert in a field of design and/or specification relevant to the data centre industry

Academic Qualifications and Certifications

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering

Membership of a professional institution recognised as relevant to the data centre sector

Required Experience

Several years of experience in data centres and/or other mission-critical M&E-led industries

Experience working within multidisciplinary design teams, preferably in a lead role

Experience in design consultancy, client engineering, site engineering, and/or contractor engineering roles

International experience across different organisations and project environments

Ideally, experience working with hyperscale customers.

Preferably, detailed knowledge of data centre operational functionality

Who we are

As the third largest data center provider, we operate over 150 data centers in more than 20 countries and regions. We understand that every business – large and small – has its own unique needs and goals. We offer local-to-global data center expertise, aligned with our connected platform of AI-ready data centers to create solutions that enable our clients to seamlessly scale their digital businesses, anywhere and anytime.