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Principal Fire Engineer

We are pleased to invite technical professionals with outstanding abilities in Fire Engineering to join our growing fire team!

Hybrid • Colchester • £65,000 to £85,000 depending on experience

ABOUT THIS ROLE

We are looking for a Principal Fire Engineer to join a small consultancy where your work is visible, your input genuinely shapes how we operate, and your development gets real attention rather than an annual review.

You will lead fire engineering projects across varied sectors, mentor colleagues, quality-assure technical work, and take an active role in how CDC delivers commercially. You will have real support and real autonomy. This is not a role where you wait for permission to do good work.

Come from a larger firm where hierarchy got in the way? CDC may be what you are looking for. Prefer depth and quality over volume and speed? Same answer.


ABOUT CDC

Cahill Design Consultants is a privately owned engineering consultancy based in Colchester, delivering fire engineering and acoustic design services for over 12 years. We are not beholden to external investors and we are not chasing growth for its own sake. The focus is on quality work and building a team that can sustain it.

We have held Flexa Careers accreditation for three consecutive years, with an 88% employee-led score. We are ISO 9001:2015 registered and in 2025 donated 1% of turnover to charity, with 118 hours of team volunteering.


WHAT YOU WILL DO

The role combines technical delivery, project leadership, and team development:

  • Lead fire engineering commissions across residential, commercial, mixed-use, healthcare, education, and other sectors from concept to handover.
  • Develop and sign off fire strategies for complex buildings, including performance-based approaches using qualitative and quantitative methods.
  • Oversee or conduct fire and smoke modelling (FDS, SmartFire or similar) and evacuation modelling (Pathfinder or similar), and interpret outputs for design teams and clients.
  • Review and quality-assure technical work produced by colleagues, providing structured, developmental feedback.
  • Lead client relationships and represent CDC in meetings, workshops, and discussions with approving authorities.
  • Contribute to bids, proposals, and the commercial success of your projects.
  • Help shape CDC’s internal processes, standards, and knowledge-sharing culture.

We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Requirements are split into Essential and Desirable. Apply if you meet the essential criteria, even if some desirable criteria are not yet there.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

ESSENTIAL

  • Substantial experience in fire engineering consultancy. We would typically expect around 7 or more years, but we’re interested in the quality and depth of your experience, not just the number of years.
  • Degree in Fire Engineering or a closely related engineering or science discipline.
  • Strong, current knowledge of UK fire safety legislation applied to complex buildings.
  • Proven experience writing fire strategies across at least one sector.
  • Experience liaising with clients, design teams, and approving authorities.
  • Quality review and technical oversight of others’ work.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication, including for non-specialist audiences.
  • CEng status via the Engineering Council, or actively working towards it.
  • MIFireE or equivalent professional body membership, or near to it.
  • Able to travel to Colchester two days per week (hybrid working).

DESIRABLE

  • Direct experience with fire or smoke modelling tools (FDS, SmartFire or similar).
  • Direct experience with evacuation modelling (Pathfinder or similar).
  • Experience across multiple building types or sectors.
  • Contribution to commercial activities, including bids, proposals, or client development.
  • Experience formally mentoring or developing early-career engineers.

BENEFITS

PAY & PENSION

  • £65,000 to £85,000 salary.
  • 5% enhanced employer pension.
  • 4× salary life assurance.
  • 70% income protection.
  • Discretionary annual bonus.

LEAVE

  • 25 days’ annual leave plus 8 bank holidays.
  • Christmas shutdown on top.
  • Buy up to 15 extra days.
  • Maximum 39 days per year.
  • TOIL / paid overtime available.

HEALTH

  • £65 per month health and wellbeing allowance.
  • 24/7 Smart Health digital GP.
  • myStrength mental health app.
  • Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) from day one.
  • Covers partner and children.

FAMILY

  • 14 weeks’ full pay for the birth parent.
  • 10 weeks’ half pay plus 15 weeks’ Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP).
  • 6 weeks’ full pay for all other parents.
  • Gender-neutral policy.
  • Adoptive and intended parents included.

DEVELOPMENT

  • Professional fees paid (IFE etc.).
  • Funded CPD plus annual training day.
  • Chartership support and coaching.

HOW WE WORK

  • 2 days per week in Colchester.
  • Flexa-accredited employer.
  • Hybrid working is the default, not the exception.

PRACTICAL

  • Cycle to Work scheme (up to £1,000).
  • Tech scheme (up to £1,000).
  • Give As You Earn.
  • ISO 9001 quality registered.

WELLBEING +

  • Legal and financial helpline.
  • Nutrition and fitness plans.
  • Second medical opinion service.
  • Long service leave from year 5.
  • Career break / sabbatical supported.

HOW TO APPLY

01 Apply – Send your CV with a brief note on why this role appeals.

02 30-minute call – A conversation for both sides to see if this makes sense.

03 Panel interview – In-person interview at our Colchester office.

We would rather have an honest conversation early than waste anyone’s time. If the application looks like a good fit, we will be in touch to arrange the call.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

Engineering and construction have a gender problem. That is not a secret. We are aware of it and we have made deliberate choices about how we hire, how we pay, and how we support people at different stages of their careers and lives.

Our enhanced parental leave policy applies equally regardless of gender or family structure, because we think that is the right thing to do, and because it is one practical way to push back against the imbalance that tends to hit hardest at the point of parenthood.

If you need any adjustments at any stage of this process, please just ask. We would rather adapt than lose a good person to an avoidable barrier.

Apply Now