Principal Fire Engineer - HS2 in Birmingham

This is a rare opportunity to join High Speed Two Ltd within the Chief Engineer directorate, taking a senior technical role with real ownership and autonomy across one of the UK’s most complex infrastructure programmes.

Working client-side within a specialist Fire Engineering team, you will assure the fire safety design of major rail infrastructure including stations, tunnels, shafts, depots, rail systems, and civils assets across the HS2 network. You will take ownership of major assets such as Curzon Street Station (£570m) and Interchange Station (£370m).

This is not a traditional consultancy delivery role. You will act as a technical authority overseeing and assuring the work of Tier 1 contractors and design consultancies, ensuring designs and completed assets comply with fire engineering standards, legislation, and operational requirements across a multi-billion-pound railway. With core standards already established, the role now focuses heavily on technical assurance, systems integration, design review, and testing & commissioning.

• Client-side technical authority role on a nationally significant programme
• Real ownership of assets throughout the project lifecycle
• Influence fire engineering across stations, tunnels, depots, and rail systems
• Work within a highly experienced specialist Fire Engineering team
• High visibility across engineering, delivery, and operational stakeholders
• Complex multidisciplinary environment involving civils, MEP, rail systems, and operations
• Long-term programme security with major delivery and commissioning phases ahead
• Strong work-life balance and flexible hybrid working culture

The Role

Reporting to the Head of Fire Engineering, you will provide technical leadership and assurance across fire engineering design, construction, and commissioning activities. A major challenge within the programme is the transition from heavy civils into MEP fit-out and rail systems delivery. As new contractors mobilise, the number of Tier 1 interfaces across the programme is significantly increasing, creating a highly complex integrated environment. You will sit at the centre of this transition, ensuring fire engineering standards, life safety strategies, and technical assurance remain coordinated across all assets and systems.

• Assure fire engineering designs & built assets across stations, tunnels, depots, rail systems, and infrastructure assets
• Review contractor fire strategies, technical submissions, and safety documentation
• Support fire standards, specifications, and technical assurance activities
• Ensure integration between fire systems and wider rail infrastructure systems
• Support Qualitative Design Reviews (QDRs), risk assessments, and operational readiness
• Liaise with Fire & Rescue Services and support emergency planning activities
• Support testing, commissioning, and assurance of completed assets
• Participate in site inspections and live construction assurance reviews

• Degree qualified or Chartered Fire Engineer (or working toward Chartership)
• Experience within rail, tunnels, stations, heavy civils, rail systems, or major infrastructure projects
• Strong understanding of evacuation, compartmentation, detection, suppression, and life safety systems
• Experience reviewing or assuring complex fire engineering designs
• Strong stakeholder management and multidisciplinary coordination capability

Open to candidates from client-side, consultancy, or contractor backgrounds.

This is a career-defining opportunity for a Fire Engineer wanting to move beyond pure design delivery into a strategic client-side role with genuine ownership and influence across one of Europe’s largest infrastructure programmes. You will help shape how fire safety is assured, integrated, tested, and ultimately operated across a transformational national railway for decades to come.