Associate Director – Fire and Life Safety

About the role

WSP in the Middle East is looking for an experienced Associate Director – Fire & Life Safety to lead and grow its specialist team in Dubai. The role focuses on delivering complex fire and life safety strategies for major infrastructure and building projects while ensuring compliance with local and international standards.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Fire & Life Safety team across multidisciplinary projects, providing technical and commercial leadership.
• Develop and review fire strategy reports, performance‑based design solutions, and fire protection drawings, ensuring alignment with IFEG, SFPE, IBC, IFC and NFPA standards.
• Conduct onsite inspections during construction to verify adherence to fire strategies and coordinate with approving authorities.
• Review material submittals, shop drawings and BIM models (Autodesk Construction Cloud, Revit) for fire safety compliance.
• Interpret CFD modeling results (1D/3D) and integrate fire safety requirements with architectural, mechanical and electrical designs.
• Mentor junior staff, manage multiple projects simultaneously and uphold Quality Management System policies.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Fire Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of fire & life safety experience, including at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Proven track record delivering large‑scale building or infrastructure projects in the GCC.
• Professional certifications such as CFPS, CEng or PE are an advantage.
• Excellent communication and client‑facing skills.

Required skills

• In‑depth knowledge of International Building Code (IBC), International Fire Code (IFC), Saudi Building Code, UAE Fire Code, NFPA, BS/EN standards.
• Proficiency with BIM tools – Autodesk Construction Cloud and Revit.
• Experience with CFD modeling (1D/3D) for fire engineering assessments.
• Ability to develop fire strategy reports and performance‑based design solutions.
• Strong understanding of fire protection design, fire safety drawings and material submittal review.