Career Opportunity

5217-Senior Fire Protection Engineer

Recruitment: REF15319X

Published: August 26, 2022

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About:

The Fire Department currently has a Permanent Exempt 5217 Senior Fire Protection Engineer vacancy.  This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process, is considered "at will" and shall serve at the discretion of the Department Head.

The Mission of the Fire Department is to protect the lives and property of the people of San Francisco from fires, natural disasters, and hazardous material incidents; to save lives by providing emergency medical services; to prevent fires through prevention and education programs; and to provide a work environment that values health, wellness, and cultural diversity and is free of harassment and discrimination.

Role description

Under general administrative direction, the 5217 Senior Fire Protection Engineer (FPE) provides technical and professional supervision; guidance and mentoring the activities of 5215 Fire Protection Engineers (FPE) and the 5201 Junior Engineer (electrical, civil, or mechanical) that work for the Bureau of Fire Prevention (BFP) of the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD). The Senior FPE performs highly technical and administrative functions in connection with the design, construction, operation and maintenance of fire protection projects and systems; Professionally and technically oversees the SFFD’s 5215 and 5201 engineers in the review of designs, drawings, specifications, applicable codes, and cost valuations for a variety of engineering, architectural and architectural design, and construction projects.  This senior level classification may manage the personnel of an entire engineering unit or work group.

EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109, the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to this job code/class and are not intended to be an inclusive list.

1.  Consults with design professionals, SFFD’s 5215 FPEs, Department of Building Inspection engineering staff, plan review staff, and public officials, to resolve differences among professional personnel on construction design.

2.  Trains, monitors, and evaluates subordinate Engineering staff to ensure that work methods are effective.

3.  Establishes and implements departmental policies, procedures, and administrative directives in accordance with applicable laws, ordinances, codes, standards, rules, regulations, and legislative policies and procedures by interpreting, explaining, monitoring, and evaluating the functional activities of the organization.

4.  Represents the SFFD on technical and professional matters as needed and consults with members of the public (contractors, architects, engineers, building mangers, and owners, etc.) and other government agencies regarding fire code, standards, and ordinance issues; gives lectures and arranges life-safety demonstrations; and represents the Fire Department on fire code and technical issues as necessary and in connection with specific departmental issues as needed by SFFD.

5.  Writes, and/or reviews and approves technical engineering letters, reports, memos, recommendations, routine correspondence, and other documents.

6.  Performs and supervises review of fire protection plans and systems, equivalency proposals, permit applications, subdivision and parcel maps, etc., to ensure compliance with applicable codes, ordinances, and standards; reviews site permits, architectural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing plans and specifications for code compliance; ensures that fire code provisions are included where hazardous processes and/or dangerous chemicals or radioactive materials are involved; and submits recommendations to the Fire Marshal for approval or disapproval of plans or specifications.

7.  Advises and provides training to Fire Department personnel regarding applicable codes, technical engineering aspects of fire prevention work, plan review, and technical research; prepares technical documents as appropriate; and assists the Chief, Division of Fire Prevention and Investigation (Fire Marshal) in the training of Fire Department Personnel.

8. Oversees inspections and witness acceptance tests for fire protection systems; and participates in inspections of buildings and other structures periodically during construction to ensure compliance with approved fire protection plans and testing procedures, as directed.

9.  Reviews codes, ordinances, and fire protection standards from other jurisdictions for possible local applications; assists in the development of new codes and ordinances; assists in the revision of codes, ordinances, standards, and Fire Department Administrative Bulletins; and reviews new products, listings, materials, fire protection systems and equipment for local fire prevention applications.

10.  Provides professional, technical guidance, and assistance in the design, testing, and potential of proposed new fire-fighting apparatus and equipment and fire-retardant materials.

11.  Reviews investigations of fires and determinations regarding possible structural, mechanical, alarm, fire extinguishing, or other safety system failures; prepares reports as required.

12.  Evaluates performance-based analysis to determine whether proposed fire protection systems are acceptable regarding the intent of codes, standards, and ordinances; evaluates conditions as necessary to ensure that a proposed performance-based design is acceptable; communicates acceptability of performance-based designs to Fire Department officials; and performs and analyzes results of hydraulic water flow tests.

How to qualify

Education:

Possession of a baccalaureate degree in fire protection, mechanical, electrical, chemical, or civil engineering, or a related engineering field, from an accredited college or university.

Experience:

Seven (7) years of professional experience in fire protection analysis, including building design, specification writing, construction inspection, and plan review (including reading and interpreting architectural plans, computer fire modeling, and review of fire protection and life safety systems such as sprinkler and fire pump systems, fire alarm systems, smoke control systems, fire resistive construction, means of egress, etc.). Five (5) of the years must be while licensed as a California Fire Protection Engineer, performing duties equivalent to a 5215 FPE.

License and Certification:

A valid California Driver License.

Possession of a valid Fire Protection Engineer license issued by the California Board of Registration for Professional Engineers.

Verification: 

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

What else should I know?

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Application Opening: August 26, 2022

 Application Deadline: September 9, 2022

Compensation Range:

$82.6500-$100.4625 Hourly / $171,912-$208,962 Yearly  

Recruitment ID:  PEX-5217-125448

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact Jesusa Bushong at jesusa.bushong@sfgov.org.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.