Principal Fire Research Engineer

We are excited to be partnering with ABC (Building Research Association of New Zealand) to look for a Principal Fire Research Engineer to undertake impactful and actionable fire research that will benefit society. To do this, you will also develop, lead and manage research projects.

Their world-class fire testing laboratory, which will be operational later this year, will replace their existing fire lab and open up exciting, new research possibilities.

About the company:

For over 50 years, ABC has been based in Judgeford, half an hour from central Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city. They employ more than 100 highly-qualified scientists, researchers and professionals and have cutting-edge laboratories which support both their research programmes and commercial testing work.

They put a lot of thought and effort into making ABC a great place to work. Their people are passionate about the work they do, but also recognise the importance of a work/life balance.

About the role:

The ABC fire research team undertakes a variety of collaborative research activities from looking at the fire risks associated with lithium batteries to building fire-safe densified housing and considering the potential unintended consequences of high-performance buildings.

The Principal Fire Research Engineer would develop, lead and manage research projects and research teams. You would also mentor other fire researchers in the team.

ABC’s new outstanding facilities will allow the Fire Research Engineers to conduct large scale physical fire testing research in the largest laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere.

A range of activities will be undertaken in the role, including modelling and analysing data, through to designing, building and burning fire research experiments. Expect to invest time on stakeholder engagement and knowledge transfer for a variety of audiences (e.g. peer-reviewed scientific papers, industry publications, seminars and webinars). You will also need to keep current with international fire safety trends and understand how they may apply to New Zealand.

A key part of the role is to work with industry and other stakeholders and transfer actionable research outputs to them to gain research impact and effect behavior change in line with the ABC strategy. To achieve this, you will be driven to understand the needs and dynamics of these stakeholders within the wider building sector system.

You may represent ABC on New Zealand industry committees such as those related to standards development and New Zealand on international committees. You will be involved in providing feedback from ABC’s perspective on building regulation related public consultations. You will also be involved with ABC-wide initiatives and champion ABC science innovation.

You will also work alongside other internationally renowned engineers, scientists and researchers as part of the wider ABC team.

To succeed in this role, you will need:

PhD, ME, MSc or equivalent in a relevant science discipline as well as industry experience.
Recognised nationally and / or internationally as a leading authority in a relevant fire research engineering discipline.
Extensive expertise and experience in fire engineering research (theoretical and experimental) relevant to the built environment.
Extensive large fire research project/programme management experience.
Experience leading and motivating research project teams, and mentoring others.
Extensive knowledge of the building industry sector trends as it relates to fire engineering.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to co-create useful and actionable research that will meet stakeholder needs and thereby create impact.
A collaborative and practical approach, with an enthusiasm to make a difference.
A willingness to move to New Zealand.

Applications from overseas candidates are welcome and support would be provided to apply for a New Zealand Accredited Employer Work Visa for the successful candidate.

This role is for ongoing permanent employment, with a salary range of approx. NZD$140,000 to NZD$155,000 for the Principal level role, dependent on skills and experience, based on a normal working week of 37.5 hours.

Candidates at the Senior Fire Research Engineer level may be considered but as salary is dependent on skills and experience salary would be at a lower level.

ABC specialises in permanent, contract and temporary recruitment – and has done since 1987. We are here to engineer better Mondays. We love connecting talented people with great work opportunities in workplaces where you can thrive and make a meaningful difference.