Smoke Control Engineer

V3international

General Responsibilities:

The employee should carry out his duties and responsibilities proactively, with skill, care, and due diligence, in good faith and in the Company’s best interest.

The employee should provide reasonable assistance to the PM/Direct Manager relevant to his discipline in gaining permits, licenses, and certificates from authorities.

The Employee should proactively evaluate issues raised during the design compliance reviews relevant to his discipline and support all key stakeholders in resolving them.

The employee should complete the compliance review reports of assigned design review projects within the specified deadline.

Specific Responsibilities:

Ensure effective communication of design review information with the interdisciplinary team to maintain high-quality standards at all stages of the review process.

Lead the Smoke Control scope throughout the Concept design (CD), Schematic Design (SD), Design Development (DD) stages. Facilitate smooth project transitions between stages for approval by resolving technical and code-related issues early in the design process.

Capable of preparing comprehensive engineering deliverables, including smoke control system drawings and calculations, and performing CFD and Evacuation simulations using industry-recognized software such as FDS, PyroSim, and Pathfinder or equivalent software

Able to provide technical input and oversee designers to ensure drawings are prepared to the highest quality in accordance with established engineering standards.

Capable of managing multiple projects, interpreting design drawings from various stages prepared by design consultants, and conducting thorough reviews of engineering deliverables—including plans, schematics, reports, technical specifications, and material schedules—throughout all design phases.

The employee should report to the direct manager about any gaps, inadequacies, or errors in the design documents that are non-conforming with the local and applicable international regulations.

The employee shall review, approve, in consultation with the direct manager, and highlight any discrepancies, non-workable and/or missing details relevant to his discipline in a timely manner.

The employee shall proactively resolve potential issues in quality, compliance, and design relevant.

The employee will facilitate technical meetings, design reviews, and stakeholder coordination sessions while collaborating with design consultants and internal teams to ensure that design submissions are complete, accurate, and constructible.

Conduct design reviews for projects involving smoke control systems in compliance with Saudi Building Codes, NFPA standards and other relevant international and local codes.

Verify design calculations, airflow rates, and pressure differentials for atria, staircases, car parks, tunnels, and other smoke control zones to ensure precision, accuracy, and full compliance with SBC and applicable NFPA requirements.

Evaluate fire zone compartmentation, smoke barriers, and damper locations for proper integration with the smoke control strategy

Check the compatibility of smoke control system operations with HVAC systems to avoid conflicts during normal and emergency modes

Review and validate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for atria, large public assembly spaces such as stadiums, arenas, and auditoriums with stages, as well as for car park ventilation, tunnel ventilation, staircase pressurization, and related applications

Evaluate fire scenarios, heat release rates, and smoke layer interface heights to ensure tenable conditions for occupants and firefighters

Recommend scenario modifications where CFD results show non-compliance or insufficient safety margins

Ensure CFD assumptions and boundary conditions align with actual building geometry, HVAC system capacities, and operational modes

Participate in the testing and commissioning of smoke control systems to verify integration with the fire alarm and BMS, confirm fan activation, measure staircase and lobby pressures, validate smoke exhaust rates, and ensure proper makeup air operation.

Independently manage the design review process by understanding the project scope, coordinating with all stakeholders—including designers, AHJs or their representatives, and clients—identifying and documenting noncompliance issues in accordance with building codes and standards, and preparing comment resolution sheets to track and record design reviews at all stages of the project.

Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering is preferred; a master’s degree is considered an added advantage.

Minimum of 8-10 years’ experience in Smoke Control System Engineering, CFD and design review.

Comprehensive knowledge of SBC and NFPA codes, with proven design review proficiency.

Exceptional verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

Strong analytical, detail-oriented, and organized problem-solving abilities.

Expertise in designing, reviewing, and implementing smoke control systems, including the use of CFD and evacuation analysis modelling, as well as developing comprehensive testing and commissioning plans

Proficient in CFD Software tools (Pyrosim, FDS, Pathfinder) and design tools (AutoCAD, Revit/BIM).

Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) registration is preferred, with Professional classification desirable.

NFPA certification / CFPS certification or equivalent desirable

Valid and transferable Iqama is required for non-Saudi candidates.