Job Title: Lead Life Safety CSU Engr Work Location: Chandler, AZ Duration: 12 Months
Job Summary: The Life Safety Commissioning Engineer serves as the senior technical authority and discipline lead for Fire and Life Safety Systems on large, complex, and mission-critical projects, including hyperscale data centers, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, and life sciences installations. This role is responsible for planning, coordinating, validating, testing, and commissioning critical life safety systems to ensure compliance with applicable codes, regulatory requirements, project specifications, and operational objectives. Within semiconductor facilities, the Life Safety Commissioning Engineer is responsible for the verification and integration of highly specialized systems, including fire detection and suppression systems, hazardous gas monitoring, smoke control systems, emergency communications, and related life safety infrastructure. The engineer ensures these systems function as designed and meet the stringent safety, reliability, and operational requirements necessary before fabrication facilities become fully operational.
Acting as the primary on-site technical lead for life safety commissioning, this position works closely with engineering, construction, operations, vendors, equipment suppliers, commissioning teams, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) to develop and execute comprehensive testing and validation programs. The role provides technical leadership throughout system turnover, integrated systems testing, regulatory inspections, and operational readiness activities to ensure all life safety systems are fully functional, code-compliant, documented, and ready for safe occupancy and operation.
Collaborate: Actively seeks out others’ opinions and input and is open-minded to their views. Challenges others appropriately and is also open to being challenged on their own views.
Communicate: Is effective at adapting their communication style appropriately to their audience, providing context and using the right tone and level of information.
Customer Focus: Prioritizes the customer needs and puts these at the forefront of all interactions. Ensures that others within their team maintain this same approach.
Deliver: Demonstrates making well thought out, timely decisions and prioritization that leads to successful outcomes. Includes the right people at the right time.
Problem Solve: Accurately assesses a situation to find the best solution or way of working in order to resolve the issues. Is focused on creating a long term fix rather than a short-term solution.
Role Model: Contributes to the client culture by inspiring and motivating others through their positive approach and attitude. Comes to work determined to do a good job, for themselves and for their team.
"This position is designated as part-time telework per our global telework policy and will require at least three days of in-person attendance per week at the assigned office or project. Weekly in-person schedules will be determined by the individual and their supervisor, in consultation with functional or project leadership" #LI-AA1
Major Responsibilities:
Leading commissioning activities for fire and life safety systems from construction completion through startup and handover.
Developing commissioning plans, test procedures, integrated systems testing protocols, and acceptance criteria.
Managing functional performance testing of fire alarm, clean agent suppression, sprinkler, foam, smoke control, emergency communication, hazardous gas detection, and related systems.
Coordinating with contractors, vendors, design teams, operations personnel, and AHJs to resolve deficiencies and achieve system acceptance.
Verifying compliance with applicable NFPA standards, International Building Code (IBC), International Fire Code (IFC), local regulations, and client-specific requirements.
Supporting integrated systems testing to validate interactions between fire protection, building management, process safety, HVAC, emergency power, and control systems.
Reviewing design documents, submittals, sequence of operations, and test results to ensure alignment with project requirements and operational intent.
Ensuring complete turnover documentation, test records, deficiency tracking, and final acceptance documentation are maintained and delivered.
Develop and maintain commissioning schedules, checklists, and test procedures.
Witness factory acceptance tests (FATs) and site acceptance tests (SATs) as required
Develop and implement commissioning plans, test scripts, and acceptance criteria in alignment with project requirements
Review and interpret drawings, P&ID diagrams, control schematics, and project specifications
Coordinate with engineering, construction, QA/QC, and operations teams to ensure a seamless transition from construction to operations.
Perform functional testing, performance verification, and troubleshooting of Control Systems to ensure compliance with NFPA, NEC, IEEE, and project specifications.
Coordinate with Commissioning Team, Design Engineers, Construction teams, vendors, and owner representatives to resolve technical issues.
Scoping project drawings
Supports reviews of performance curves, metrics, trackers, and feedback to show trends, and use in improvements.
Coordinate contractors, subcontractors, and vendors during testing and commissioning activities.
Education and Experience Requirements:
Requires bachelor's degree (or international equivalent) and 8-10 years of relevant experience or 12-14 years of relevant work experience
Preferred
Bachelor’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Construction Management.
3–8+ years of hands-on U.S. experience in fire construction, building life safety systems, or semiconductor facility management.
Semiconductor-specific fire code requirements for Group H-5 occupancies.
Required Knowledge and Skills:
Fire Alarm Systems (FAS)
Fire Suppression Systems (Wet Pipe, Pre-Action, Deluge, Clean Agent)
Smoke Detection and Smoke Control Systems
Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills for coordination with engineering, operations, and client teams.
Experience with Commissioning Software (Smart Completions) and/or Digital Software.
Experience in Commissioning or a technical consulting field such as facility design, engineering, construction management or related area.
Proven leadership and supervisory skills with a focus on mentorship and accountability.
Emergency Power Interfaces.
Mass Notification Systems.
Hazardous Gas Monitoring Systems (HGMS).
Emergency Shutdown Systems (ESD).
Identifies owner’s goals, needs, and expectations for building operation and function; identifies the Commissioning responsibilities.
Leadership or Supervisory experience, ideally leading a Construction Automation Team on a client jobsite.
Experience with or exposure to Hexagon’s Smart Completions Software.
Familiarity with semiconductor facility standards and critical power.
Demonstrated background working with multidisciplinary teams.
Demonstrated time management and organization skills to meet deadlines and quality objectives.
Occupancy Evacuation and Emergency Response Systems.
Understand and have knowledge of Clean Rooms.
Toxic, corrosive, pyrophoric, and flammable gas systems.
HPM (Hazardous Production Material) requirement.
Applicant Notices & Disclaimers
For information on benefits, equal opportunity employment, and location-specific applicant notices, click here
At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws.The pay rate for this position is $66.71/hr.
