MO/KS Fire/Life-Safety Business Class Leader

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, a place where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and novel ideas to work every day. As we foster a culture of inclusion throughout our company and within our communities, we constantly ask ourselves: What is our impact on the world?

We believe building engineering is more than systems and structures, it's about powering progress and enabling innovation. As part of HDR's Building Engineering Services Group, you'll help design the critical infrastructure that supports the digital age and shapes the spaces where people work, connect, and thrive. From high-performance data centers driving the future of AI to dynamic commercial environments, your work will directly support technological advancement, sustainability, and human experience. We bring together mechanical, electrical, structural, and civil engineering experts to solve complex design challenges with precision, creativity, and collaboration. Whether you're optimizing energy efficiency, integrating resilient systems, or engineering the backbone of next-generation facilities, your contributions will help define the future of the built environment. This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence.

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Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change the world for the better. Read further to learn how you could help make great things possible not only in your community, but around the world.

We believe building engineering is more than systems and structures, it's about powering progress and enabling innovation. As part of HDR's Building Engineering Services Group, you'll help design the critical infrastructure that supports the digital age and shapes the spaces where people work, connect, and thrive. From high-performance data centers driving the future of AI to dynamic commercial environments, your work will directly support technological advancement, sustainability, and human experience. We bring together mechanical, electrical, structural, and civil engineering experts to solve complex design challenges with precision, creativity, and collaboration. Whether you're optimizing energy efficiency, integrating resilient systems, or engineering the backbone of next-generation facilities, your contributions will help define the future of the built environment. This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead innovation, engineer impact, and build a legacy of excellence.

Come join the fast-growing Building Engineering Services Group at HDR. The Building Engineering Services Group (BES) provides industry leading mechanical, electrical, plumbing, site civil, structural, and specialty design services for a wide variety of buildings that include public, municipal, private, and government project types. Projects are a balance of local as well as across the region and the globe. With a team of experienced staff in specific market areas such as Healthcare, Datacenters, Science and Technology, Commercial Real Estate, Finance, Hospitality, Industrial, Municipal, Manufacturing, Transportation, and Federal facilities; we provide engineering excellence for our clients. We are searching for Fire & Life Safety (FLS) Business Class Lead at our Kansas City office.

In the role of the FLS Business Class Lead, you will have the opportunity to:

• Work with Building Engineering Services (BES) leadership and the FLS team to recruit and grow the FLS business class in the Kansas City office, leveraging an established local and regional fire protection network.
• Serve as the direct supervisor and manager for the Kansas City FLS team, including fire protection engineers, EITs, and ICC, NFPA, or NICET certified designers, and drive hiring, performance management, professional development, mentoring, and team culture.
• Work as a collaborative team with fellow area FLS business class leads for work staffing, staff forecasting, and project proposals.
• Participate in business class strategic planning, budgeting, and plan implementation.
• Identify and collaborate with market sector leadership to ensure FLS technical excellence in key markets including commercial, civic, industrial, federal, water, transportation, healthcare, education and laboratories, and mission critical facilities.
• Engage with clients and community stakeholders.
• Be involved in marketing, planning, proposals, and interviews in key markets.
• Promote HDR, BES, and our FLS business class within the engineering and architecture community, including participation in conferences and client engagement.
• Function as design lead or engineering project manager for key projects.
• Assist in the responsibility for operations of the FLS work group, including staff development, profitability, morale, and quality control.
• Assist in ensuring that all work is planned, organized, controlled, checked, and evaluated through proactive management and quality assurance/quality control practices.
• Implement, monitor, and support company policy.
• Work cooperatively with other business class directors, business class leads, operations managers, technical directors, marketing managers, and project management on business class efforts.
• Actively participate in work-sharing and fire protection practice development with HDR's nationwide network of FLS engineers, EITs, and ICC, NFPA, or NICET certified designers with varying levels of experience.
• Take responsibility for area coordination, monitoring and improvement of technical competencies of business class staff and products to meet client needs and market drivers, all within direction and goals of business class plans.
• Participate in delivery of project services to meet client expectations.
• Participate in business class practice and professional discipline groups, project teams and activities to continually improve standards and best practices, and implement effective quality assurance and quality control reviews.
• Perform other duties as needed.
• Travel (domestic and international) may be required at various times and is estimated to be 15% or less.

Preferred Qualifications

• Actively engaged in professional or industry associations to enhance HDR technical expertise and brand.
• Master's degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering with fire protection emphasis.
• Maintains NFPA, ICC and/or NICET certification.
• Experienced in development and management of diverse teams.
• Preference given to local candidates.

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Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a Professional, Architecture, Engineering or closely related field
• 10 years of experience
• Committed to quality, improvement and HDR values
• Maintains a professional or engineering registration and has related technical experience
  
  
• Experienced in development and management of diverse teams
• Works cooperatively with other area business class leaders, operations managers, technical directors and marketing managers on business class efforts
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must

What We Believe
HDR is our company. Together, we build on each other's life experiences and perspectives to make great things possible every day. This shapes our collaborative culture, encourages organizational trust and connects us closer to the clients and communities we serve.

Our Commitment
As employee owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected and empowered to bring our authentic selves to work every day.

Our eight Employee Network Groups (Asian Pacific, Black, Hispanic/Latino(a), LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Young Professionals) help create a sense of belonging and foster a supportive environment where everyone is empowered to engage and contribute. Each group has an executive sponsor and is open to all employees. Primary Location: United States-Missouri-Kansas City Industry: Building Engineering Schedule: Full-time Employee Status: Regular BusinessClass: Fire and Life Safety Job Posting: Feb 18, 2026