Designer - Fire Alarm and Low Voltage

Job Description

Job Description

Fire Alarm and Low Voltage Designer - Poway, CA

AMPAM is a leading Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) contractor serving large-scale multifamily and commercial projects across California. With 1,500 employees across multiple business units, we are committed to delivering quality, safety, and excellence in every project. In June 2026, AMPAM acquired Coastal Fire & Integration Systems (“Coastal”), a San Diego-area provider of fire protection, low-voltage, and life safety systems. This role will join the AMPAM team as a part of our Coastal Fire & Integration Systems acquisition.

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Fire Alarm and Low Voltage Designer to join our team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for preparing accurate, code-compliant fire alarm and low-voltage system designs, shop drawings, permit drawings, as-built drawings, calculations, reports, and related project documentation.

This position requires advanced knowledge of fire alarm and life safety system design, including high-rise systems, smoke control interface, voice evacuation, emergency communication systems, monitoring, and related low-voltage systems. The Designer will work closely with project managers, estimators, field technicians, programmers, general contractors, engineers, consultants, AHJs, and customers to ensure designs meet applicable codes, project specifications, manufacturer requirements, and field installation needs.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate must:

· Possess a working knowledge of low-voltage communication systems, including fire alarm, emergency communication, monitoring, access control, CCTV, DAS/ERRCS, AV, and related building system interfaces.

· Demonstrate competency in advanced fire alarm design, including high-rise systems, smoke control interfaces, voice evacuation, emergency communication systems, elevator recall, sprinkler monitoring, duct detector shutdown, door release, and other life safety system integrations.

· Possess proficient knowledge of current codes and standards, including NFPA, IBC, California Building Code, California Fire Code, local AHJ requirements, and the principles and practices of fire protection engineering.

· Be professionally licensed or certified in the area of expertise, such as NICET Fire Alarm Systems certification, or possess equivalent industry experience.

· Be proficient in AutoCAD software to ensure efficient and accurate production of shop drawings, permit drawings, design drawings, as-built drawings, and record documents.

· Be proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, Bluebeam, and related design/document management software.

· Have experience preparing fire alarm submittal packages, permit drawings, equipment data sheets, voltage drop calculations, battery calculations, sequence of operations, riser diagrams, device layouts, panel schedules, and related design documentation.

· Have experience preparing and writing reports detailing specific fire protection issues, design concerns, code analysis, corrective measures, alternative methods, or equivalency proposals.

· Have proficient knowledge of fire alarm product lines, including Kidde, EST/Edwards, Notifier, and other commonly used fire alarm systems.

· Be able to read and interpret construction drawings, electrical drawings, architectural drawings, mechanical drawings, reflected ceiling plans, specifications, contracts, addenda, RFPs, and scope documents.

· Possess good communication, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

· Be able to communicate professionally with project managers, estimators, field technicians, programmers, general contractors, engineers, consultants, clients, inspectors, plan checkers, and AHJs.

· Be able to manage multiple design projects simultaneously, depending on project size, complexity, scope, deadlines, and permitting requirements.

Job Duties

The Fire Alarm and Low Voltage Designer will be responsible for:

· Reading and interpreting construction documents, including drawings, specifications, contracts, addenda, RFPs, and scope documents.

· Actively participating in pre-planning the overall fire protection and low-voltage system design.

· Designing and laying out fire alarm and low-voltage systems for complex buildings using CAD-based software.

· Preparing fire alarm shop drawings, permit-level drawings, design drawings, as-built drawings, and record drawings.

· Preparing fire alarm design documentation, including riser diagrams, device layouts, equipment locations, panel schedules, sequence of operations, input/output matrix, battery calculations, voltage drop calculations, point-to-point details, and other required design information.

· Preparing fire alarm submittal packages, including drawings, calculations, product data sheets, equipment cut sheets, and supporting documentation.

· Designing systems in accordance with NFPA, IBC, California Building Code, California Fire Code, local AHJ requirements, project specifications, manufacturer requirements, and other applicable codes and standards.

· Designing advanced fire alarm systems, including high-rise, voice evacuation, emergency communication, smoke control interface, elevator recall, duct detector shutdown, sprinkler monitoring, fire pump monitoring, door release, and other building system interface requirements.

· Reviewing architectural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, sprinkler, elevator, and other trade drawings to coordinate fire alarm and low-voltage system design requirements.

· Identifying design conflicts, scope gaps, code concerns, constructability issues, and field coordination concerns.

· Identifying corrective measures, including design solutions, revisions, alternate layouts, and recommended system modifications.

· Conducting technical research and providing documentation related to code requirements, alternative methods, equivalencies, product applications, and design solutions.

· Responding to plan check comments, AHJ comments, engineering comments, customer comments, and internal review comments.

· Coordinating plan status with plan checkers, AHJs, general contractors, engineers, consultants, and internal project teams.

· Submitting, delivering, and picking up plans from the city, job site, client’s office, or other required locations as necessary.

· Participating in project meetings with clients, general contractors, engineers, consultants, inspectors, AHJs, project managers, field teams, programmers, and other professionals at office, field, and construction site locations.

· Supporting project managers, estimators, field technicians, programmers, and service teams with technical information as needed.

· Coordinating with programmers to ensure design intent, sequence of operations, device addressing, system interfaces, and programming requirements are clearly documented and understood.

· Coordinating with field teams to address installation questions, field conflicts, RFI responses, design revisions, as-built updates, and closeout requirements.

· Assisting with design-build projects, value engineering, change order support, tenant improvement designs, retrofit work, and system modification drawings.

· Maintaining organized design records, drawing files, submittals, calculations, correspondence, plan check comments, RFIs, revisions, and project documentation.

· Maintaining current knowledge of fire alarm codes, low-voltage systems, manufacturer requirements, AHJ expectations, and company design standards.

Preferred Qualifications

· NICET Fire Alarm Systems certification, preferably Level II or higher.

· Experience designing fire alarm systems for multifamily, mixed-use, commercial, hospitality, education, healthcare, industrial, parking structure, high-rise, and campus-style projects.

· Experience with Edwards/EST, Kidde, Notifier, Siemens, Silent Knight, Fire-Lite, Potter, or other fire alarm systems.

· Experience with California AHJ submittal processes, plan check comments, deferred submittals, and fire department permitting requirements.

· Experience with design-build fire alarm projects and coordinated low-voltage system design.

· Field experience in fire alarm or low-voltage systems is a plus.

Physical and Other Requirements

This position requires visual acuity and listening ability. Individuals must have the dexterity to operate office and field equipment, including computers, printers, copiers, scanners, telephones, voicemail systems, plotters, measuring tools, and other office or field equipment.

Individuals may be required to visit active construction sites, attend field meetings, conduct site surveys, access electrical rooms, fire alarm control rooms, riser rooms, mechanical rooms, parking structures, rooftops, and other building areas as needed.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. on a full-time basis without future employment sponsorship

Recruitment Agencies:

To protect the interests of all parties, AMPAM WILL NOT accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate. Any unsolicited resumes sent to AMPAM, including unsolicited resumes sent directly to AMPAM leaders/managers/coworkers or to AMPAM's database will be considered AMPAM property. AMPAM will NOT pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume. Inquiries from external recruitment agencies should be directed ONLY to our talent acquisition team.