Description
WSP is seeking a Lead Mechanical Engineer - Tunnel Ventilation & Fire-Life Safety to join our Tunnel Systems Team in New York City.
This role involves combining rigorous analysis with practical design of tunnel ventilation and fire-life safety systems for major road, rail, transit, and other underground infrastructure projects.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and perform analysis and design of tunnel ventilation, smoke-control, and fire-life safety systems.
- Develop ventilation concepts, operating modes, and design criteria for various scenarios.
- Perform engineering calculations for airflow, pressure losses, fan duty, equipment sizing, heat and contaminant control, and system performance.
- Build, review, and interpret one-dimensional and computational fluid dynamics models using tools such as Subway Environment Simulation (SES), IDA Tunnel, ANSYS Fluent, and Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS).
- Translate analysis results into coordinated, buildable designs.
- Prepare and review basis-of-design documents, technical memoranda, reports, calculations, specifications, drawings, and design packages.
- Apply relevant project criteria and standards.
- Coordinate with multidisciplinary teams.
- Support client meetings, technical workshops, field investigations, construction-phase services, system testing, and commissioning.
- Plan discipline work, manage assigned scope, schedule, and budget.
- Provide technical direction and quality reviews for less-experienced staff.
- Contribute to proposals and the growth of WSP's tunnel systems practice.
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related field.
- At least 7-10 years of relevant engineering experience.
- Professional Engineer license in New York, or the ability and commitment to obtain U.S. professional licensure.
- Demonstrated experience with ventilation systems for road tunnels, rail tunnels, transit facilities, or comparable underground infrastructure.
- Proficiency with tunnel airflow or CFD platforms.
- Experience developing engineering calculations, technical reports, design criteria, drawings, and specifications.
- Ability to lead technical tasks, coordinate across disciplines, and deliver high-quality work.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Legal authorization to work in the United States.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master's degree or PhD in mechanical engineering, fire protection engineering, or a related field.
- Experience across both analysis and physical system design.
- Experience with testing and commissioning tunnel ventilation systems.
- Programming or data-analysis experience using Python, Visual Basic, C/C++, Fortran, or similar tools.
- Experience mentoring engineers, leading small technical teams, or working in alternative-delivery environments.