Education and qualifications:
MEng(Hons)
Structural and Fire Safety Engineering
Job title: Fire Engineering Lead
Employer: Robertson Construction Group
What inspired you to become an engineer?
I’ve always had a curious nature and been interested in how things work. My grandad was an Engineer in the papermills and was always full of stories. His enthusiasm for all things practical left a lasting impression on me, so when I was looking at options for higher education, engineering seemed the obvious choice.
Please describe your current role.
After 12 years as a consultant Fire Engineer/Senior Fire Engineer at Arup, I am now Fire Engineering Lead for Scottish-based contractor Robertson Construction Group.
My role primarily involves:
In what ways has IFE membership and registration benefitted your career?
IFE membership provides an opportunity to share knowledge with like-minded people across the industry. Fire Engineering is still a relatively young discipline, and our skills need to constantly evolve as the industry develops. It’s important to have a medium outside of your own organisation to contribute to the improvement in quality and competence of all Fire Engineers, in order to bring maximum benefit to society as a whole.
Can you describe a typical working day?
On a day-to-day basis, I could be responding to requests from different project teams for technical support, reviewing tender information to identify potential design risks/opportunities, visiting our sites to help resolve any issues, or developing fire safety guidance and policies to support the business.
An important part of my role is also to keep abreast of changes to UK legislation/regulations, the insurance market and individual Fire Engineering Consultancy suppliers, and communicating this to the business as needed to manage our exposure to potential risks as they arise.
Are there any particular challenges or unusual aspects to your role?
My move from consultancy to a contractor was driven by a desire to further my understanding of the challenges faced during the construction phase of projects, and also to apply my skills in a different setting.
Contractors are gradually recognising the need for in-house specialist support to help them navigate a complex and rapidly evolving regulatory fire safety landscape, and this role reflects the investment RCG are making to develop their capability and competence.
Whilst it’s relatively unusual still for someone from my background to join a contractor, over time I hope to develop the role and share this as an exciting career direction for other Fire Engineers to follow. Spreading our experience and skillset to others beyond consultancy can only benefit the industry as a whole.
Is there a great professional achievement that you would like to tell us about?
A particular highlight of my career to date has been the redevelopment of King’s Theatre in Edinburgh, which I have worked on since its inception in 2018.
The project involves the complex partial demolition/reconstruction of internal areas such as escape cores and the stage house, and stripping-out/refitting most other areas to modernise the building’s facilities and visitor experience. As part of my previous role at Arup we worked hard to integrate significant improvements to the building’s means of escape, compartmentation and fire fighting facilities, whilst being sensitive to the building’s heritage and listed features.
RCG are the main contractor for the project, so I’m looking forward to watching the project progress towards completion in 2026.
What contributed to your decision to become professionally registered?
For fire safety professionals, our qualifications and experience are key to our reputation and credibility. Becoming professionally registered is a symbol of this and is an industry-recognised way of demonstrating competence, as assessed by our peers. Once I graduated and began work as a Fire Engineer, gaining my Chartership was a natural next step and provided a structured path to progress the early part of my career.
How does your employer benefit from your professional registration and membership?
Competent and experienced fire safety professionals are highly sought-after across the buildings and construction sector, and never more so than the last few years. Having an in-house specialist Fire Engineer (who is a member of the IFE and a Chartered Engineer) demonstrates to current and future clients that, as a main contractor, they take their duties regarding safety and quality extremely seriously. This experience also brings significant benefits to them by reducing potential project risks and financial losses due to construction quality/compliance issues.
Is there any advice you would pass on to someone considering joining the IFE?
When applying for Chartership, it is necessary to demonstrate a variety of professional skills including specialist fire engineering knowledge, technical and commercial leadership, interpersonal skills and professional standards and ethics. These skills take time to develop so you should get familiar with them as soon as possible in your career and seek opportunities to work on them on a broad range of projects and roles.
When it comes to writing your application, find what works for you. Everyone’s circumstances are different and finding the time to focus on writing the best possible application is a big commitment. Whether it’s blocking out a single period to sit and focus on it, or chipping away gradually over time, it’s important to ensure the end result is as good as you can make it.
What are your future ambitions?
The Fire Engineering profession is evolving rapidly, and there are many opportunities to work on different types of projects in different roles. I therefore try to avoid making too many long-term targets. Having a young family also means that striking the right balance between my professional and family life remains a big priority for me.
I plan to focus on developing my current role further over the next few years, and then see what opportunities come off the back of this. As long as I’m still learning and improving and using my skills to make the world a safer place, I’ll be happy.