Fire and Life Safety Engineer Intern

This Opportunity

WSP USA hosts hundreds of interns across the United States to gain hands-on, meaningful work experience to enhance their education and professional aptitude. Our interns gain exposure to real projects while working side by side with senior staff. Through our Developing Professionals Network, interns gain mentorship, networking opportunities and lifelong career connections.

Our Fire and Life Safety (FLS) team is seeking a full-time Fire & Life Safety Engineering Intern - Summer 2027 to work out of our Boston, MA office. The following locations will also be considered: New York, NY; Columbia, MD; Arlington, VA; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX. This temporary position is seeking individuals currently enrolled in an Undergraduate or Graduate degree program.

This 12-week internship will be part of the WSP Summer Internship Program that is scheduled to start on May 17th, 2027. The individual start date of the internship may be flexible.

Your Impact

• Research of building code, life safety code, and fire code requirements. This will include familiarity with both ICC and NFPA codes, including the International Building Code and NFPA 101. 

• Assist with the design of fire protection and life safety engineering systems including automatic fire sprinkler systems, fire detection and alarm systems, smoke management systems, and egress systems. 

• Assist in the preparation of fire engineering calculations including smoke modeling and evacuation analysis from simple hand calculations to complex 3D computational modeling.  

• Assist in the commissioning of fire alarm, fire suppression, smoke control, and life safety systems.  

• Perform routine engineering functions and provide entry-level technical assistance on various code requirements, calculations, and design strategies to develop performance-based solutions for projects.  

• Under general supervision, assist with review architectural drawings for compliance with building and fire code requirements, and with producing fire safety strategy (basis of design) documents to inform and support the chosen building characteristics throughout the design process.  

• Support a variety of engineering tasks with the goal to develop technical, social, and ethical skills.

• Learn basic principles of Fire Protection Engineering, working under direct supervision of engineers.

• Assist with project research, field work, and preliminary design calculations and analysis.

• Support preparation of final design plans, special provisions, and cost estimates.

• Meeting required schedules while producing quality work. 

• Coordinates design efforts with multi-discipline teams.

• Ability to perform code research independently to solve technical issues and dictate basis of design.

• Complete training on assigned tasks.

• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources and conduct, and adhere to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.

• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

• Please note that there is no relocation or housing assistance associated with this internship.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Actively enrolled in an accredited Fire Protection Engineering, or related Undergraduate program with an anticipated graduation date of August 2027 or later.

• Must be 18 or older.

• Demonstrated interest in Fire Protection & Life Safety or related field and have a strong desire to advance skills related to WSP’s work and projects.

• Competent interpersonal and communication skills when interacting with others, expressing ideas effectively and professionally to an engineering and non-engineering audience.

• Capable of taking direction from leadership, mentors, and managers to executive projects.

• Basic proficiency with technical writing, office automation, software, spreadsheets, technology, and tools.

• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.

• Authorization to work in the United States at the start of the internship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Actively enrolled in an accredited Fire Protection Engineering, or related Undergraduate program with an anticipated graduation date of August 2027 or later.

• Experience using AutoCAD or Revit.

• Prior internship and leadership involvement on campus.

Compensation: 

Expected Salary (all locations): $23.90 - $32.22 

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.