Fire Expert Witness Jobs in Colorado (NOW HIRING)

Consultant / Senior Consultant – Forensic Engineer

Hybrid Position in the Denver, CO area

Role Overview:

Join a growing forensic engineering and expert consulting firm seeking a technically strong engineer. This individual will inspect damaged buildings, evaluate structural conditions, determine the cause and origin of damage or defects, prepare repair recommendations, and assist with expert reports related to insurance claims, construction defects, and litigation matters.

This is not a traditional design-only engineering role. The ideal candidate will be comfortable conducting field inspections, working with imperfect information, analyzing causation, preparing technical reports, communicating with clients, and operating in a fast-paced consulting environment.

The position can be filled at multiple levels depending on experience. Candidates in the $80,000–$140,000 range will generally be considered for Consultant or Senior Consultant-level positions focused on billable forensic engineering work.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Conduct field inspections involving property damage to residential, multifamily, commercial, industrial, and potentially historic structures.
• Evaluate structural damage involving timber framing, masonry, steel, concrete, foundations, building envelope components, cladding systems, decks, roofs, and other building systems.
• Perform structural damage assessments following fire, water, wind, snow, hail, vehicle impact, soil movement, construction activity, deterioration, and other physical events.
• Perform structural stability and integrity reviews to determine whether structures or components are safe, serviceable, damaged, distressed, or in need of repair.
• Analyze structural failures and determine likely causes, origins, contributing factors, and repair implications.
• Evaluate construction defects in litigated or potentially litigated matters.
• Review construction documents, shop drawings, repair drawings, photographs, code provisions, industry standards, and project records.
• Analyze building code provisions related to structural repair, construction defects, code compliance, and standard-of-care issues.
• Develop structural repair recommendations and, where appropriate, prepare or support repair and retrofit designs.
• Serve as Engineer of Record for repair designs when qualified and appropriate.
• Prepare written reports, technical memoranda, field notes, repair recommendations, and expert-support materials.
• Support lead expert witnesses through technical analysis, document review, report drafting, exhibits, and technical summaries.
• Communicate proactively with clients regarding inspection findings, project status, schedules, deliverables, and outstanding information needs.
• Participate in business development, professional associations, technical presentations, and industry networking as appropriate.

Must-Have Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Professional Engineer license strongly preferred, ideally in Colorado or with the ability to obtain Colorado reciprocity.
• Experience evaluating buildings, structures, structural systems, or construction defects.
• Strong field inspection capabilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to prepare clear, defensible, technically supported reports.
• Practical knowledge of the International Building Code, International Residential Code, ASCE 7, and common structural engineering principles.
• Ability to work independently following an appropriate onboarding period.
• Comfort working with attorneys, insurance professionals, contractors, owners, property managers, and other technical experts.
• Ability to manage deadlines and multiple active project files.

Experience in some or all of the following areas is highly desirable:

• Forensic engineering
• Construction defect litigation
• Insurance property loss consulting
• Structural damage assessments
• Fire damage evaluations
• Vehicle impact evaluations
• Wind, snow, hail, or storm-related structural evaluations
• Foundation distress or soil-movement-related damage
• Moisture intrusion and building envelope issues
• Cladding, stucco, EIFS, masonry veneer, siding, windows, roofing, decks, and framing systems
• Residential reconstruction or repair design
• Commercial building assessments
• Expert report preparation
• Deposition or expert witness support
• Repair design, retrofit design, or Engineer of Record experience
• Client-facing consulting

Candidate Levels:

Level 1: Consultant / Project Engineer

Approximate salary range: $80,000–$125,000

This individual may have limited direct forensic experience but should bring strong structural fundamentals, field aptitude, writing ability, and the capacity to develop quickly within a forensic consulting environment.

Typical profile:

• PE preferred; a strong EIT may be considered.
• Approximately 3–6 years of relevant experience.
• Strong technical foundation.
• Comfortable conducting inspections and drafting reports with senior review.
• Open to mentoring and continued development.
• Strong long-term growth potential.

Level 2: Senior Consultant

Approximate salary range: $110,000–$140,000

This individual should be capable of independently managing much of the technical and client-facing work associated with forensic engineering assignments.

Typical profile:

• Licensed PE.
• Approximately 5–10+ years of relevant experience.
• Able to independently lead field inspections.
• Comfortable evaluating causation and repair scope.
• Able to prepare report sections or complete reports with limited review.
• Comfortable communicating directly with clients.
• Experience supporting litigation matters and expert reports.
• Able to remain highly billable and productive with limited oversight.

Key Fit Factors:

• This opportunity is best suited for someone who enjoys working within a small, growing, entrepreneurial expert consulting environment rather than relying on the structure of a large corporate organization.
• The right person will be practical, technically sound, self-motivated, responsive, and comfortable managing deadlines, client expectations, and litigation-driven schedules.
• Success in this position requires more than strong calculations and engineering fundamentals. The individual must be able to inspect, investigate, analyze, explain, write, defend technical opinions, and communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.