Summer Project Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

When you walk into a building, do you immediately start analyzing it? Do you wonder how the building is protected, how people get out safely, where the fire alarm devices are located, or how automatic suppression systems are routed through the space? We do too.

Summer Consultants is looking for a recent graduate or early-career engineer with up to three years of experience to join our Fire Protection team in Greenbelt, MD. You do not need to have studied Fire Protection Engineering specifically to be considered. A degree in Fire Protection Engineering is great, but a Mechanical Engineering or Architectural Engineering degree with a strong interest in fire protection, life safety, fire alarm, and suppression systems can also be a strong fit.

Much of our work involves renovations, frequently focused on MEP/FP systems within existing buildings. That means our engineers spend real time in the field: walking buildings, surveying existing conditions, tracing systems, observing constraints, and figuring out how new designs can actually work inside spaces that were not built with a clean sheet of paper.

This is a good role for someone who wants to learn by seeing buildings firsthand. Field surveys are an important part of how our engineers understand existing systems, develop judgment, and design practical solutions. You will learn how to look at a building, ask the right questions, document what is there, and help turn those observations into high-quality fire protection design.

The fun and challenge of renovation work is solving real constraints: how to make equipment fit, how to route piping or devices through existing spaces, how to work around active building operations, and how to think through how a contractor will actually build the design. Clients choose Summer Consultants when they want the work done right the first time. We are proud that 95% of our clients would refer us to others.

We serve our clients’ missions as if they were our own, whether supporting the warfighter or our nation’s government, institutional, and educational clients.

With our office located in the Nation’s Capital Region, our interesting client list, and our focus on renovation, you will get to work in and survey some interesting buildings, sometimes seeing history from the inside out. Check out our projects page for examples of our work.

Curious about building systems, life safety, and how fire protection design works in the real world? Let’s see what we can do together.

What Summer Consultants Can Do for You

Summer Consultants will help you:

• Help you learn the ins and outs of the MEP/FP consulting industry.
• Give you hands-on experience with fire protection design, life safety analysis, fire alarm systems, fire suppression systems, and existing-building surveys.
• Teach you how to survey buildings, document existing conditions, and translate field observations into practical design decisions.
• Provide exposure to tools such as Revit, AutoCAD, and hydraulic calculation software.
• Give you varied project experience. We rarely have “typical” projects because buildings are unique, and so are their systems.
• Help you develop into a well-rounded consulting engineer through mentoring, project exposure, and field experience.
• Give you direct access to senior engineers, including time in the field observing existing conditions, building constraints, and project challenges.
• Offer a small, collaborative, and technically engaged environment where you can ask questions and build real competence.

Company Benefits

• 100% company-paid employee-only health insurance, with 50% of family premiums paid.
• Dental and vision insurance available.
• 401(k) plan with total employer contribution opportunity of up to 7%.
• Company-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, and AD&D coverage.
• Eleven (11) paid holidays and seventeen (17) to twenty-two (22) days of PTO per year, based on years of service.
• Education Assistance Program to support continued learning and professional development.
• Support for professional growth, including pursuit of EIT and PE licensure.
• Flexible work environment, including hybrid work options after six months with the company, based on role, project, and client needs.

Compensation

Salary range: $78,000 – $96,000, based on education, relevant experience (0-3 YOE), technical skills, and qualifications.

What You Can Do for Summer Consultants

In this role, you will:

• Support fire protection design for renovation and existing-building projects.
• Participate in field surveys to observe, document, and understand existing building conditions.
• Bring enthusiasm for being on-site, walking buildings, asking questions, and learning how systems actually work.
• Assist with life safety analysis, fire alarm layouts, and fire suppression system layouts.
• Help turn survey findings and existing constraints into practical design solutions.
• Support the development of drawings, calculations, reports, and project documentation.
• Help solve client problems with curiosity, precision, and follow-through.
• Pursue EIT certification, if not already completed.
• Build the technical foundation needed to grow as a consulting engineer.

What You Should Bring With You

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering, or
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or Architectural Engineering with a strong interest in Fire Protection.
• Interest in life safety, fire alarm systems, automatic suppression systems, building systems, and renovation work.
• Curiosity about how buildings are actually constructed, operated, and modified over time.
• Willingness to spend time in the field surveying existing conditions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong Microsoft Word and Excel skills.
• AutoCAD and Revit experience preferred.
• Ability to support day-long field surveys outdoors and indoors, including conditioned and unconditioned spaces, with or without reasonable accommodation. Field work may include walking up to 10,000 to 20,000 steps in a day, climbing up and down a 6-foot ladder, kneeling, squatting, and bending.
• Ability to obtain site access at client locations, including federal facilities, as required by project assignments.
• Ability to travel up to 10 nights in a year, in addition to day-long field surveys.