Research Engineer - Wildfire
Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety · Richburg
Why This Role Matters
The Research Engineer helps advance IBHS’s understanding of how wildfire exposures affect homes, businesses, and communities. Further, how practical mitigation strategies can reduce those risks. This position supports the design and execution of experimental, field-based, and analytical research focused on wildfire behavior, structure ignition, fire spread, building materials, and the performance of mitigation solutions.
Working closely with IBHS scientists, engineers, laboratory teams, external research partners, and industry stakeholders, this role translates complex research questions into well-designed projects and actionable findings. The position contributes directly to the development of science-based guidance that strengthens the resilience of the built environment.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Wildfire Research
- Plan and execute research projects examining how buildings, components, materials, landscaping, and surrounding conditions perform when exposed to wildfire hazards.
- Conduct research involving wildfire exposures, including wind-blown embers, radiant heat, direct flame contact, structure-to-structure fire spread, and other relevant ignition pathways.
- Support research that improves understanding of fire spread during wildland-urban interface fire events.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of wildfire mitigation strategies, construction practices, building materials, systems, and protective solutions.
- Contribute to the development and validation of science-based recommendations that can be translated into practical actions for property owners, communities, insurers, builders, and policymakers.
Research Design and Project Execution
- Develop project objectives, research questions, technical scopes, test plans, schedules, and resource requirements.
- Translate research objectives into clear fabrication, instrumentation, specimen configuration, and testing requirements.
- Collaborate with Research Center production, laboratory, instrumentation, construction, and safety teams to prepare and conduct experiments.
- Coordinate with internal teams, research partners, vendors, contractors, universities, and other external organizations to resolve technical issues and support project delivery.
- Conduct experimental testing using standard or custom-designed equipment, ranging from individual building components to full-scale structures.
- Maintain project documentation and communicate progress, risks, resource needs, and results to research leadership and project stakeholders.
Instrumentation, Data, and Analysis
- Identify appropriate instrumentation, measurement systems, data-acquisition methods, and sampling approaches for laboratory and field research.
- Establish and follow data quality assurance and quality control procedures.
- Ensure complete documentation of testing procedures, experimental configurations, instrumentation, data formats, deviations, and results.
- Develop or select analytical methodologies, scripts, models, and custom applications to evaluate experimental datasets, field observations, and other real-world data sources.
- Analyze and synthesize quantitative and qualitative data to identify meaningful findings, performance trends, and opportunities for additional research.
- Support the continued development of repeatable and scalable wildfire research methodologies.
Field Research and Post-Event Investigations
- Participate in or lead field campaigns and post-event investigations following wildfires or other relevant hazard events.
- Collect and document field observations related to building performance, damage patterns, ignition pathways, mitigation measures, and environmental conditions.
- Coordinate field research activities with internal teams, external partners, and local stakeholders.
- Translate field observations into research questions, datasets, technical findings, and future experimental work.
- Travel to research sites, wildfire-affected areas, conferences, and partner locations as required.
Research Communication and Impact
- Prepare technical reports, research summaries, presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and supporting documentation.
- Present research findings to internal teams, advisory groups, industry stakeholders, technical audiences, and external partners.
- Collaborate with IBHS product, communications, and stakeholder-engagement teams to help translate research findings into clear and actionable guidance.
- Contribute technical expertise to IBHS wildfire programs, educational resources, research initiatives, and resilience solutions.
- Represent IBHS professionally at conferences, working groups, technical committees, and research collaborations.
- Stay current on emerging wildfire science, building practices, mitigation technologies, fire behavior research, and relevant codes and standards.
- Perform other duties and contribute to related research initiatives as organizational priorities evolve.
Requirements
Education and Experience
- Master’s degree in fire protection engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering, materials science, forestry, atmospheric science, or another closely related scientific or engineering field required.
- Experience with instrumentation and data-acquisition systems required.
- Experience with analytical scripting or modeling software required.
- Experience with experimental design and test planning required.
- Experience with QA/QC and validation methods required.
- Experience with post-event investigation methods required.
- Ability to travel to research sites, wildfire-affected areas, conferences, and partner locations as required.
- Availability for field deployments after wildfire events and occasional weekend work required.
- Ph.D. in fire protection engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering, materials science, forestry, atmospheric science, or another closely related scientific or engineering field preferred.
- Two or more years of experience in experimental research, laboratory testing, field research, fire science, building science, or a related technical environment preferred.
- Experience in wildfire science or closely related areas like fire behavior, building science, materials performance, or wildland-urban interface research preferred.
- Experience working with external research partners and technical audiences, such as universities, industry stakeholders, or cross-functional lab and construction teams preferred.
Benefits
- Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
- Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
- Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
- Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
- Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
- Short Term & Long Term Disability
- Training & Development
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