Federal Pre-Sales Applications Engineer

About this role

Johnson Controls helps protect people, property, and critical operations with fire, life safety, and building solutions. In this role, you will support government national accounts with technical presales engineering and proposal development for complex fire alarm and mass notification projects.

Role Overview We are looking for a technically strong application engineer who can translate RFP requirements, contract drawings, code criteria, and customer concepts into clear, code-compliant fire alarm and life safety solutions. You will play a key role in defining the scope of work, estimating labor and material needs, coordinating with sales and field teams, and preparing complete proposal packages for major system sales.

Key Responsibilities • Provide technical support to pre-sale engineering and sales teams by developing complete scopes of work, equipment lists, sequences of operations, and labor estimates for complex fire alarm and life safety solutions.

• Review bid specifications, contract drawings, code narratives, and customer requirements to prepare exception lists, compliance matrices, technical take-offs, and clarification questions for customers or AHJ review.

• Develop product pricing by gathering quotes from manufacturers, vendors, and subcontractors to support fire alarm and life safety system designs.

• Apply fire alarm, detection, notification, emergency communications, mass notification, and related life safety products to meet project requirements and applicable codes.

• Value engineer project specifications while maintaining code compliance, constructability, customer satisfaction, and project profitability.

• Review equipment application, research approved alternatives, and confirm compatibility with existing and proposed systems.

• Evaluate and test the latest fire alarm, detection, notification, and mass notification solutions in a lab or demonstration environment.

• Survey existing fire alarm and life safety installations and document findings, design assumptions, and proposed upgrade, replacement, expansion, or modernization solutions.

• Coordinate system drawings and design details with the CAD team using AutoCAD, Bluebeam, and related design tools.

• Partner with Field Engineering, Field Operations, Sales, and Service teams to ensure designs are executable, code-compliant, and aligned with customer expectations.

• Protect Federal Government data and documents by following restricted data handling protocols, including CUI and other sensitive information standards.

How You Will Do It • Own the quality of your work by producing accurate, traceable scopes, estimates, and proposal documents that reflect safety, accountability, and integrity from first review through handoff.

• Stay close to the work by clarifying bid documents, code requirements, site conditions, and customer expectations early so issues are removed before they affect the proposal.

• Improve every day by challenging assumptions, testing solutions, and applying lessons learned from field feedback, design reviews, and code interpretation.

• Win as one team by collaborating closely with Sales, Field Engineering, Operations, Service, CAD, subcontractors, manufacturers, and federal customers to deliver executable solutions.

• Use a disciplined review process to capture labor, materials, programming, testing, documentation, and closeout needs before the proposal is finalized.

• Keep communication clear and responsive so stakeholders understand design decisions, risks, exceptions, and recommended alternatives.

Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field, or equivalent experience.

• Minimum of five years of system design, estimating, technical support, or field experience with fire alarm, life safety, emergency communications, or related low-voltage systems.

• Strong understanding of fire alarm system architecture, detection, notification, voice evacuation, releasing systems, fire alarm networking, annunciation, and integration with building systems.

• Experience interpreting federal fire alarm and life safety requirements, including applicable NFPA standards, UFC criteria, and customer-specific agency requirements.

• Ability to interpret RFPs, contract drawings, code requirements, and AHJ expectations, and convert them into compliant scopes and proposal documents.

• Experience with one or more fire alarm platforms such as Simplex, Autocall, Notifier, EST, Siemens, Fire-Lite, or equivalent systems.

• Strong technical knowledge of system layouts, device spacing, riser diagrams, sequence of operations, voltage-drop concepts, battery calculations, and fire alarm communications.

• High proficiency with AutoCAD, Bluebeam, and related design tools.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to work independently and in a team environment.

• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to set priorities, make decisions, and ensure follow-through across multiple stakeholders.

• Ability to travel.

• U.S. citizenship and the ability to pass Government Agency background investigations.

Nice to Have • NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems, or the ability to obtain it.

• Experience supporting government accounts or other highly regulated customer environments.

• Additional experience evaluating, modernizing, or replacing legacy fire alarm and mass notification systems.

• Exposure to lab testing, product demonstrations, or field validation of life safety solutions.

Why Join Us You will work on meaningful projects that help protect critical facilities and support public-sector customers. Johnson Controls offers a collaborative environment, opportunities for cross-training, and the chance to build deep expertise in fire alarm and life safety solutions. Where applicable, roles in this area are supported by competitive pay, paid vacation, holidays, and sick time, along with a strong focus on safety and teamwork. If

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