JustEng recruits cladding, fire and facade forensic engineers, materials-testing experts and building-safety expert witnesses — the specialists driving Grenfell-related, Building Safety Act and international cladding disputes. Post-Mulalley v Sto (first BLO by default judgment, July 2026) the market for this talent is running white-hot.
Why cladding & fire is the largest single forensic hiring driver in 2026
The UK Government’s July 2026 update confirms remediation is under way on 2,399 monitored buildings (56%) and completed on 1,531 (35%). The Metropolitan Police will submit Grenfell criminal-investigation files to the CPS by 30 September 2026 identifying 57 individuals and 20 organisations as suspects. Building Liability Order proceedings are producing landmark decisions (Mulalley v Sto, 87.5% contribution against a foreign parent). The BSR’s Gateway 2/3 process is generating a steady pipeline of technical disputes. Internationally, ACM/HPL cladding class actions and product-liability litigation are running in Australia, Ireland, France and the UAE.
Disciplines we recruit
- Chartered fire engineers (CEng IFireE) — smoke movement, compartmentation, means of escape, structural fire performance, fire load calculations.
- Facade & envelope forensic specialists (SFE, CWCT) — ACM, HPL, aluminium composites, rainscreen systems, insulation systems (PIR, PUR, stone wool), curtain wall failure.
- Materials-testing forensic experts — reaction-to-fire (BS EN 13501-1), large-scale system testing (BS 8414, BS 9414), forensic materials chemistry.
- Building safety compliance experts — Approved Document B, BSR Gateway advisers, Golden Thread / regulatory expert witnesses.
- Fire cost/quantum specialists — remediation cost quantification, cladding claim valuation, insurance recovery.
Who we recruit for
Cladding-remediation-focused expert-witness practices (Trigon, Hollis, Sweett, and the fire & envelope teams inside HKA, Secretariat, FTI, Diales, Systech). Specialist fire engineering consultancies (Arup Fire, WSP Fire, Hoare Lea Fire, Jensen Hughes, OFR Consultants, Kiwa Fire Safety Compliance, Mott MacDonald Fire, IFC Group). Materials-testing labs (BRE, Warrington Fire, Chiltern Fire, Exova, BSI). Loss adjusters’ major-loss teams. Contractor and freeholder claims functions.
Salary bands
- Senior Fire Engineer (5–10 yrs disputes): UK £75k–£115k; UAE $160k–$220k.
- Facade Forensic Consultant: UK £80k–£120k.
- Managing Consultant / Director: UK £115k–£175k; UAE $220k–$320k.
- Testifying Fire / Cladding Expert: UK £180k–£320k+; hourly £500–£900.
Full grid in the Forensic Engineering Salary Guide 2026. Adjacent: Fire Engineering Salary Guide, Facade Engineering Salary Guide.
Related resources
- Forensic Engineering & Expert Witness Recruitment (pillar)
- Quantum & Delay Recruitment
- Fire Engineering Recruitment
- Facade Engineering Recruitment
- Structural Failure Expert Witness Recruitment
- Construction Disputes Glossary