Civil Project Engineer

Company Description

Meridian is the largest producer of renewable electricity in Aotearoa, and we strive to deliver clean energy for a fairer and healthier world. We only generate electricity from 100% renewable resources – wind, water, and sun, because we believe that’s the best way forward for our planet and our communities. We’re doing what we can to help Aotearoa reduce their carbon emissions and support others in our generation communities to do the same. We also retail electricity to more than 365,000 homes, businesses, and farms across New Zealand through our Meridian and Powershop brands.

At Meridian we have a pipeline of renewable electricity projects underway to help New Zealand maintain its security of supply and meet its climate change goals. In 2023 we set ourselves a target of building seven new large-scale renewable generation or storage projects by 2030. We call this our 7x7 goal, and we’re right on track to achieving it. We recently commissioned our $450m Harapaki Wind Farm, and have a number of other projects in various stages of development around the country.

Job Description

What you’ll be doing

You’ll be part of the Renewable Construction Team within the Development Business Unit.  This team is responsible for the design and construction of new generation sites (primarily with new wind, solar and grid-scale battery projects); to help Meridian play it’s our part in decarbonising NZ.

Projects are generally passed to us once land has been secured and resource consent/s has been granted. Our team is responsible for planning, procuring and managing detailed engineering design; planning, tendering, negotiating and awarding key site works contracts; overseeing site construction works; and managing commissioning and handover to our internal Generation client.

While we use the ‘Civil Engineer’ title, this is a multi-discipline role that encompasses a mix of project management, design management, contract management and general problem solving. Alongside the Electrical Engineers in the team, the Civil Engineers oversee most other technical engineering disciplines on our projects including: Geotech, Civil, Structural, Fire, Hydraulic, Mechanical, Building Services and Architectural.

Depending on the project, you will be working alongside and supporting our other Civil Engineers on projects, or may be tasked with being the Civil Lead. You’ll be responsible for engaging and managing external design consultants to meet Meridian/project requirements, and then overseeing implementation of that design. Civil design elements are different on every project and may include, but are not limited to:

• General layout for each site, including site access point, internal roads, site laydown areas, stormwater management, temporary facilities etc.
• Plant/equipment site specific requirements for hardstands, laydown areas, structures and foundations.
• Where necessary, lead coordination of buried and above-ground services, water and wastewater connections.
• O&M, Store, and Switching Station buildings.

With support from others in our team, you’ll be involved in tender/contract document preparation and, tender evaluation, programme management, cost management, environmental and sustainability initiatives, and resource consent compliance.

What you’ll bring

• Civil Engineering degree or equivalent Washington Accord qualification.
• An experienced engineer with prior demonstrated achievement and success in working on multi-disciplinary projects.​
• Have a strong background in general civil engineering, ideally including geotechnical and structural disciplines.​
• Ideally a reasonable level of construction site-based project experience.
• Experience in the preparation and execution of consultancy and site works contracts.​
• Have excellent written and oral communication skills​. Confident to attend/lead meetings with Contractors, Consultants, Council officials, landowners, and affected parties.
• A passion for protecting the environment and ensuring works are completed as sustainably as possible.
• Have experience working under resource consent conditions.
• A sound level of judgement and steady hand is important.
• Ability to quickly respond to the challenges of complex construction interdependencies or identify potential conflicts.
• Experience in leading or participating in Safety in Design workshops.

Why Meridian?

At Meridian, we value all people. We embrace different ways of thinking, living and working, because we believe diversity benefits us all. It makes our capabilities even stronger. We encourage all our people to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work and we’re proud to have a diverse and inclusive workplace. So, no matter who you are, you’ll find it a great place to work.

We value and live by three ‘How to Be’s’: ‘be gutsy’, working together by ‘being in the waka’ and doing the right thing by ‘being a good human’. We work hard and value the importance of connection and fun, whether this be through daily quizzes, morning teas, birthday and cultural celebrations both in person and virtually!

Sustainability sits firmly in our DNA both socially and environmentally. We proudly support KidsCan and the Kākāpō Recovery and work side-by-side with our generation communities to empower and support projects where needed. There are many opportunities to volunteer to any of our partnerships throughout the year.

What we can offer you!

• an attractive and competitive salary package that’s reviewed annually, performance incentive plus discounts from a number of partnerships.
• Southern Cross Healthcare - Wellbeing one insurance-funded scheme for eligible employees to give you that extra peace of mind.   
• enhanced leave provisions: three company paid days (over the holiday period), enhanced parental leave, and options to buy up to 12 days additional leave  
• life, trauma, and income protection insurance (which we hope you won’t need!)  
• enhanced KiwiSaver contributions  
• access to the Meridian employee share scheme  
• excellent learning and development opportunities, we want you to be the best version of yourself and will help you get there!   
• award-winning wellbeing programme that provides support whenever and wherever you need it  
• employee discounts off your power with Meridian, every bit counts  
• a one-off $400 payment to support your work-from-home set-up (if needed)

The collaborative nature of this role is such that you will be expected to be mostly office-based, but we value work/life balance, so our WFH and flexible work options (where possible) make things easier for you and your whānau.

All in all, we’re an awesome place to work. If this sounds like you and you want to bring your energy and use your power to make a difference (pun intended), then apply today and tell us why!

If you’ve any questions, or would like the full Position Description, please email [email protected] and one of our team will get back to you. We're committed to becoming more accessible and providing support if needed, please get in touch via email or phone if there are any parts of our process you would like assistance with (process found here meridianenergy.co.nz/careers), we’re more than happy to help.

Advertising closes on 10 September 2024 (please note this is subject to change).