Senior Dam Safety & Civil Engineer (Twizel / Waitaki area)

Company Description

Mai te hiku ki te taurapa, whitikina e te rā
From the tail of the fish to the tail of the waka, shines the sun

Meridian is Aotearoa’s largest renewable electricity producer, generating power from 100% renewable sources—wind, water, and sun!

Mō te tūranga | What you’ll be doing

**Important note: This position is based in Twizel, and the successful applicant must reside in the area. Relocation support is available if applicable.

As a Senior Dam Safety & Civil (DS&C) Engineer you will be contributing to the asset management of some of NZ’s most iconic hydro generation assets, and other renewable energy assets by using your technical skills and experience in the civil, dam safety, geotechnical, structural, water and environmental engineering fields. Assets include hydropower dams, canals, intakes, spillways, penstocks and powerhouses, roads and bridges, including earthen embankments and concrete structures.

You will contribute to the delivery of Meridian's Dam Safety Assurance Programme and to Dam Safety Regulation Compliance. This includes:

• Dam safety reviews (intermediate and comprehensive)

• Monitoring and surveillance programme

• Resolution of dam safety issues

• Emergency response planning and action

• Dam safety investigations and assessments.

As an experienced Twizel based engineer you will have the opportunity to focus on the practical and operational elements of dam safety and asset management, influencing how we monitor and manage our assets, and how we work with our suppliers and stakeholders. This role provides ample opportunity for field work and suits people who enjoy being outside and getting hands on.

The technical work also includes civil, geotechnical, structural, water and environmental engineering support to other renewable energy assets and sites, including wind farms, solar farms and battery sites, in areas such as seismic engineering, roading, drainage, and geotechnical (slope and retaining structures) engineering. Skills in the assessment and management of natural hazards is also valuable, such as hydrologic/hydraulic modelling and seismic hazard assessment, as well as risk management.

Other responsibilities include contributing to business planning, financial and project planning, asset and risk management planning, and ensuring opportunities are well considered as part of the wider Generation asset management planning programme. You’ll provide technical leadership and mentorship to your DS&C colleagues, through assisting with technical growth and general L&D.

Ngā pukenga kei a koe mō tenei tūranga | What you’ll bring

We’re looking for an experienced engineer with prior success delivering asset management and dam safety and civil project engineering, who will work collaboratively across teams and business units to ensure asset risk is well considered and dam safety aspects are managed in accordance with the dam safety regulations.

You’ll have a good understanding of the dam safety and hydro power sector within NZ and what mechanisms are best used to manage risks and drive value.

Other desirable experience and skill includes:

• Civil Engineering degree and/or management qualification, or equivalent qualification

• Safety focussed - for yourself and your team.

• Experienced with civil/geotechnical/water/structural engineering projects in the asset management or power/utility industry and good understanding of dam safety related fields.

• Excellent collaboration and influencing skills.

• Well connected in the dam safety community within NZ and overseas, having previously used many of the service providers available.

He aha koe i hono mai ai ki a mātou? | Why join us?

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!

We value work/life balance so our flexible work options (where possible) make things easier for you and your whānau. We also offer:

• 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 we will help you get there!

• award 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)

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!

To view the full Position Description, please click here (link to PDF). If applying through Seek, please email HRDirect@meridianenergy.co.nz for the full position description. If you have any general enquiries, please email careers@meridianenergy.co.nz and one of our team members 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 details can be found here: meridianenergy.co.nz/careers) - we’re more than happy to help.

Advertising closes on Monday 15 June 2025 (please note this is subject to change).