Head of Engineering Design (Transformation Lead)

Ignite; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualifications

• Australian Citizenship
• Engineering degree and chartered status
• Significant senior leadership experience in engineering services, engineering design, infrastructure, asset-intensive industries, or technical organisations
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale organisational transformation programs
• Experience developing engineering operating models, governance frameworks, and assurance systems
• Strong people leadership experience, including capability development and organisational design
• Experience working within large, multidisciplinary, matrix organisations
• Highly developed stakeholder engagement, influencing, and communication skills
• Strong commercial, financial, and strategic planning capability

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of a new enterprise-wide Engineering Design Practice.
• Develop and execute a multi-year transformation roadmap.
• Establish a future-state operating model that supports organisational growth and complexity.
• Drive cultural change and foster a high-performance engineering environment.
• Provide strategic advice to executive leaders on engineering capability, investment, governance, and organisational effectiveness.
• Develop engineering governance frameworks that support technical integrity and compliance.
• Establish engineering standards, policies, procedures, and assurance processes.
• Implement robust design review and technical approval processes.
• Ensure consistency in engineering practices across multiple disciplines and projects.
• Strengthen risk management, safety, quality, and regulatory compliance outcomes.
• Develop workforce planning strategies to ensure sustainable engineering capability.
• Build competency frameworks, career pathways, and succession planning initiatives.
• Identify future capability requirements and lead talent development programs.
• Create a culture of mentoring, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
• Support the attraction and retention of high-performing engineering professionals.
• Optimise engineering service delivery models and resource allocation.
• Improve collaboration between engineering, operations, maintenance, and project teams.
• Enhance engineering systems, tools, processes, and performance measurement.
• Support major infrastructure and capital project delivery through technical oversight and assurance.
• Drive standardisation and efficiency improvements across engineering functions.
• Establish trusted relationships with senior executives and business leaders.
• Influence strategic decision-making through technical expertise and commercial insight.
• Collaborate effectively within a complex matrix environment.
• Represent the engineering function with internal and external stakeholders.
• Build alignment across diverse teams with competing priorities and objectives.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Transformation programs

Engineering governance

People leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Engineering degree

Chartered engineer

Job description

Head of Engineering Design (Transformation Lead)

Build a New Engineering Capability. Shape the Future of Engineering Excellence.

This is a rare opportunity for an accomplished engineering leader to lead a significant organisational transformation and establish a contemporary Engineering Design Practice within a large, complex, asset-intensive environment.
The organisation is embarking on a strategic journey to elevate its engineering capability, strengthen governance and assurance, and create a sustainable model for delivering multidisciplinary engineering services. As the Head of Engineering Design (Transformation Lead), you will be at the centre of this change, responsible for defining the vision, designing the operating model, and leading the implementation of a best-practice engineering function.
This role is ideally suited to a leader who enjoys building capability from the ground up, navigating organisational complexity, and influencing at executive level to deliver long-term transformational outcomes.

The Role

Reporting to the Executive Leadership Team, this position will be responsible for establishing and maturing a new Engineering Design Practice that supports critical infrastructure, operational assets, and major capital investment programs.

You will provide both strategic leadership and operational direction, ensuring engineering services are governed effectively, resourced appropriately, and aligned with organisational priorities.
The successful candidate will be expected to build strong partnerships across engineering, project delivery, asset management, operations, safety, risk, procurement, and executive stakeholder groups to create a collaborative and integrated engineering environment.
Success in this role will be measured not only by the establishment of new frameworks and processes but by the creation of a sustainable engineering capability that delivers measurable improvements in quality, efficiency, consistency, compliance, and business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Transformation

• Lead the design and implementation of a new enterprise-wide Engineering Design Practice.
• Develop and execute a multi-year transformation roadmap.
• Establish a future-state operating model that supports organisational growth and complexity.
• Drive cultural change and foster a high-performance engineering environment.
• Provide strategic advice to executive leaders on engineering capability, investment, governance, and organisational effectiveness.

Engineering Governance & Assurance

• Develop engineering governance frameworks that support technical integrity and compliance.
• Establish engineering standards, policies, procedures, and assurance processes.
• Implement robust design review and technical approval processes.
• Ensure consistency in engineering practices across multiple disciplines and projects.
• Strengthen risk management, safety, quality, and regulatory compliance outcomes.

Capability Development

• Develop workforce planning strategies to ensure sustainable engineering capability.
• Build competency frameworks, career pathways, and succession planning initiatives.
• Identify future capability requirements and lead talent development programs.
• Create a culture of mentoring, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
• Support the attraction and retention of high-performing engineering professionals.

Engineering Services & Delivery Excellence

• Optimise engineering service delivery models and resource allocation.
• Improve collaboration between engineering, operations, maintenance, and project teams.
• Enhance engineering systems, tools, processes, and performance measurement.
• Support major infrastructure and capital project delivery through technical oversight and assurance.
• Drive standardisation and efficiency improvements across engineering functions.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Establish trusted relationships with senior executives and business leaders.
• Influence strategic decision-making through technical expertise and commercial insight.
• Collaborate effectively within a complex matrix environment.
• Represent the engineering function with internal and external stakeholders.
• Build alignment across diverse teams with competing priorities and objectives.

About You

• You are an accomplished engineering executive with a demonstrated history of leading engineering organisations through significant transformation.
• You combine technical credibility with strategic thinking and have the ability to move seamlessly between boardroom discussions and engineering delivery challenges.
• You are comfortable operating in complex environments where success requires influencing senior stakeholders, managing ambiguity, and balancing long-term strategic objectives with immediate operational needs.
• Most importantly, you are passionate about developing engineering capability and creating environments where engineers can perform at their best.

Essential Experience

• Australian Citizenship
• Degree qualifications in Engineering.
• Chartered Professional Engineer status or equivalent professional recognition.
• Significant senior leadership experience within engineering services, engineering design, infrastructure, asset-intensive industries, or technical organisations.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale organisational transformation programs.
• Experience developing engineering operating models, governance frameworks, and assurance systems.
• Strong people leadership experience, including capability development and organisational design.
• Experience working within large, multidisciplinary, matrix organisations.
• Highly developed stakeholder engagement, influencing, and communication skills.
• Strong commercial, financial, and strategic planning capability.

Highly Regarded
Experience in one or more of the following sectors will be viewed favourably:

• Energy and utilities
• Major infrastructure
• Transport and rail
• Resources and mining
• Manufacturing
• Defence
• Water
• Heavy industrial operations
• Highly regulated technical environments

Experience establishing engineering centres of excellence, shared services models, or enterprise engineering functions will be particularly valuable.

Why Apply?

• Create a lasting legacy by building a new engineering capability.
• Lead a high-profile transformation program with executive sponsorship.
• Influence strategic organisational outcomes.
• Work on complex engineering and infrastructure challenges.
• Develop and mentor the next generation of engineering leaders.
• Join an organisation with a strong commitment to innovation, excellence, and continuous improvement.

For engineering leaders who are motivated by transformation, capability-building, and organisational impact, opportunities of this scale and visibility are exceptionally rare.