Senior Earthing & Bonding Engineer

KBR, Inc.; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Access to iconic projects in Transport, Energy and Defence

Opportunities for professional development and career progression

Flexible work arrangements

Collaborative, people-first culture

Job summary

KBR, Inc. is seeking an experienced Senior Earthing & Bonding Engineer to join the national Power team in Melbourne. This role involves delivering advanced earthing, bonding, and lightning protection designs for major rail and energy projects, ensuring compliance with national standards. Candidates should have a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and proven experience in similar environments. The position offers professional development opportunities and a collaborative work culture with flexible work arrangements.

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering earthing, bonding and lightning protection systems in rail, substations, utilities or major infrastructure.
• Chartered status (CPEng / RPEQ / RPEV) desirable or progressing toward attainment.
• Experience working with DNSPs/TNSPs or rail operators (e.g., MTM, ARTC, Sydney Metro) highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Deliver detailed earthing and bonding design for HV substations, stations, tunnels and rail systems.
• Conduct complex earthing studies including soil resistivity modelling and step & touch potential assessments.
• Coordinate with utilities, rail operators, contractors and equipment suppliers across the design lifecycle.

Skills

Delivering earthing, bonding and lightning protection systems

Strong understanding of traction return systems

Excellent communication skills

Ability to manage multiple design tasks

Education

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Washington Accord accredited)

Tools

CDEGS

SESShield

XGSLab

Job description

Play a key role in delivering safe, compliant and high‑performance earthing systems across major rail and energy projects.

KBR is seeking an experienced Senior Earthing & Bonding Engineer to join our expanding national Power team. With major project delivery underway across Melbourne’s transport network — including Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) Linewide and Stations and the North West Program Alliance — this role offers the opportunity to shape critical safety systems at the heart of Australia’s future transport and energy infrastructure.

As a Senior Earthing & Bonding Engineer, you will work both autonomously and within multidisciplinary teams to deliver advanced earthing, bonding, and lightning protection designs. You will collaborate closely with Primary, Secondary, SCADA and civil teams, ensuring fully integrated and compliant solutions for HV substations, rail systems, and complex transport infrastructure.

What you’ll be doing

• Deliver detailed earthing and bonding design for HV substations, stations, tunnels and linewide rail systems.
• Conduct complex earthing studies, including:
  • Soil resistivity modelling
  • Step & touch potential assessments
  • Earthing grid design and optimisation
  • Rail traction return and stray current management
• Develop designs for lightning protection systems, surge protection and equipotential bonding networks.
• Produce calculations, earthing layouts, schematics, earthing grid models and installation documentation.
• Review and interpret utility standards, rail safety requirements, and national electrical codes.
• Ensure compliance with AS/NZS 3000, AS/NZS 7000, AS 2067, ENA guidelines and project‑specific standards.
• Work closely with Primary, Secondary, Protection, SCADA and civil engineering teams to ensure end‑to‑end design integration.
• Coordinate with utilities, rail operators, contractors and equipment suppliers across the design and delivery lifecycle.
• Support design reviews, site assessments, constructability workshops and safety‑in‑design processes.

Leadership & Growth

• Provide guidance and mentoring to early‑career engineers.
• Support design checking, QA processes and compliance verification.
• Contribute to proposals, bid responses, technical methodologies and project strategies.
• Assist in maturing and standardising national earthing and bonding best practices and tools.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Washington Accord accredited or equivalent).
• Chartered status (CPEng / RPEQ / RPEV) desirable or progressing toward attainment.
• Proven experience delivering earthing, bonding and lightning protection systems in rail, substations, utilities or major infrastructure.
• Proficiency in CDEGS / SESShield / XGSLab or similar earthing modelling software.
• Strong understanding of traction return systems, stray current control and metallic asset bonding.
• Experience working with DNSPs/TNSPs or rail operators (e.g., MTM, ARTC, Sydney Metro) highly desirable.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder coordination skills.
• Ability to manage multiple design tasks, priorities and deadlines in fast‑paced project environments.

Benefits

• Access to iconic projects in Transport, Energy and Defence.
• Genuine opportunities for professional development, certification and career progression.
• A collaborative, people‑first culture where you are valued and supported.
• Flexible work arrangements and work/life balance.
• National career pathways and exposure to multidisciplinary teams.