Senior Protection Engineer

ElectraNet; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 151,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

15 days personal leave

5 weeks annual leave

Relocation and visa support

Flexible work practices

12% superannuation

Job summary

ElectraNet seeks a Senior Protection Engineer to join the Secondary Systems Engineering team in Adelaide. You will lead protection design, review and delivery for HV transmission assets, providing technical assurance and mentoring engineers in a dynamic project environment.

The role blends office-based and site-based work, with exposure to the network, engineering standards and cross-functional stakeholders. A strong background in HV protection and autonomy is essential.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years' experience in a protection-related role.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and eligibility for Engineers Australia membership.
• Strong experience in HV protection system design, review and settings development.
• Knowledge of IEC 61850 substation communications is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Prepare protection system designs, scopes, specifications and settings.
• Review protection designs for compliance, quality and constructability.
• Provide technical assurance and engineering sign-off where required.
• Support commissioning and witnessing of protection systems.
• Work across multiple projects and manage competing priorities.
• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders.
• Develop protection system standards and engineering practices.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to other engineers.

Skills

HV transmission

Protection systems design

Engineering judgement

Mentoring engineers

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Engineers Australia eligibility

Job description

ElectraNet builds, owns, operates, and maintains the South Australian high voltage electricity transmission network that delivers energy from generators to distributors and major load-connected customers, enabling power to be supplied to homes, businesses, and communities. Our employees describe our culture as one that is supportive, inclusive, and community-oriented, where we genuinely want each other to succeed.
Adelaide is the preferred location for this role, allowing for meaningful engagement with our engineering teams, stakeholders and operational assets. For candidates located outside South Australia, alternative working arrangements may be considered selectively and discussed further as part of the recruitment process.

Why Adelaide?

More engineering professionals are discovering what locals have known for years: Adelaide offers the rare combination of career-defining work and an exceptional quality of life.

Consistently recognised as one of the world’s most liveable cities, Adelaide is known for its affordability, safety, accessibility and lifestyle. Here, you can work on nationally significant energy infrastructure projects while enjoying short commutes, greater housing affordability and easy access to world-class beaches, wine regions and outdoor experiences.

With internationally recognised universities, excellent schools and a rapidly growing clean energy sector, Adelaide continues to attract professionals and families from across Australia and around the globe.

For engineers seeking meaningful work, professional growth and a lifestyle that’s hard to match, Adelaide may just be Australia’s best-kept career secret.

About ElectraNet

ElectraNet builds, owns, operates, and maintains the South Australian high voltage electricity transmission network that delivers energy from generators to distributors and major load-connected customers, enabling power to be supplied to homes, businesses, and communities. Our employees describe our culture as one that is supportive, inclusive, and community-oriented, where we genuinely want each other to succeed.
Adelaide is the preferred location for this role, allowing for meaningful engagement with our engineering teams, stakeholders and operational assets. For candidates located outside South Australia, alternative working arrangements may be considered selectively and discussed further as part of the recruitment process.

Why Adelaide?

More engineering professionals are discovering what locals have known for years: Adelaide offers the rare combination of career-defining work and an exceptional quality of life.

Consistently recognised as one of the world’s most liveable cities, Adelaide is known for its affordability, safety, accessibility and lifestyle. Here, you can work on nationally significant energy infrastructure projects while enjoying short commutes, greater housing affordability and easy access to world-class beaches, wine regions and outdoor experiences.

With internationally recognised universities, excellent schools and a rapidly growing clean energy sector, Adelaide continues to attract professionals and families from across Australia and around the globe.

For engineers seeking meaningful work, professional growth and a lifestyle that’s hard to match, Adelaide may just be Australia's best-kept career secret.

The Opportunity

Due to current workload demands and several significant projects in the pipeline, we are seeking a Senior Protection Engineer to join our Secondary Systems Engineering team.

In this role, you will provide technical leadership across the design, review and delivery of protection systems for HV transmission and substation assets. You will play a key role in maintaining engineering quality standards, providing technical assurance and supporting the development of engineers across the team.

The role involves a blend of office-based and site-based work, providing exposure to ElectraNet's transmission network and the opportunity to see first‑hand how engineering outcomes are delivered in the field.

Key responsibilities include:

• Preparing protection system designs, scopes, specifications and settings
• Reviewing and validating protection designs for compliance, quality and constructability
• Providing technical assurance and engineering sign‑off where required
• Supporting commissioning and witnessing of protection systems
• Working across multiple projects and managing competing priorities
• Coordinating with internal and external stakeholders
• Supporting the development of protection system standards and engineering practices
• Mentoring and providing technical guidance to other engineers
• Ensuring compliance with legislative, safety and industry standards

About You

You are an experienced protection engineering professional with strong HV transmission and secondary systems experience. You enjoy solving complex technical problems, leading engineering outcomes and supporting the development of others.

You are comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy, providing sound engineering judgement and engaging confidently with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

To be successful, you will bring:

• Minimum 7 years' experience in a protection‑related role
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent and eligibility for Engineers Australia membership
• Strong experience in HV protection system design, review and settings development
• Proven capability in developing scopes, specifications and estimates for protection works
• Experience reviewing, assuring and signing off engineering deliverables
• Sound knowledge of HV protection schemes, power system fundamentals and secondary systems design
• Knowledge of protection system construction, commissioning and IEC 61850 substation communications
• Sound knowledge of Australian electricity industry regulations, standards and guidelines
• Ability to work autonomously across multiple projects and deadlines
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills
• Current driver's licence and a flexible approach to working hours

Employee Benefits

ElectraNet is committed to empowering our people and recognising their contribution with a competitive remuneration package. We are proud to offer a starting base salary of $168,300pa plus 12% superannuation and bonus eligibility of up to 15%.

Some of the other benefits include:

• 15 days personal/carers leave per year.
• 5 weeks of annual leave per year.
• 16 weeks paid parental leave.
• Additional paid volunteering and office closure leave.
• Flexible work practices and wellbeing support.
• Relocation and visa support for this Adelaide based role.
• Paid volunteering leave and cultural celebration flexibility.
• Exciting projects, professional development, and a vibrant and inclusive team culture.
• Support for professional certification and memberships.
• Regular social events and activities.

ElectraNet is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences—including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disabilities, neurodivergent individuals, and those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

We are proud to be a Work180 Endorsed Employer. You can read more about our key benefits, including flexible work options, leave and other supports, here.

Unlock job insights

Hirer responsiveness Salary match Number of applicants

We design, operate and manage South Australia’s electricity transmission network and infrastructure to ensure our communities and industries have access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy. Our services include high voltage transmission connections, infrastructure services (such as grid‑scale batteries and synchronous condensers) and telecommunications.

We have decades of experience delivering connections within the National Electricity Market (NEM) and confidently provide our clients with high voltage electricity transmission services, facilitating new connections to the grid and providing highly reliable electricity transmission to our customers.

We design, operate and manage South Australia’s electricity transmission network and infrastructure to ensure our communities and industries have access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy. Our services include high voltage transmission connections, infrastructure services (such as grid‑scale batteries and synchronous condensers) and telecommunications.

We have decades of experience delivering connections within the National Electricity Market (NEM) and confidently provide our clients with high voltage electricity transmission services, facilitating new connections to the grid and providing highly reliable electricity transmission to our customers.

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Perks and benefits Flexible working arrangements Fifteen (15 days’ paid personal leave) Paid leave for office closure Professional development and training Paid volunteering leave Reimbursement of professional membership fees

What can I earn as a Protection Engineer