Civil Project Engineer: Lead Delivery & Growth

Higgins; Wellington; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

KiwiSaver

Training opportunities

Career progression

Benefits for you and family

Job summary

Higgins in Wellington seeks a driven Project Engineer to own delivery of civil construction and road maintenance projects, providing technical leadership across engineering, quality and safety. You will lead planning, programming, and site coordination while managing subcontractors and stakeholders to deliver high-quality outcomes.

The role requires a strong background in civil construction, a tertiary engineering qualification, and a full Class 1 licence; RAMM familiarity and NZ contract

Qualifications

• Experience in civil construction, infrastructure or road maintenance project delivery.
• Experience leading projects, workstreams or sections of work.
• Solid understanding of construction methodologies and engineering principles.
• Strong planning, programming and site coordination capabilities.
• Commercial awareness including cost control, claims, forecasting and variations.
• Experience managing subcontractors and multiple stakeholders.
• Strong communication, leadership and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to solve problems, make decisions and manage competing priorities.
• Tertiary qualification in Engineering, Construction or related discipline.
• Full Class 1 driver’s licence.
• Experience in road maintenance operations is advantageous.
• Familiarity with NZS3910/NZS3917 contracts and RAMM

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, coordination, and delivery of construction and maintenance activities.
• Take ownership of project or workstream delivery from planning through to completion.
• Drive short and medium-term programming and daily site coordination.
• Provide technical leadership across engineering, quality, and compliance functions.
• Oversee setting out, verification, and technical assurance activities.
• Manage quality systems, ITPs, project documentation, and non-conformance resolution.
• Monitor progress, identify risks, and implement corrective actions.
• Support commercial performance through claims, cost tracking, forecasting, and variation management.
• Coordinate subcontractors and suppliers to ensure safe, efficient, high-quality delivery.
• Build and maintain relationships with clients, consultants, subcontractors, and internal stakeholders.
• Champion health, safety, environmental and quality standards across activities.
• Coach and support Site Engineers, Graduates and delivery teams.

Skills

Civil construction

Project delivery

Leadership

Planning & programming

Site coordination

Commercial awareness

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

NZ contracts knowledge

Full driver’s licence

Education

Engineering/Construction degree

Tools

RAMM (AWM)

Job description

Higgins in Wellington seeks a driven Project Engineer to own delivery of civil construction and road maintenance projects, providing technical leadership across engineering, quality and safety. You will lead planning, programming, and site coordination while managing subcontractors and stakeholders to deliver high-quality outcomes.

The role requires a strong background in civil construction, a tertiary engineering qualification, and a full Class 1 licence; RAMM familiarity and NZ contract