Designer - Roads & Highways

Surbana Jurong; Auckland; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

SMEC in New Zealand is seeking a motivated Designer - Roads & Highways to join our Roads team. You will support the delivery of transport infrastructure projects across New Zealand, focusing on design quality, technical rigour, and coordinated outcomes within a multidisciplinary environment.

You will use 12d and AutoCAD to produce drawings and documentation, ensure compliance with New Zealand standards, contribute to design reports, and collaborate with engineers and other designers to deliver

Qualifications

• 8+ years' experience in roads and highways design within a consulting or infrastructure environment.
• Proficiency in 12d; familiarity with Civil 3D or OpenRoads is beneficial.
• Experience with AutoCAD, design drawings, and supporting technical documentation.
• Knowledge of New Zealand transport and road design standards.
• Experience across concept, reference, and detailed design phases.
• Strong communication and team collaboration.
• Proactive, solution-focused mindset with quality and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality roads and highways design outputs in line with technical standards, client requirements, and SMEC quality expectations.
• Prepare drawings, models, and technical documentation using 12d and AutoCAD.
• Provide inputs to design reports and contribute to technical documentation and peer reviews.
• Ensure compliance with relevant NewZealand standards, client specifications, and HSEQ requirements.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to ensure coordinated, timely, and accurate project delivery.
• Support engineers and senior designers in developing practical, compliant, and cost-effective solutions.
• Communicate effectively with internal teams and stakeholders to maintain alignment across deliverables.
• Work to project deadlines and budgets, ensuring accuracy and minimising rework.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across design processes, tools, and delivery outcomes.

Skills

Roads & Highways design

12d software

AutoCAD

Civil 3D

OpenRoads

NZ transport standards

Communication skills

Tools

12d

AutoCAD

Civil 3D

OpenRoads

Job description

Global Expertise, Local Insight: With a presence in over 40 countries, SMEC combines global knowledge with local understanding to deliver tailored solutions that meet Australia and New Zealand's unique needs. Technical Excellence: Our team of specialists is renowned for their technical prowess and reliable delivery. From transport infrastructure to energy projects, we tackle the most complex challenges with precision and creativity. Be an integral part of a global engineering design consultancy present in NZ for 13+ years looking to grow rapidly, providing plenty of local and international career opportunities and upward mobility.

About SMEC

At SMEC, we shape the future of infrastructure through technical excellence, collaboration and innovation, delivering transformative transport, energy, water and urban development projects across Australia, NewZealand, Asia and the Pacific. As part of SJ Group, SMEC draws on a global network of 16,000+ specialists across engineering, planning, design, project management and advisory, combining local insight with international capability to deliver integrated infrastructure solutions. That capability is backed by strong international recognition, including ENR rankings of #24 among the Top 225 International Design Firms and #5 in Australia/Oceania, giving our teams access to leading clients, major projects and specialist expertise worldwide. SMEC is seeing strong transport growth across Australia and NewZealand, with expanding opportunities in resilient networks, sustainable mobility and major city‑shaping projects. At SMEC, you'll join a collaborative, inclusive culture that supports technical excellence, professional growth and leadership, with opportunities to work on nationally significant projects, partner with global specialists and help shape the future of our Queensland and NewZealand business.

The Role

We're seeking a motivated Designer - Roads & Highways to join our team, supporting the delivery of transport infrastructure projects across NewZealand. This is more than just a technical role - it's an opportunity for a Designer who enjoys problem‑solving, collaboration, and contributing to high‑quality engineering outcomes within a multidisciplinary environment. You'll be a key member of our Roads & Highways team, contributing to the delivery of complex projects with a focus on design quality, technical rigour, and coordinated outcomes, while continuing to build your capability and technical expertise.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver high‑quality roads and highways design outputs in line with technical standards, client requirements, and SMEC quality expectations
• Prepare drawings, models, and technical documentation using appropriate design and drafting tools and methodologies, with 12d and AutoCAD as the primary design and drafting platforms
• Provide inputs to design reports and contribute to technical documentation and peer reviews
• Ensure compliance with relevant NewZealand standards, client specifications, and HSEQ requirements
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to ensure coordinated, timely, and accurate project delivery
• Support engineers and senior designers in developing practical, compliant, and cost‑effective solutions
• Communicate effectively with internal teams and stakeholders to maintain alignment across deliverables
• Work to project deadlines and budgets, ensuring accuracy and minimising rework
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives across design processes, tools, and delivery outcomes

About You

You're a motivated and detail‑oriented Designer with a passion for transport infrastructure and a strong foundation in roads and highways design. You enjoy working collaboratively, take pride in producing high‑quality outputs, and are eager to continue developing your technical expertise. You will bring:

• 8+ years' experience in roads and highways design within a consulting or infrastructure environment
• Strong proficiency in 12d as the primary design software, with familiarity in other design packages such as Civil 3D or OpenRoads considered beneficial
• Experience preparing design drawings in AutoCAD, along with design models and supporting technical documentation
• Working knowledge of relevant NewZealand transport and road design standards
• Experience across concept, reference, and detailed design project phases
• Strong communication skills with the ability to collaborate effective across multidisciplinary teams
• A proactive, solutions‑focused mindset with a commitment to quality and continuous improvement
• The ability to support or guide other designers within project teams will be viewed favourably

We understand that no candidate will meet every single requirement. If this role interests you and you feel you can bring value to the team, we encourage you to apply—we'd love to hear from you.

Wrap up

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and actively encourage candidates from all backgrounds to join our team across engineering and technical disciplines. SMEC aims to provide a supportive professional environment that promotes career growth, recognises and rewards individual contribution, and offers opportunities to work on meaningful projects that help shape the future of SMEC in the industry. With gender‑balanced and diverse representation across technical, project delivery, and leadership roles within our business, team members have access to strong professional networks, role models, and mentorship and sponsorship programs that support career progression and foster an inclusive and supportive workplace culture.

Learn more about SMEC: http://smec.com/infocus/

At Surbana Jurong, we put talent, hard work, teamwork and a fun workplace together to approach problems and solve them creatively and collaboratively. Join us in making a positive impact on the world! SMEC is a global engineering, management and development consultancy delivering innovative solutions for our clients and partners. Leveraging our 70‑year history of delivering nation‑building infrastructure, we provide technical expertise and advanced engineering services to resolve complex challenges across major infrastructure and energy projects. SMEC has a long and proud history which dates back to Australia's iconic Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme in 1949, one of the largest and most complex hydroelectric schemes in the world. Headquartered in Australia, we have offices across more than 35 countries in Oceania, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa and the Americas. Together with our clients and partners, we deliver projects that directly contribute to improving health, quality of life and development outcomes for communities and neighborhoods around the world. Driven by innovation, ingenuity and skill, our people have shaped these outcomes in some of the world's most remote and challenging environments. Since 2016, SMEC has been a member of the Surbana Jurong Group, an Asia‑based global powerhouse of over 16,000 employees. Through our network of global specialists and by collaborating with local partners, we connect clients with the best teams and capabilities to deliver sustainable solutions.