Principal HV Protection & Control Engineer

NES Fircroft; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

NES Fircroft is looking for an experienced Senior/Principal Protection & Design Engineer to lead protection and control activities across high‑voltage infrastructure projects in New Zealand.

You will develop, review and coordinate protection systems, ensuring safe and reliable operation of electrical networks and coordinating with SCADA and automation teams. The role suits engineers with strong HV substations, relay experience and multidisciplinary delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or related discipline.
• Substantial experience in protection and control engineering in HV environments.
• Strong understanding of protection principles, relay coordination and fault analysis.
• Experience with protection systems from Siemens, ABB/Hitachi Energy, Schneider Electric, GE or SEL.
• Familiarity with numerical relays, secondary circuits and substation automation systems.
• Understanding of IEC 61850 and IEC/AS/NZS standards.
• Ability to produce and review engineering documentation and calculations.
• Strong stakeholder management and technical communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead protection and control design for HV substations and transmission and distribution infrastructure.
• Develop and review protection philosophies, schemes, logic diagrams and documentation.
• Undertake or review protection coordination, relay settings and calculations.
• Design and review protection systems for transformers, feeders, busbars, lines and assets.
• Support selection and integration of numerical protection relays and secondary equipment.
• Coordinate interfaces with primary engineering, SCADA and automation teams.
• Review control schematics, wiring diagrams and interlocking arrangements.
• Provide technical support for factory and site acceptance testing and commissioning.
• Participate in design reviews, risk assessments and QA.
• Liaise with clients, operators, suppliers and project teams.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to engineering standards.

Skills

Protection & control engineering

Relay coordination

Electrical fault analysis

Substation automation systems

IEC 61850 knowledge

Stakeholder management

Engineering documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or Power Engineering

Job description

NES Fircroft is looking for an experienced Senior/Principal Protection & Design Engineer to lead protection and control activities across high‑voltage infrastructure projects in New Zealand.

You will develop, review and coordinate protection systems, ensuring safe and reliable operation of electrical networks and coordinating with SCADA and automation teams. The role suits engineers with strong HV substations, relay experience and multidisciplinary delivery.