Senior Design Project Engineer

seek.co.nz; Avondale; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent pay rates

Great location close to motorway

Flexible hours

On-site parking

Permanent position

Kiwi company

Job summary

Jora New Zealand is seeking an experienced Senior Design Project Engineer to own projects end to end. You will plan, manage compliance and coordinate with engineering, manufacturing and clients to deliver on time and to exacting standards.

You will lead a small, close-knit team, work hands-on when needed, and ensure the project remains on track from blank sheet to delivered, compliant, tested product.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years' experience in naval systems design.
• Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering or higher.
• Proven ability to manage complex projects end-to-end.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of projects: planning, compliance, reporting and coordination.
• Lead the project in a hands-on role, driving delivery to on-spec and on-time.
• Coordinate engineering, manufacturing and client effort to ensure successful outcomes.

Skills

Naval systems design

Project planning

Stakeholder management

Technical writing

Finite Element Analysis

Education

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

AutoCAD

FEA software

Job description

Jora New Zealand will close on 16th September 2026. Thank you for being with us, we are cheering you on as you continue your career journey.

This is a genuinely exciting opportunity for an experienced project engineer with a serious technical background to drive complex, high-stakes projects in the maritime defence world.

We are a New Zealand company that leads the world in what we do. We design and manufacture right here, and we supply advanced naval and defence equipment to navies and shipbuilders across the globe. We have a talented team of engineers, designers and drafts people, alongside an amazingly skilled team on the factory floor who care, and care a lot. Everyone here is a somebody, not just a number.

We are looking for a Senior Design Project Engineer to own projects end to end. This is a role for someone who can drive delivery on technically demanding work, who is comfortable being the person accountable for a project landing on spec, on time, and to the exacting standards our clients demand.

About the role

You will own the delivery of projects end to end: the planning, the compliance, the reporting and the coordination, partnering with our Senior Design Engineer who leads the technical design. That means building and holding the project plan, tracking scope, schedule and budget, managing the qualification and test programme, keeping documentation audit-ready, and coordinating the engineering, manufacturing and client effort so it all comes together on time and on spec.

This is a hands-on role in a small, close-knit team, reporting directly to the Managing Director. We need a doer, not a delegator. You will lead the project and keep it moving, but you will also happily pick up the mouse and draw when that is what the job needs. You work with the team, not above it, and you get the best out of the talented people around you.

Key requirements for the role

Minimum of 10 years' experience in naval systems design is non-negotiable

Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering

A strong, broad background in mechanical design engineering across your career

Excellent communication and stakeholder skills, with the confidence to coordinate clients, engineering and manufacturing, and to keep everyone aligned and informed as a project moves

Chartered status preferred (CPEng) but not essential

Proven ability to run projects, holding both the technical detail and the delivery, is essential

DfAM (Design for Additive Manufacturing) experience beneficial

Experienced and confident in interpreting and complying with engineering and class society codes and standards

Strong technical documentation writing skills will be required

An understanding of the principles of reliability engineering will be beneficial

Confident in completing analytical calculations

Experience with Finite Element Analysis would be highly regarded

Prior experience with development of Inspection and Test Plans is critical

Familiar with interpreting and adhering to Defence Statements of Work (SOW), Technical Requirements Specifications (TRS), and the reporting requirements of long-term system qualification projects

Competence in using SolidWorks and AutoCAD would be helpful

Excellent attention to detail is absolutely essential

Ability to plan ahead and work to deadlines

Self-motivated, able to work well independently while still being a genuine team player

You must be a citizen of a Five Eyes nation (New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, United States or Canada) and eligible to obtain and hold a New Zealand Government security clearance

About you

You have run real projects in a defence or maritime environment, and you know what it takes to carry one from a blank sheet to a delivered, compliant, tested product.

You are a natural communicator and coordinator. You keep clients, engineers and the factory floor pulling in the same direction, you chase down the answers a project needs, and you keep everyone clearly informed as things move.

You are equally at home in the technical detail and in the project seat. You can interrogate an FEA result, understand a class calculation, and still keep the schedule, the scope and the client on track.

You think in standards and evidence. Class codes, inspection and test plans, and documentation that holds up to audit are second nature to you, not a chore.

You are genuinely humble and easy to work with. You have deep experience and you wear it lightly, you back your teammates, and you know that the best result comes from the team.

You genuinely love engineering. You are the person who wants to understand how it all works and why, and you take real pride in getting it right.

What we can offer in return

Excellent pay rates that suit experience and skills

A great location close to the motorway

Beat the traffic, start early and finish early, with innovative hours that work well for staff with families

A clean and tidy factory with newly painted floors in a great location with lots of parking

The chance to be part of a fantastic team, in a company that is growing and going places

Work alongside a team of experienced engineers on genuinely advanced projects

A wide variety of interesting and challenging work

A rewarding, satisfying permanent position

A genuine Kiwi company that values its people

Please note, this role requires the legal right to work in New Zealand and for security requirements we also welcome applications from Five Eyes citizens currently overseas.