Senior Mechanical Engineer - Geothermal

Contact Energy; Wairakei Village; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free health insurance

Generous leave

Employee Shares

Parental leave policy

Wellbeing support

Job summary

Contact Energy is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead and advise on the geothermal fleet, ensuring safe, reliable asset performance across the lifecycle. You will mentor engineers, shape standards, and collaborate with operations, projects, and senior teams to drive continuous improvement.

The role blends on-site technical problem solving with strategic influence, emphasizing safety, performance, and disciplined risk management within a challenging energy portfolio.

Qualifications

• Engineering degree or equivalent qualification.
• Solid experience in power generation or heavy industry, around ten years or more.
• Deep expertise in mechanical discipline such as heavy rotating equipment, pressure parts, or functional safety.

Responsibilities

• Lead role in supporting Contact's geothermal fleet, partnering with operations, projects and leadership.
• Provide trusted engineering advice, guide decision-making and ensure assets perform safely and reliably.
• Act as discipline leader, mentoring engineers and shaping standards and processes.
• Engage in hands-on problem solving and strategic planning to improve performance and safety.

Skills

Mentoring

Leadership

Problem solving

Education

Engineering degree or equivalent

Job description

Whakatakoto te tūāpapa - Laying the foundation

At Contact Energy, our purpose is simple and ambitious, to put our energy where it matters. We are proud to play a leading role in decarbonising Aotearoa New Zealand’s energy system, backing renewable generation that supports communities, industry, and the future of our planet. Tikanga, safety, and care for our people and environment sit at the heart of how we work every day.

Our Taupō geothermal assets are a cornerstone of that journey. From Wairakei and beyond, these long‑lived, complex assets provide reliable baseload renewable energy and demand deep technical expertise to operate safely, efficiently, and sustainably. Working here means being part of a legacy, while shaping what comes next for geothermal energy in Aotearoa.

Job Description

Te āhua o te tūranga - The nature of the role

As a Senior Mechanical Engineer, you’ll take a lead role in supporting Contact’s geothermal fleet, partnering closely with operations, projects, and leadership teams. You’ll provide trusted engineering advice, guide decision‑making, and help ensure our assets perform safely and reliably across their full lifecycle. This is a role where your experience genuinely matters, from routine plant outages through to complex improvement and investment projects.

You’ll also act as a discipline leader and subject matter expert within your specialty, mentoring engineers, shaping standards and processes, and lifting capability across the wider Generation and Trading group. Ngā mahi will range from on site hands‑on technical problem solving to influencing strategy, always with a focus on continuous improvement and putting safety, people, and performance first.

Qualifications

Ko wai koe - About you

You’re an experienced mechanical engineer who enjoys working with complex assets and even more complex problems. You’re confident offering clear, candid technical advice, but you’re also thoughtful about how decisions land across a wider business. You build strong relationships naturally and enjoy helping others grow, whether that’s through mentoring, coaching, or simply sharing what you’ve learned along the way.

To thrive in this role, there are a few essentials. You’ll need an engineering degree or equivalent qualification and solid experience in power generation or heavy industry, ideally around ten years or more. Deep expertise in a mechanical discipline such as heavy rotating equipment, pressure parts, or functional safety is important, along with comfort working within regulated environments and managing asset integrity and risk.

There are also some things that would be great, but not mandatory. Professional registration, project or contract management experience, or exposure to financial modelling and business cases would all be valuable. If your background doesn’t tick every box, but you’re curious, values‑led, keen to learn, and excited by renewable energy, we’d still love to hear from you. He waka eke noa, we’re all in this together.

Additional Information

There are a bunch of perks to being a permanent Contact kaimahi. Along with great leadership, teammates, development, and growth and progression opportunities, free health insurance cover, better-than-your-average leave, access to Contact Shares, a ‘Good to be Home’ annual payment toward your home set up & wellbeing, a trail-blazing parental leave policy, bi-annual payments towards Contact Energy products, and more!

Here at Contact Energy (Te Mata Hiko), we know our strength lies in developing a sense of belonging - one that helps us attract and retain people with a broad range of perspectives and experiences.

We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work. Our goal is to reflect the diversity of our customers and communities to help build a better Aotearoa New Zealand.

We have a rich community of talented people that we support to thrive at Contact.

At Te Mata Hiko, we want everyone to thrive. We welcome applicants far and wide - of every age, stage, background, and pride. Join us and be part of a team that values your passion and attitude just as much as your experience and skills.

Please note, only candidates with the right to live and work in New Zealand will be considered for this role.

Research shows that while men apply to jobs where they meet 60% of the criteria, women and those in underrepresented groups tend to only apply if they tick every box.We're not about box ticking, so if you think you have what it takes but don't meet everything stated above, please still get in touch. We'd love to kōrero.

Our inclusive hiring process is designed to embrace the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand, ensuring a wide range of perspectives are included in our decision‑making and helping reduce bias along the way.

The wellbeing of our kaimahi is super important to us.

We use employee insights to offer a range of initiatives and resources to support physical, mental, financial and emotional wellbeing – including flexible working arrangements, employee network groups and a market-leading parental leave policy.