Principal Protection Engineer

Job Description - Principal Protection Engineer (AUC
0035) Management Level :
Individual Contributor :

Worley has made significant gains in the renewable energy sector within New Zealand. Our recent projects include utility scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and solar. We are providing electrical design services to the distribution industry and industrial clients with large electrical loads.

We’re looking for a Lead Protection Engineer to join our team in Auckland although New Plymouth, Christchurch or Wellington could also be considered. As a Lead Protection Engineer, you will complete tasks associated with protection such as leading concept studies, preparing cost estimates, front-end design, detailed engineering design, developing subcontractor scopes, commissioning and reporting to clients on various brownfields and greenfield projects.

Protection engineers sit at the heart of New Zealand’s energy future. Every major transmission or grid-integrated power project relies on robust protection systems to ensure reliability, safety, and security of supply. Our expertise in this field directly shapes the nation’s most critical energy infrastructure—making our work not just valuable, but essential for progress.

Supporting grid infrastructure growth across New Zealand’s evolving energy sector, it is undergoing rapid transformation, with our Power Team delivering high-profile solutions in large-scale solar systems, battery storage, and advanced grid infrastructure across the country. As we connect new assets to the national grid, we remain committed to ensuring security of supply through robust protection engineering and accredited signatory sign-off.

Our team partners with major Electrical Distribution Businesses to maintain and upgrade their networks, supported by long-term contracts for substation upgrades and both primary and secondary design services.

To support this growth, we are establishing a dedicated protection and primary design team—bringing together technical experts passionate about shaping New Zealand’s power landscape.

When you work for us, you get the chance to join nearly 50,000 people all driven by a common purpose – delivering a more sustainable world. We’re excited about the challenges ahead. If you ask us, there’s never been a more rewarding time to work in the energy, chemical and resources sectors.

We offer a flexible approach to working, because our people are safer, healthier, and more productive when they can balance work with life. That’s why we offer flexible and hybrid working options, so you can choose when, where and how you work.

Worley is a global professional services company. We deliver an exceptionally diverse range of services to a wide range of customers across the Energy, Resources and Chemicals sectors.

Our New Zealand team of approximately 250 professionals are backed up by a global team of nearly 50,000 people, all driven by a common purpose - delivering a more sustainable world.

We partner with our customers to deliver projects and create value over the life of their portfolio of assets. We solve complex problems by finding integrated data-centric solutions from the first stages of engineering and consulting to the last stages of installation and commissioning.

Join us and help drive innovation and sustainability in our projects.

• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to the engineering and design team.
• Help to drive a culture of ‘doing it right first time’ and delivering practical engineering solutions.
• Hands‑on design opportunities and the chance to utilise your business development and mentorship skills.
• Collaborate with other disciplines on a variety of projects and drive delivery excellence in the power sector.
• Design and implement protection and control systems for transmission and distribution systems across ANZ with voltages up to 500 kV.
• Conduct fault studies using software such as Power Factory, PSSE and PSCAD.
• Deliver concept, FEED and detailed designs for protection schemes.
• Review of protection schemes inclusive of R & I diagrams, detailed schematics and protection settings.

Our immediate…