Group Manager System Engineering

Group Manager, System Engineering

Leading Energy Sector Organisation | Perth CBD, Western Australia

Brand-new executive role | Relocation and visa sponsorship available

The Organisation

Our client is a highly respected organisation at the centre of Western Australia’s energy system. Its WA business plays a critical role across the energy value chain, from long-term planning and connecting new facilities through to the secure, reliable operation of the power system.

Western Australia’s main grid stands alone, with no connection to the east coast, which puts WA at the forefront of the energy transition, tackling technical challenges ahead of much of the world. With a wave of new wind, solar and battery connections coming and coal retirement on the horizon, engineering underpins every decision the business makes, from what happens in the coming minutes to what the grid looks like decades from now.

The Role

Reporting to the Executive General Manager, you will be the senior engineer on the leadership team, working alongside fellow Group Managers responsible for planning, connections, operations and change. The leadership team will rely on you for trusted, independent engineering advice.

You will lead System Engineering, a group of around 25 engineers and specialists working across three streams, each led by a manager reporting to you. The group is a shared capability serving the whole business, so a large part of the role is working with your fellow Group Managers to balance competing demands for engineering resources and agree priorities. You will be a visible voice for the organisation’s engineering view with government, industry and regulators and at industry forums.

Key Responsibilities

• Bring the organisation’s engineering capability together as one effective group, establishing clear ways of working, governance, processes and structure.
• Work with fellow Group Managers to triage and prioritise competing demands for engineering support across planning, connections and operations.
• Lead the power system studies, grid modelling, engineering and congestion analysis that support secure, reliable operation and development of the power system.
• Oversee engineering assessment for facility commissioning, generator performance and event investigation, as a growing pipeline of new connection applications comes forward.
• Provide independent technical advice and constructive challenge to the Executive General Manager and leadership team.
• Establish technical governance, engineering standards and assurance so the organisation’s engineering advice is robust, consistent and able to withstand external scrutiny.
• Represent the organisation’s engineering view to government, network businesses, industry participants and regulators, explaining complex technical issues plainly to non-technical audiences.

About You

You are an experienced engineering leader with the technical depth to be the senior engineer on an executive team, and the leadership maturity to bring people together. You may currently lead system engineering, power system studies or network planning at a system operator, transmission business or utility, in Australia or internationally. You are comfortable in a matrix, where influence matters as much as authority, and you can keep business as usual moving while you build the function for the future. Experience of the WA energy sector is not essential; you will be backed by deep in-house regulatory and commercial expertise.

Above all, you bring a ‘how might we solve this?’ mindset. You enjoy problems that no one has quite solved yet, and you want the agency, authority and accountability to solve them.

Required Skills and Proficiencies

• Tertiary qualifications in engineering, ideally electrical or power systems; chartered status (CPEng or equivalent) is highly regarded.
• 15+ years’ experience in the energy industry, including senior leadership in a medium or large organisation.
• Deep power systems expertise, ideally gained in system operations, planning or transmission.
• Experience establishing or transforming technical functions, including operating models, governance, capability and resource planning, and ways of working.
• Strong matrix leadership and stakeholder skills, with the ability to influence peers and build trusted relationships with government, industry and regulators.
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical matters plainly to non-technical audiences.

The Rewards and Culture

This is a rare chance to shape a brand-new function at the centre of one of the most interesting energy systems in the world. From this role you see the whole energy transition: every time horizon, from real-time operations to long-term planning, and both fossil and renewable generation. You will have real visibility and influence over all of it, within a well-established organisation with the credibility and networks to make a difference.

Our client offers an attractive executive remuneration package, with relocation and visa sponsorship support for the successful candidate. The team is based in the Perth CBD, with flexible working and a genuine focus on work-life balance, alongside the lifestyle Perth is known for. You will join a collaborative leadership team that helped design the new operating model and is committed to making it work. Our client has a values-led, collaborative culture and is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace for all employees.

How to Apply

Apply now by submitting your current CV (in Word format) via our online application process.

For a confidential discussion or to review the full position description, please contact Nathan Kelly on 0418 742 529 or via nathan@talentnation.com.au.

Relocation support and visa sponsorship are available for the successful candidate.

Talent Nation encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people of all cultures, abilities, sexes and genders.

Applicants can request a reasonable adjustment at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact us so we can provide adjustments for you.