The work
Our clients run dairy and food factories, meat plants, beverage sites, geothermal direct heat and energy plant, sawmills, pulp mills and building-products factories. They bring us in to investigate problems, scope upgrades and expansions, design new plant, and get it built and commissioned, often while the existing plant keeps running.
Jobs run from three months to three years, on greenfield and brownfield sites. At intermediate level you're the engineer doing the design and the calculations, working with the senior engineer who leads the job and increasingly running parts of it yourself.
What you'll do
- Design to your own discipline, whether that's mechanical, process or structural: pumping, steam and boilers, refrigeration, compressed air, water and wastewater, chemical and process systems, and the steel structures that carry them.
- Prepare and check calculations, drawings, specifications and tender documents, from first principles and the relevant standards.
- Work directly with client engineers, contractors and suppliers, and keep your part of the job on programme and on budget.
- Get on site for inspections, construction monitoring and commissioning, including the quality and risk side of delivery.
- Mentor graduates and check their work as you grow into the role.
Site work is part of the job
Expect regular travel to client sites around New Zealand. Working around operating plant puts real constraints on design and delivery, and some work involves extended hours, particularly around commissioning. Approved extended hours are paid.
Who this suits
- A mechanical, process or structural engineering background.
- Four to eight years' experience, ideally in industrial or process plant. Consulting and in-house plant experience both count.
- CPEng isn't required. If you're working towards it, we'll support you and fund the assessment.
- Sound engineering judgement and working knowledge of the standards in your field.
- Clear, confident communication with clients and contractors, in person and in writing.
- The right to work in New Zealand.
What we offer
- A competitive salary, plus a matched 4% KiwiSaver contribution on top.
- Health insurance.
- Fully funded professional membership fees and CPEng assessment.
- Funded training: conferences, technical short courses, refrigeration and pressure-equipment qualifications.
- Payment for approved extended working hours.
- A hybrid working week.
- Inventor, AutoCAD Plant, AutoPIPE, PV Elite and Ansys, plus a Claude Teams AI account for every engineer.
- Healthy food in a recently refurbished Grafton office, a short walk from the train and the Domain.
How to apply
Apply online with your CV and a short cover note, or email them to careers@dobbie.co.nz with "Intermediate Engineer" in the subject line. We read every application and you'll hear from us within two weeks.
