Design Lead

Design Lead

📍 Tauranga, New Plymouth, Palmerston North or Wellington

🕐 Permanent - Full-time

Are you ready to lead a skilled team and help shape the future of Powerco’s network design? We’re looking for an experienced designer and people leader to guide our Distribution Design team - keeping projects on track and helping our people grow.

About the role:

You’ll lead eight talented designers, providing technical direction and strong people leadership. Together, you’ll deliver practical, cost-effective electricity network designs that meet Powerco’s standards. You’ll manage schedules, workloads, and reporting to keep projects running smoothly, while ensuring health and safety is built into every stage of design.

This role is also about people. You’ll mentor and develop your team, especially those in our Early Career Designer Programme and look for new ways to improve how we work, both within the team and across the wider business.

What you’ll bring

You’ll have at least five years’ experience in the electricity or utilities industry, with a solid background in electrical design. Leadership comes naturally to you whether through managing people directly or leading projects and initiatives. Experience in or with a design consultancy (or similar environment) will be a strong advantage.

What sets you apart

We’re looking for someone who combines technical know-how with a customer-first mindset. You’ll have strong analytical and business process skills, a drive for continuous improvement, and the commercial awareness to balance quality, cost, and time. Most importantly, you’ll be a great communicator - someone who engages confidently with stakeholders and inspires others to do their best work.

We’re not just looking for skills - we want someone who’s ready to be part of a team that cares about doing great work and supporting each other. If that sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

📅 Applications close: Friday 14 November 2025

Our ability to get the best out of people is what sets Powerco apart. We realise that candidates – especially from underrepresented and neurodiverse backgrounds – often won’t apply for roles unless they meet ALL the criteria. We encourage anyone who shares our passion for connecting communities to apply for any role that aligns to your strengths and interests. We will provide a safe space where you can bring your whole self to work and thrive.  

If you would benefit from support or adjustments in order to participate equitably in the recruitment process, please phone 0800 769372 or email kiaora@powerco.co.nz