Te Tākinatanga | Our Story   

Ko tā Contact e whakapono nei, ko te taiao tonu te taonga nui katoa o te ao.

Koinei mātou e whai atu nei kia mahue atu i a mātou tētahi ao hauora ake, tēnā i te ora i kuhu ai mātou.

He pakihi whakarato hiko, ipurangi mātou, engari arā kē atu anō ā mātou taha.

Kei te whakawhanake mātou i ā mātou mahi ake, i ngā ara hoki e whai hiko ai a Aotearoa, kei te kōkiri kia tukua te hiko tukurua, ā, kei te whakaputa i tētahi wheako matihiko mō ā mātou kiritaki kāore anō kia kitea i tēnei whenua.

He tīma kotahi mano mātou nō ngā hau e whā, e ngākau nui ana ki ā mātou mahi, e aroha ana tētahi ki tētahi, e ako ngātahi ana, e whakapono tahi ana ki ā mātou tikanga ārahi: mā te manaaki kia toa, ka mana te katoa.

At Contact, we believe home is the most important place in the world. It's all part of our vision to leave Aotearoa better than we found it. We’re a power and broadband company, but we’re so much more than that. We are transforming the ways we mahi, and how Aotearoa is powered, leading the charge on renewable energy and digitising customer journeys in ways not yet seen here. A team of 1000+ from all walks of life who love what we do, look out for each other, and learn from one another every day, we’re stoked to be guided by our tikanga: we touch lives to make life better.

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity 

We are currently growing our Reservoir Strategy team within our Geothermal Generation and Trading group, to ensure that we continue to effectively and sustainably manage the geothermal resources under our control while maintaining effective and efficient delivery of geothermal fluid to the power station.

The next few years represent a time of substantial change for our geothermal operations. The Tauhara Geothermal project (a 172 MW geothermal plant that is New Zealand’s most significant renewable investment and will incorporate the world’s largest geothermal steam turbine) will be commissioned later in 2023. This is only the first of a broader pipeline of geothermal projects to support ongoing generation from the Wairakei-Tauhara Geothermal System, such as expansions at the Te Huka and Te Mihi geothermal plants. So we have multiple exciting and challenging projects for you to get involved in. 

It will be your job to ensure that our geothermal fields are utilised for long-term sustainable operation in line with best practice and Contact’s strategy. This will include leading the development of short and long-term production strategies for the Wairakei/Tauhara and Ohaaki geothermal field to ensure power station fuelling requirements are met. You’ll also guide the maintenance of a fit-for-purpose reservoir surveillance programme that provides insight into the reservoir health and support the preparation of System Management Plans that are required by Contact’s resource consents.

You’ll also monitor the effects of production on our geothermal resources and contribute to the ongoing adaptive management of our systems, ensuring that the management of Contact’s surface and subsurface assets are integrated.

This position reports to our Reservoir Strategy Capability Lead, Bridget Ayling.

Ko wai koe | About you

We’re looking for a reservoir engineer with at least five years’ experience in the energy sector and a relevant degree in engineering, applied science, geoscience or equivalent qualifications. We are also open to applicants with an engineering background who would like to transition to reservoir engineering – we will train you on the job! 

Ideally you will have experience in using commercially available wellbore and reservoir modelling software such as WellSim, Gudrun, Saphir, TOUGH2, Waiwera and/or Seequent Leapfrog (or the ability to develop these skills through on-the-job training). A high level of computer literacy with experience using data science, analysis and analytical tools such as Python, Excel and/or Matlab would also be beneficial.

You’ll be joining a small but motivated team and will need to have excellent teamwork and communication skills since you’ll be interacting regularly with the broader reservoir group’s geologists, reservoir engineers, geochemists, geophysicists and reservoir modellers to ensure consistency between the reservoir models, field data and resource management strategy. You’ll need to have excellent relationship-building skills with the ability to develop strong working relationships with other internal and external stakeholders.

Contact is doing some pretty cool things right now. If you like the sound of what we’re offering, have a genuine interest in the energy sector and our ambition to decarbonise Aotearoa, we’d love to hear from you. ‘Apply’ now!  Please remember to include a cover letter with your application so we can get to know you better. Applications close on Monday, 17 April at 11:59 PM NZST but we'll be reviewing applications as they come in so get in quick! 

There are multiple perks to being a permanent Contact kaimahi (employee). Along with great leadership, teammates, development, and growth and progression opportunities, you’ll enjoy flexible working, 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, discounts on Contact Energy products, and more

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.