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 Geothermal Reservoir and Development team within our Development group, to ensure that we continue to focus on growth and modelling so that we continue to develop our reservoir management and ensure geothermal fields are utilised for long-term sustainable operation.

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. 

As a key member of the Reservoir Development team, your role will be to lead our geothermal reservoir modelling capability. You will provide support through all phases of project execution to the Geothermal Development and Major Projects teams to deliver world-class geothermal developments.

As a Senior Engineer you will be responsible for developing and growing an in-house modelling team while also managing external modelling contractors. Your focus will be to integrate the expertise of our team of engineers and geoscientists into high quality conceptual and numerical models of the geothermal resources under our control.   

You will utilise reservoir modelling tools to evaluate the fuelling strategies for our geothermal developments to ensure station fuelling requirements are met, now and into the future. It will be your job to develop and implement System and Reservoir Management plans that set out the framework for adaptive management of the geothermal resource.

The ultimate goal is to ensure the management of Contact’s Geothermal assets are integrated to maximise the sustainable performance of our underground energy resources and geothermal power plants. 

This position reports to Warren Mannington, Reservoir Development Manager.

There is the potential for a bit of travel with this role so you’ll need to be open to this.

Ko wai koe | About you

We’re looking for a Senior Reservoir Modelling Engineer with around ten years’ experience in reservoir engineering, particularly reservoir modelling. You’re a technical expert when it comes to reservoir engineering and modelling. Qualifications wise, you’ll have a relevant tertiary qualification in engineering, geoscience or a relevant field.

We rely heavily on digital tools to work together effectively. Ideally you will have solid experience in wellbore modelling and reservoir modelling software such as WellSim, Gudrun, Saphir, TOUGH2, Waiwera and Seequent Leapfrog Geothermal. 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 geothermal 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.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work on world class geothermal developments and be part of a super experienced team of geothermal specialists and grow our reservoir capability in Aotearoa and abroad.

If you like the sound of what we’re offering, 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.