Associate Director - Renewable Energy (Solar)

AECOM · Christchurch, , New Zealand

  • Junior
  • Full-time
  • Posted 2026-09-09
  • Confirmed live on 25 September 2026

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Job description

Job Description
Newly created leadership role as Associate Director – Renewable Energy (Solar) with AECOM’s New Zealand (NZ) renewable team, leading technical and delivery requirements across solar projects.
In this role, you will be leading the technical and delivery requirements for this key renewable market, as well as working with clients supporting the development of client relationships through delivery excellence. You will be leading AECOM’s approach providing technical, project, Owners Engineer, commercial and advisory solutions across complex solar hybrid projects with varied client, site, engineering and delivery requirements. You will be applying your subject matter expertise across all solar project related technical requirements including the operation of the solar generation assets such as PV panels, inverter transformers, plant power controllers, SCADA and security systems, pile driving, tracker systems, harmonic filters. In addition, you will be considering other project requirements such as BESS integration (AC / DC coupled), transmission and grid requirements. Your ability to build positive working relationships as a trusted advisor with a broad range of stakeholders including contractors, site teams and OEMs will be important. You will also be balancing project delivery excellence, supporting the delivery of complex, innovative, and rapidly evolving technical requirements for Solar and BESS projects with an understanding of NZ construction regulation and requirements as they apply to the Owners Engineer role and design.
You will have a broad scope to make a lasting difference throughout NZ during a rapidly evolving renewable energy landscape, as our clients look to explore and solve renewable generation options as part of the energy transition. You will be part of the AECOM Generation & Storage team and Energy business line in NZ, with technical subject matter expertise available across multiple disciplines in NZ, Australia and globally, to provide solutions for project and client requirements. The fast-paced and innovative nature of projects will suit an engineering and technical leader looking to grow client relationships and make a difference across the NZ sector in a client and market facing role. Scope exists to also work on Australia solar projects, depending on client and project requirements.
How you will make a difference

• Be the Solar and related subject matter project delivery and technical lead in NZ, connecting with clients and the market to originate project proposals acting as a trusted advisor.

• Support business development activities, including bid and proposal response processes, working across AECOM’s team of subject matter leaders across engineering disciplines.

• Lead the technical approach working with client technical teams, as well as with AECOM disciplines, applying Solar, electrical and renewable related engineering capability.

• Prepare and review Principal's requirements, technical schedules and guarantees covering net power, usable energy, round-trip efficiency, availability, auxiliary consumption, degradation, augmentation, throughput, response performance and reactive-power capability.

• Lead procurement and tender evaluations to normalise competing offers by interrogating assumptions, exclusions, operating limits, warranted curves, design margins, augmentation strategies, lifecycle costs and technical risks.

• Support contract negotiations on performance guarantees, test and acceptance methods, warranties, liquidated damages and remedies, scope interfaces, long-term service obligations, operations and maintenance, and augmentation responsibilities.

• Leading project delivery either in an Owners Engineer, Project or Design Management leadership capability, or liaising with AECOM’s project management teams, ensuring scope, timeframe and client budget requirements are met.

• Provide input and advocate for the NZ market across the AECOM internal Generation and Storage teams from a market insight, technical and project requirement perspective.

• Provide mentoring and coaching for the development of other Solar and Renewable Engineers in the Generation and Storage team, supporting their career development.
Ideally based in Christchurch, this role has scope to be based in other main AECOM offices throughout New Zealand. Some domestic travel is required depending on client, site, project and people leadership requirements.

Qualifications
To be successful in this Associate Director role, you will be a leader known across the Solar, Renewable and related energy markets in NZ. You will have current networks and a reputation for being a trusted advisor known for your ability to deliver complex Solar, renewable and related projects, working with different engineering disciplines.
You will have a strong track record of project delivery in the NZ market, being able to provide project advice as an Owners Engineer innately knowing what is critical for Solar pr

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