Cost Estimator / Cost Engineer at Transpower New Zealand Limited, Wellington

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

• Apply your expertise at the heart of New Zealand’s electricity sector
• Bring your curiosity. Enable accurate estimates for major capital projects
• Be part continuous improvement initiatives and enjoy great employee benefits!

Transpower owns and operates New Zealand's National Grid - the high voltage transmission network connecting areas of generation with towns and cities across New Zealand.

Our core purpose is to empower the energy future for New Zealand - a future that delivers a net-zero carbon economy and a reliable and secure electricity system.

About the team

The Cost Estimation Team in our Grid Development division, provides a trusted, high‑quality estimation service that underpins the investigation and delivery of our multiyear grid capital projects and volumetric maintenance programmes. The team maintains our national cost estimation database and continuously refines our estimation processes to ensure accuracy, consistency, and confidence in project planning.

We partner with more than 50 project managers and engineers across the country, supporting them through the preparation, development, and review of project estimates, as well as the analysis of tenders and project outturn costs. The team also delivers estimation‑accuracy insights to meet reporting obligations to the Commerce Commission and to strengthen organisational decision‑making.

About the opportunity – work that has national significance!

You will be responsible for a large and rapidly expanding portfolio of estimates and reviews, stepping into a pivotal role that upholds high‑quality work and strengthens the systems, processes, and tools that keep cost estimation accurate and reliable. Your contribution to our team will help support the growth and resilience of Aotearoa New Zealand’s energy system.

Once inducted and comfortable with your day-to-day tasks, you’ll also contribute to the continuous improvement of how we work with our customers by identifying, investigating, and implementing enhancements to our estimation practices. We’ll support your ongoing development by involving you in a diverse mix of projects designed to broaden and deepen your expertise over time.

A core part of your role will involve analysing past project estimation performance, future forecasts, and wider industry trends to strengthen accuracy, support optioneering, and uphold the integrity of our cost estimation tools and data sets. Strong relationship‑management skills will be essential as you communicate adjustments and their impacts to key stakeholders, ensuring these changes are effectively applied across interfaced systems nationally.

What will you bring?

Known for your accuracy and fast paced work out puts you have strong investigative capability and astute questioning, and a proven talent for building and sustaining effective relationships and networks.

Calm under pressure, your technical expertise, passion for process improvement, and well‑developed systems thinking will be supported by a professional qualification in Engineering or a degree or diploma in Quantity Surveying.

To be shortlisted your CV and cover letter will demonstrate:

• A minimum of 3 years cost engineering estimating experience
• Well developed analytical skills and commercial awareness
• Proficiency using costing applications and tools (tell us about these)
• Demonstrated ability to cost asset construction, maintenance, and development work
• Clear and concise verbal and written communication skills, and good ability to build rapport and collaborate with a varied range of internal customers

Highly regarded (but not essential):

• Electrical estimating knowledge, ideally including experience costing transmission or distribution infrastructure projects
• Experience in tender analysis and reviews

Join us at Transpower

Aotearoa is powered by the people who work here. With over twenty-eight ethnicities, we celebrate our people who are collaborative and caring, and provide diverse perspectives, knowledge, and have deep and varied experience which they love to share.

We work in the office or on-site for a minimum of three days each week, which helps us build and maintain relationships, support learning, deliver outcomes, and sustain our culture. This approach also offers staff the flexibility they need for both work and personal commitments, with adaptable daily start and finish times.

We prioritise wellbeing with a great range of employee health and wellness benefits check them out here  www.transpower.co.nz/about-us/careers-transpower/staff-benefits

Next steps

To help to deliver accelerated electrification for Aotearoa, please review the position description via our careers site/below and apply without delay!

Role closes Wednesday 4^th of February however, applications will be reviewed as they are received, and you may be contacted to explore your application further or to arrange an interview prior to the close date. Reasonable accommodation is available to suit your personal circumstances.

NB: Existing eligibility to work in New Zealand is essential.