Principal Advisor Technical at Maritime New Zealand, Wellington

Mō tēnei tūranga mahi | About this role

Mō mātou | About Us 

Our Vision: Preventing Harm. Saving Lives. Securing our Future 

We play a key role in the guardianship of New Zealand waterways. We're bringing together our aroha, work and skills to achieve our outcomes of sustainable supply chains and sectors, safe people and operations, secure ports and ships, and clean seas and waterways. 

Our values are about who we are as individuals and the behaviours we expect from each other at Maritime NZ. 

Care | Kia Tika - We care for each other and do the right thing 

Connect | Kotahitanga - We unite in a common purpose 

Courage | Kia Māia - We are brave, capable and confident  

Mō tō mātou Rōpū | About the team 

The Operations and Ship Technical Support team provides advice and support on matters relating to the design, construction and equipment of ships from a technical and functional perspective. The team provides its stakeholders with a tangible link between the standards of regulation and the physical realities of ships in service.

Te tūnga | The role  

As Principal Advisor Technical you will play a key role providing thought leadership of specialist technical maritime advisory services and outputs.  This role will give you the opportunity to apply your in-depth knowledge of ship operations and related maritime systems to support a number of high profile engagement programmes, establishing connections across our organisation and with a broad range of stakeholders.

You will be responsible for:

• Providing expert technical advice to support positive regulatory outcomes;
• Actively investigating and leading complex technical issues; and
• Leading the input of technical advice to support the development of policy proposals.

As a confident communicator you will be skilled at building and maintaining effective relationships, both within Maritime NZ and with our external stakeholders and agency partners.

Nōu te rourou | What you bring 

To be successful in this role you will have the following;

• Relevant tertiary qualification or equivalent such as Marine Engineer, Master Mariner, or similar;
• Proven experience working within a professional, multi-disciplinary team;
• Ability to translate complex technical content into concise language which explains the potential safety risks for decision-makers;
• Ability to influence and collaborate across the organisation and with external stakeholders
• Depth of understanding of the New Zealand maritime industry and particularly the range of vessel types and operations;
• Proven experience representing an organisation view in a range of forums with sector stakeholders, including excellent presentation skills;
• Experience of working within a regulatory organisation would be an advantage.

Mōu | For you  

Maritime NZ recognises and respects te Tiriti o Waitangi and we are committed to working with Māori to build strong, meaningful and enduring relationships to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.   

We aim to be a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported with a sense of belonging. We encourage our people to actively contribute to our workplace culture where we all thrive and authentically live our MNZ values. 

Upon joining us you'll receive a full range of benefits including Income Protection and Life Insurance so check out our full range on our careers page to find out more about why we love working here. 

We're committed to ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone. Please reach out to our recruitment team below if there is any support we can provide to ensure the process is accessible to you.

Salary range $140,735 - $171,945 depending on skills and experience plus up to 4% kiwisaver contributions.

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply  

We are unable to accept applications via email. Please click the apply button to submit your application at https://careers.maritimenz.govt.nz/home.

Applications for this role close Friday 14^th November 2025. Please also note that you must have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand to be considered for this role. 

If you have any questions please e-mail Jo Attewell at jo.attewell@maritimenz.govt.nz.