Senior Project Engineer Innovation

Position category: Engineering

Role type: Contract

Location: Sydney North

Position code: FWG11022

About the Company

Our client is a global solar technology leader that provides the most comprehensive, integrated platform of structural, electrical, and digital solutions to capture the full value of solar power plants. They are the number one in global market-share with an average, in-country market share of 30%.

They are creative, collaborative and passionate problem-solvers from diverse backgrounds, driven by a shared mission to provide smart solar hardware and software solutions to mitigate climate change for future generations. People, Community, Environment, Innovation, and Integrity are their cornerstone values.

About the Role

They are looking for a Senior Project Engineer Innovation to join the Project Engineering Team, working on projects across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, to support the delivery of innovation initiatives for new products and technologies in the Australian market.

The Senior Project Engineer will work on utility-scale PV projects from the development phase through construction support by building the technical, commercial, and delivery case for innovation projects involving new products, pilots, demonstrations, and early deployment initiatives.

The role also interfaces with engineering teams in the US, Mexico, Brazil, Europe, and India, as well as internal Sales, Project Management, and R&D teams globally.

While the role is a 12-month contract, it is anticipated that the role will become permanent.

Your key responsibilities

• To support the pursuit, development, and delivery of innovation initiatives that accelerate deployment of new products and technologies in the Australian market.
• To lead the pursuit of government grant and innovation funding opportunities relevant to Nextpower’s technologies in Australia, including ARENA and similar programs.
• To build the technical, commercial, and delivery case for innovation projects involving new products, pilots, demonstrations, and early deployment initiatives.
• To manage funded projects and innovation initiatives through planning, execution, governance, milestone reporting, and close-out.
• To support commercialisation pathways for emerging technologies by converting innovation concepts into structured, fundable, and executable projects.
• Occasional sites visit to monitor innovation project delivery.

Requirements

Essential

• An Electrical Engineering degree qualification.
• Experience in project engineering, technical project delivery, or innovation program delivery within energy, infrastructure, renewables, or industrial technology.
• Electrical exposure, particularly in eBOS, DC systems, inverter, or power conversion technologies.
• Strong technical writing and proposal development capability, including preparation of structured project documentation.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional teams and managing multiple workstreams to deadlines.

Preferred

• Government grant application or funded program experience in Australia.
• Familiarity with ARENA or similar clean energy funding pathways.
• Experience with milestone-based reporting, governance, and knowledge sharing obligations.
• Exposure to utility-scale solar, storage, or adjacent clean energy technologies.
• Experience with pilots, demonstrations, or early-stage product deployment.
• Understanding of the Australian energy market and innovation landscape.

Personal attributes

• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and organisational skills.
• Ability to work across early-stage opportunity development and detailed project execution.
• Commercial awareness and ability to connect technical solutions with customer, market, and funding drivers.
• Strong bias for action and ownership.
• Able to move between strategy, technical detail, and delivery execution.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and shaping early-stage concepts into executable plans.
• Technically credible and able to engage effectively with engineering, commercial, and external stakeholders.
• Structured, disciplined, and outcomes-focused.
• Collaborative and able to influence across functions without direct authority
• Motivated by innovation, deployment, and practical commercial outcomes.
• A creative and innovative mindset.
• Passion for renewable energy and solar power.
• Australian citizen or permanent resident.

What’s On Offer

• Competitive salary + super.
• Bonus, annual awards of equity, private health insurance.
• Career growth with a rapidly expanding global company.
• Be part of Australia’s renewable energy transition.

How to Apply

Apply now via our website with your resume

Job Ref: FWG11022

Freshwater Group

Freshwater Group is a best practice renewable energy recruitment business that focuses on all renewable and low carbon emission, energy efficiency and disruptive clean technology businesses as well as energy infrastructure, storage, and management.

Freshwater Group: Great People Better Outcomes

Freshwater Group is committed to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity. We encourage applications from candidates with culturally diverse backgrounds, including Indigenous Australians. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or religion.