Senior Operations Engineer

Job description:

Join Western Power as a Senior Operations Engineer and play a pivotal role in shaping the performance and reliability of the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).

Based in the heart of Perth's CBD, you'll apply your specialist engineering expertise to plan and manage network access and operations, ensuring the system runs securely, efficiently and cost-effectively.

Your Role in Action

• Apply specialist engineering expertise to assess and manage outage requests, deliver operational impact and risk assessment reports, and coordinate with AEMO to ensure the SWIS operates safely and securely in accordance with Western Power policies and procedures.

• Provide expert advice to internal stakeholders on outage assessments and operational planning, building strong relationships across Western Power.

• Collaborate with external partners - including AEMO, independent power producers and private customers - to enable safe, compliant and secure network operations during outage planning and execution.

• Lead the development of contingency plans and explore alternative methodologies to minimise operational, security and regulatory risk.

• Investigate safety, reliability and security issues affecting Network Operations, ensuring awareness and continuous improvement across teams.

• Mentor and train new starters, graduates and peers, contributing to technical capability development across Network Operations.

• Review and enhance Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), guidelines and processes to strengthen system safety, reliability and compliance with service benchmarks.

• Verify network changes and customer connections to ensure operational readiness and accuracy across 
  SCADA
  , ratings and linked operational systems.

• Conduct and report on complex network incidents, contributing to performance targets and regulatory compliance.

• Provide real-time engineering support for complex operational challenges to maintain secure and reliable power system operation.

• Recommend outage windows that minimise security risk and assess root causes for cancellations to improve efficiency and reliability.

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with key stakeholders across Western Power, AEMO, Synergy, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and major customers.

• Flexibly support multiple work streams, including outage coordination, planning, and real-time operations — and provide coverage for Team Leader roles as required.

What Makes You a Great Fit

• Degree in Engineering

• A seasoned professional with a minimum of 9+ year's broad and extensive knowledge and expertise in electrical or power engineering environment with substantial experience in transmission planning or network operation.

• Strong electrical engineering knowledge with respect to HV/LV construction, maintenance and commissioning practices, power station, protection, SCADA, and communications systems and/or practices across transmission and distribution networks.

• Experience in analysing transmission and distribution system security issues with recommendation for actions

• Competent in transmission planning using DIgSILENT PowerFactory.

• Competent subject matter expertise and technical leadership skills and well-developed written, verbal and communications skills.

• Strong proficiency in computer systems e.g. DM, Microsoft Office, Power Point, and load flow and fault level studies.

• Competent customer and stakeholder engagement skills.

By joining Western Power,
you will contribute to powering a cleaner energy future. We are dedicated to fostering career development and promoting a healthy work-life balance, empowering you to drive innovation as we develop a network that will serve the Western Australian community for generations. You will also benefit from a range of perks and opportunities, including:

• Over 50% of our employment opportunities are driven by career progression.

• Flexible work arrangements to support part time work, working hours and working from home arrangements.

• The opportunity to purchase up to four weeks of additional leave per year.

• Access to salary packaging, social club activities, and discounted health insurance and gym membership.

• An award-winning employee recognition and benefits programme.

• An innovative team culture that's enabling the transition to renewable energy and decarbonisation.

• In addition to standard leave, enjoy three wellness leave days each year.

• Access to end-of-trip facilities at our Perth office and South Metro Depot, perfect for cyclists.

• 22 weeks paid parental leave and 5 days of First Nations cultural leave to support family and cultural connections.

Applications close on 17 November 2025.

We value diversity and inclusivity, encouraging applications from all backgrounds, including women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and LGBTQIA+ communities. As a WORK180-endorsed employer for women, we are proud of our commitment to inclusion. You can learn more about this through our Reconciliation Action Plan and Disability Access and Inclusion Plan.

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