Lyttelton | Full-time or flexible part-time
RobLawMax Recruitment is exclusively partnering with Lyttelton Engineering to appoint a technically minded Proposals Engineer who will take the lead on major tenders and proposals across its industrial and mechanical engineering projects.
This is not a traditional estimating role. Sitting between engineering, project delivery and business development, you will help shape practical technical solutions and turn them into clear, compelling and commercially sound proposals.
There is flexibility around the background of the person appointed. You could be an engineer who enjoys concept development and communicating technical ideas, or come from proposals, tendering, estimating or pre-construction within an engineering or industrial environment. You do not need to tick every box.
The work
Lyttelton Engineering works across a diverse range of sectors, including:
- Dairy and food processing
- Pharmaceutical manufacturing
- Timber processing
- Wastewater treatment
- Healthcare, universities and institutional facilities
- Marine infrastructure
- Energy and industrial processing
Projects can include design-and-build heat plant installations, decarbonisation and energy-efficiency upgrades, steam and process-heating improvements, hydro plant retrofits, wastewater treatment upgrades, plant overhauls and marine engineering projects.
This variety provides the opportunity to work on technically interesting proposals across different industries, clients and project types.
The opportunity
Working closely with Lyttelton Engineering’s engineering, operational and commercial teams, you will:
- Lead and coordinate major tenders, bids and proposals
- Review client requirements and help develop practical, well-considered solutions
- Produce high-quality non-price content, including methodologies, programmes and capability information
- Coordinate pricing input from internal specialists, suppliers and subcontractors
- Contribute to concept development, including CAD or 3D modelling where this forms part of your skill set
- Engage with clients, undertake site visits and clarify technical requirements
- Maintain visibility of upcoming opportunities and the forward-work pipeline
- Hand successful tenders over to the engineering and project-delivery teams
- Help improve proposal, estimating and supporting ERP systems
For a suitably qualified engineer, the position could also include involvement in post-award design. Alternatively, someone with stronger proposals or pre-construction experience will have access to considerable technical expertise from within the business.
About you
You will bring relevant experience from mechanical engineering, industrial projects, design and build, tendering, estimating, pre-construction or a related technical environment.
Lyttelton Engineering is particularly interested in people who can offer a combination of:
- Experience developing or coordinating complex technical proposals
- Strong written communication and document-production skills
- The ability to understand a client’s requirements and identify opportunities to add value
- Sufficient technical understanding to work confidently with engineers, operational teams and clients
- Commercial awareness without necessarily being a specialist estimator
- Strong planning, coordination and deadline-management skills
- A practical, creative and collaborative approach
An engineering qualification and experience with CAD or 3D modelling would be advantageous, but Lyttelton Engineering is open to candidates with different combinations of technical, commercial and proposal experience.
Why Lyttelton Engineering?
Lyttelton Engineering is an established Canterbury engineering business with extensive in-house design, fabrication, installation and servicing capability.
Based at its distinctive dockside facility in Lyttelton, you will work closely with experienced engineering and project teams and have genuine influence over the projects the business pursues and how its solutions are developed and presented.
The position may be structured as either a permanent full-time role or a flexible part-time appointment for the right person.
This search is being managed exclusively by RobLawMax Recruitment. Please apply through this advertisement or contact Peter Henderson at RobLawMax on 027 441 9300 for a confidential discussion.

