The Role
The acquisition of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines is an historic and transformative endeavour for Australia. The whole-of-nation effort to safely and securely deliver the cutting edge nuclear-powered submarine program (NPS Program) will transform Australia’s economic and national security landscape for decades to come.
As part of this endeavour is the construction of unique and special facilities and infrastructure required to provide maintenance and repair capability to our nuclear powered submarines. The most complex type of maintenance to be delivered is that which is provided from a dedicated nuclear powered submarine shipyard (NPS-SY) which will allow intrusive and deep level maintenance to be undertaken.
The ASA’s Henderson Infrastructure Branch (Nuclear Powered Submarine) head quartered in Rockingham, Western Australia is charged with ensuring that our build partners deliver an NPS-SY to meet exacting requirements. As the Director Operations within the HIB team you will be responsible and accountable for the oversight, management, communications and quality of all needs and requirements as authorized by the Director General ASA, on behalf of the Agency.
The delivery of a coherent, integrated and clear master requirements set to our infrastructure build and construction partners is fundamental in the success of delivering an NPS-SY that is fit for purpose.
Additionally, the Director Operations will work across the agency and with our partner Commonwealth entities and individual companies to ensure that the planning for the eventual operationalization of the NPS-SY meets all nuclear regulatory, safety and statutory standards and leading expectations. This is a key piece of work that demands a thorough operational understanding in the asset management and sustainment of large complex platforms, so as to ensure the facilities, infrastructure and services that are designed to support such platforms are indeed fit to do so.
About our Team
As part of the Australian Submarine Agency you will be working at the cutting edge of capability delivery, supported by professionalisation pathways so you can continue to develop, along with unique and varied career opportunities. Our people are capable, committed and diverse. We support an inclusive culture that emphasises respect and collaboration and prioritises safety and security. Our greatest asset is our people.
We offer flexible working arrangements and a range of formal and informal professional development opportunities. The HIB team is designed to be nimble and responsive to issues which may emerge during design or build, that may impact on cost, quality or schedule as we drive towards delivering an NPS-SY. As a small team, our focus is on assurance and as a forcing function to ensure that all responsible parties align with schedule and quality needs. We work as a program office and hence we pay much attention on performance measurement and risk management.
Our Ideal Candidate
We are a dynamic organisation seeking employees who are agile, innovative and energised by high-paced work. We are seeking highly motivated and collaborative minded people who will have the opportunity to contribute to a once in a lifetime program. Noting the technical nature of facilities and infrastructure construction and delivery, the ideal candidate for this role needs not be of an engineering background, but must have had experience in a complex technological environment.
Whether as a project manager, a sustainment manager, an engineer or a purely commercial background, such background skills would be considered ideal. Moreover a background in construction and building would be desirable but not essential. The critical characteristics of a suitable candidate for this role would include:
* Analytical and able to quickly assess gaps in the development of needs and requirements statements against known operational concepts.
* Proven experience in capability management, and a demonstrated understanding of how that underpins requirements development and compliance.
* Understands and works to Standards.
* Has a systems engineering approach to problem isolation and then problem resolution.
* Communicative, with excellent written skills.
* Leads. Plans. Measures.
Application Closing Date: Monday 20 April 2026
For further information please review the job information pack, reference ASA/01710/26 on https://defencecareers.nga.net.au/?jati=2F7DE8C1-C57B-ED8D-DCBD-ECC3AB206243