Chemical Engineer/ Metallurgical Engineer
Title: Chemical Engineer/ Metallurgical Engineer
Client: Rio Tinto
Location: Salt Lake City
Fulltime role
About the Role
We are seeking a Principal Engineer Mining to lead strategic studies supporting the future of the Kennecott underground mine. Using your knowledge and experience in mining engineering, operation and mining project development, you will solve complex technical problems within a multidisciplinary study and project execution team, ensure design consistency across the different areas of the mine, interface with different internal and external stakeholders, oversee the development of engineering design and execution, while maintaining a strong focus on quality management and ensure that the design meets the company functional requirements, corporate, state and federal standards. You will foster an equal opportunity, collaborative, safety and efficiency focused culture at the workplace, coach, and train staff.
You will report to the Manager Underground Technical and work collaboratively with stake holders to bring several orebodies from concept to feasibility study approval. You will be responsible for:
• Producing mine plans which are optimized for value and / or copper production across a variety of orebodies and the entire value chain.
• Developing project assumptions from first principles as well as benchmarking against similar projects and ongoing underground development
• Supporting mining engineering, reviewing and evaluating progress reporting, and troubleshooting. This includes engineering to enable procurement support for delivery of the plan. Taking ownership of procurement packages and scopes of work forming the basis of contracts.
• Working with a broad group of stakeholders to ensure plans satisfy requirements of several functional groups including underground execution, infrastructure engineering, open pit mining, processing, and tailings.
• Working with infrastructure engineers to collaborate in the development of fixed facilities to support optimized mine plans.
• Interprets internal or external project delivery issues to recommend courses of action designed to eliminate potential execution problems and to improve construction efficiency and control construction costs.
• Consider and recommend technologies to be deployed to enhance lateral / vertical development productivity, production, and Life of Mine planning activities.
• Prepare business cases, assess trade-offs and make recommendations, document findings in support of project studies.
• Contributes to successful project completion by participating hands-on in the resolution of issues such as conflicting design requirements, unsuitability of standard materials, and complex coordination requirements.
• Transfers the knowledge obtained during project execution to operation planning tasks.
• Maintaining relationships with stakeholders to support a culture of inclusion and collaboration, participation and improvement and addressing issues with impact beyond own team based on knowledge of related disciplines.
• Actively participate and demonstrate leadership for a strong safety-culture based project and study execution.
• Lead and contribute to assurance reviews with industry experts to ensure projects are well communicated with the goal of advancing projects through to execution.
What you'll bring
• Tertiary degree qualification in mining engineering or relevant discipline
• At least 10 years underground mining experience with a strong technical background
• A commitment to the safety of yourself, your team, and the greater Kennecott operation
• Visionary, adaptive and people-centric leadership that is based on Care, Courage, and Curiosity
• Technical and operational understanding of underground mine operating practices and the impact of the mining operations on value chain outcomes
• In-depth understanding of engineering and a track record of generating practical and innovative solutions to multi-faceted technical challenges
• Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate and influence with integrity
• Ability to leverage capability across broad stakeholder groups
• Broad understanding of project management, engineering management, multi-discipline engineering practices, and construction practices.
• Advantageous to have experience with Deswik CAD, Sched, SO, UGDB, and SOT (or similar)
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office tools, mining focused design software (e.g. AutoCAD, Vulcan, Deswik) understanding of development schedule and cost control tools and reporting, good communication and collaboration with a multinational project execution team.
• Exposure to and understanding of the Lean in Construction principle.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to foster and inclusive, collaborative work environment
What we Offer
We are committed to providing our employees with a generous benefits package. Be recognized for your contribution, your thinking, your hard work, and go home knowing you've helped the world progress, we provide:
• A safety-focused and inclusive working environment
• Advantageous salary package with annual cash incentive awards (STIP) for eligible employees
• Access to top-tier family-friendly health programs including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, and various voluntary benefits.
• Excellent retirement plan including up to 6% defined company contribution; Generous 401k matching program
• Generous Rio Tinto employee share program, which allows you to purchase Rio Tinto Company shares.
• Comprehensive leave policies which cover all moments that matter in life: PTO (paid time off), paid holidays, and paid bereavement leave.
• A favorable child-caregiver leave program (Up to 100% salary top-up)
• Discount programs for leisure purposes and access to Virgin Pulse with incentives supporting your wellbeing
• Ongoing Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for you and your family; to help in addressing educational opportunities, addiction treatment, depression, stress, domestic issues, financial management, and legal concerns.
• Our team and industry experts are here to support and work with you to explore your learning potential and career goals
About Rio Tinto
Every idea, every innovation, every little thing the world calls 'progress' begins with a first step, and someone willing to take it: explorers, inventors, entrepreneurs. Pioneers.
For more than 150 years, Rio Tinto has been a company of pioneers - generations of people spanning the globe, all with the grit and vision to produce materials essential to human progress.