Principal Engineer Mining

• Grow yourself within a global resources company that prioritizes mutually amazing relationships
• Play a defining role for the future of the Copper product group
• Live in beautiful Salt Lake City with access to excellent services and recreation opportunities

About the Role

Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

Copper’s strategy is based on continually improving its cost competitiveness, ensuring the safe and environmentally sound management of its operations and the realization of the full potential of its people, technology, and physical assets.

We are seeking a Principal Engineer Mining to facilitate the implementation and sustainability of production planning initiatives for our Copper assets, support due diligence activities as we look to grow our Copper business, and provide technical expertise and support for Copper Technical initiatives, strategies, and technologies.

You will work in close collaboration and alignment with the Copper Operations, Copper Technical disciplines, Copper Finance team, Copper Sales & Marketing, Rio Tinto Center of Excellence (CoE), and the Rio Tinto Safe Production System (RTSPS) teams.

The role will allow you to develop your Mining Engineering expertise, business acumen, communication and stakeholder management skills, and prepare you for future opportunities within our Copper business unit and Rio Tinto.

You will report to the Principal Engineer – Surface Mining and work collaboratively with stakeholders at all Copper assets. You will be responsible for:

• Implementing and sustaining the updated Copper methodology to the production planning process across all our Copper assets while working collaboratively with the site planning owners to deliver an optimized and sustainable solution which improves the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the production planning process
• Maintaining relationships with stakeholders to support a culture of inclusion and collaboration, improvement, and addressing issues with impact beyond own team
• Liaising with the Surface Mining CoE for Rio Tinto mine planning framework initiatives and application to the Copper assets
• Managing off-site contractor(s)
• Investigating and exploring opportunities for improvement in mine planning systems, software packages, and processes at our Copper assets
• Supporting Due Diligence evaluations with generation of optimized pit shells and mine production schedules as well as providing technical evaluation of the potential targets
• Contributing to project and technology reviews and providing technical guidance for mining related projects
• Actively participating and demonstrating leadership for a strong safety-culture

What you’ll bring

• Tertiary degree qualification in Mining Engineering or relevant discipline
• ~10 years of open pit mining experience with a strong technical background
• A strong commitment to safety for yourself and the Copper Teams
• In-depth understanding of the mining business and operational processes across the copper value chain
• General understanding and basic technical knowledge of underground mining
• Life of Mine planning and pit optimization experience
• Strong experience with Microsoft Office tools and mining design software (i.e., MinePlan 3D, Vulcan), advantageous for experience with Deswik and/or other mine planning systems
• Familiarity with PowerBI
• Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate and influence (with integrity) across broad stakeholder groups
• Ability to work collaboratively across global teams as well as independently to deliver business wide initiatives
• Practical and pragmatic problem-solving skills with a result focused approach and self-motivation
• Visionary, adaptive and people-centric leadership that is based on Care, Courage, and Curiosity

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

Where you will be working

The role will be based in our Salt Lake City, Utah office, and will have a global responsibility, some domestic and international travel will be expected.

The Rio Tinto Copper group is a global organization with operations in the U.S. (Kennecott Utah Copper and Resolution), Mongolia (Oyu Tolgoi), Western Australia (Winu Cu-Au project), and Africa (Simandou). The portfolio also includes interests in a non-managed joint venture in Chile, in addition to exploration & evaluation interests and other minor investments. 

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive. We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win and meet opportunities.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQ community, mature workers, Veterans and active-duty armed forces, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

Rio Tinto participates in E-Verify to confirm work authorization. Please visit http://www.uscis.gov/ for more information.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable being themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, or anything else that makes us different.