Senior Geotechnical Engineer (Long-range)

• Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and metals company where safety comes first
• Be part of a dynamic, high performing team with excellent career development opportunities
• Provide technical input into studies and future mine development
• Competitive Salary and Benefits

About the role

Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

We are looking for a Senior Geotechnical Engineer in the long-range Geotech working in Salt Lake City (Utah). This position is part of the Geotechnical team within the Minerals Technical Group at Bingham Canyon Mine (BCM). The Minerals geotechnical team supports the development and implementation of medium- and long-term mine plans as well as supporting the operational teams in managing and mitigating geotechnical risk. 

This function is critical in supporting the geotechnical and hydrogeologic efforts to maintain stable pit and dump slopes for LOM and beyond. Work delivered will assist in definition of optimum future pit slopes, so as to maximize and protect the value of the mineable Bingham Canyon mineral resources.

This position coordinates geotechnical support to long range and growth projects. The focus is on work to understand and analyze geotechnical conditions at BCM in order to manage potential stability risks and potential upside opportunities. Key to this is the development and maintenance of geotechnical orebody knowledge. 

This position interacts closely with mine planning to ensure future geotechnical risks are managed in line with Rio Tinto policies and standards. Ensuring that operational slope designs comply with geotechnical acceptance criteria, resulting in optimal economic and safety outcomes for the business, is an important part of this. Development and mentoring of geotechnical engineers is also a key function of this role.

You will be expected to:

• Perform geotechnical engineering tasks to ensure safety and business objectives are achieved This includes but is not limited to -

• Perform and facilitate risk assessments
• Develop growth study documentation and prepare material for technical reviews
• Working with short-range and mid-range geotechnical teams to collect, analyze and model rock mass and monitoring data to develop orebody knowledge for purposes of excavation stability and mine design optimization.
• Maintain, review and continuously improve geotechnical design processes
• Provide support to mid- and short-range geotechnical teams as appropriate.

• Undertake stability assessments using industry (Rio Tinto) best practice methods and processes.
• Implement study scopes by managing schedule and budget. Provide technical direction and feedback on internal and consultant geotechnical design and analysis
• Orebody knowledge activities, including geotechnical drillhole design, core logging QA/QC coordination, database maintenance
• Strong coordination with external reviewers including independent reviewers
• Regular interaction with product group technical for major hazard management and with global Rio Tinto geotech community via working groups
• Assist team members performance and growth through leadership and admin, such as coaching, O3s, check-ins, development discussions, budget management

What you’ll bring 

To succeed in this role, you will have:

• Undergraduate degree in Geotechnical, Geological, Mining or Civil Engineering is essential
• Master degree would be a preferred
• Relevant industry training in the fields of Geotechnical or Geological Engineering
• 5 years’ relevant operating and technical experience, ideally including:

• Experience in open pit mine environment.
• Experience with slope monitoring systems.
• Data collection methods including mapping, logging, monitoring, drill programs, etc.
• Rock characterization experience
• Pit excavation and dump slope stability analysis and design
• Ability to perform kinematic, deterministic, probabilistic analysis.
• Stability analysis methods and tools/software (RocScience, FLAC etc.)
• Risk assessment and hazard management
• Understanding the impact of geotechnical recommendations on the safety and slope performance of an open pit
• Project management (definition, planning and implementation).
• Database management including design, QA/QC monitoring and analysis.
• Principles of dewatering/depressurization
• Clear written and verbal communication skills
• Competent MineSight (or similar 3D modelling package) user.

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

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.

Where you’ll be working

Our Kennecott mine is a world-class, fully integrated copper mining operation, including a concentrator, smelter and refinery, located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. We produce copper, precious metals including gold and silver, molybdenum and sulfuric acid. Kennecott has been mining and processing minerals from the rich ore body of the Bingham Canyon Mine since 1903, and is one of the top producing mines in the world, comprising approximately 11 percent of U.S. annual copper production.

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.