Senior Geotechnical Engineer

• 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

About the role

Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

We are looking for a Senior Geotechnical Engineer to provide geotechnical engineering expertise for lateral development, vertical development and longhole stoping at the Kennecott Utah Copper Underground Project. This is a key technical role will be responsible for consistent application of geotechnical engineering standards together with good engineering practice to ensure the quality of the excavation and support installation meet Rio Tinto standards. The role will be a member of the operations team at the project site.

Reporting to the Principal Advisor Geosciences you will be:

• Manage KUC Underground Geotechnical Team
• Coordinate and manage consultants and third-party geotechnical contractors required for executing the plan/schedule
• Conduct stability assessments, rock mass assessments and develop ground support requirements and standards for the site as required,
• Coordinate the review and updating of the Ground Control Management Plan,
• Monitor and report compliance to the Ground Control Management Plan and ensure installed ground support complies with the design specified.
• Observe, record, communicate, and address issues relating to ground support installation and performance.
• Collaborate with site operations and construction personnel to provide relevant and appropriate advice required for project development and construction to be completed safely and within authorized budget cost and schedule.
• Ensure Geotechnical data is collected as required/scheduled for the purpose of rock mass characterization (mapping and logging), ground support quality control and monitoring (excavation stability and ground support performance).
• Provide QA/QC on all Geotechnical data collection and setup and maintain the databases for this information.
• Coordinate the collection of rock samples for testing and provide guidance on selection, sample preparation, and testing specifications/methods.
• Contribute to the installation, commissioning, and maintenance of all geotechnical monitoring systems such that they provide accurate and timely information for ensuring the stability of major excavations, and monitoring the performance of ground support systems.
• Ensure the operations team, construction team and EPCM contractor are provided with timely and accurate information required for executing the underground scope.
• Identifying best practice through experience, diverse learning opportunities, and accepting guidance and mentorship of the geotechnical engineers and technicians to prepare for future roles.

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 preferred
• Relevant industry training in the fields of Geotechnical or Geological Engineering
• Core underground mining geotechnical engineering experience, preferably with Longhole stoping experience.
• Excavation design and sequencing experience.
• Ground support design and QA/QC for tunnels and stopes.
• Backfill design (CAF and paste) and QA/QC.
• Numerical modelling experience.
• Experience in rock mass characterization which includes rock mass data acquisition (through core logging, face mapping).
• Geotechnical monitoring - system installation, data acquisition and data analysis experience.
• Proficiency in mine planning software (For example: Leapfrog, Vulcan, Deswik or GEMS, etc).
• Strong collaboration and management skills.

What we offer

We are committed to providing our employees witha 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 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.