Senior Data Scientist – Nuton
- Be part of a pioneering team advancing Rio Tinto's innovative heap leaching technology.
- Drive sustainable solutions while accelerating your career growth.
- Enjoy the unmatched quality of life and work in Utah, ranked #1 overall by U.S. News & World Report.
About the Role
Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.
As a Data Scientist at Nuton, you won’t just model data – you’ll harness AI to reinvent how the world thinks about mining. You’ll play a key role in delivering advanced analytics and predictive modeling, leading to smarter, more sustainable mineral processing. In this fast-growing venture, your work will directly contribute to making mining cleaner, more responsible, and technology-driven, helping redefine one of the world's most essential industries for a better future.
This is a rare opportunity to help build the AI backbone of a fast-scaling venture from the ground up and influence the growth of our team and practices. You’ll have the freedom to experiment, the space to innovate, and the responsibility to make your mark on both our technology and our culture. Join us at the intersection of mining, sustainability, and AI — where your work could help to rewire global supply chains for a cleaner future.
Nuton, Rio Tinto’s latest entrepreneurial venture, is a suite of innovative, bio-heap leaching technologies that harness natural processes to unlock new sources of critical metals. Nuton not only pushes the boundaries of copper recovery but also sets a new standard for sustainability in mining. Learn more about Nuton here.
Your key responsibilities will include:
- Collaborate in an Agile, startup style environment with software and data engineers, product owners, and mining experts to turn ideas into solutions that scale fast and deliver real impact.
- Dive into massive, complex, and often untapped datasets, from sensors in the field to advanced mineral processing systems, and transform them into actionable insights.
- Develop predictive and prescriptive models with machine learning, AI, and statistics to solve real-world business challenges.
- Communicate insights and recommendations through clear visualizations, dashboards, and presentations.
- Push the boundaries of AI in ways rarely seen in mining, experimenting with cutting-edge AI technologies, to solve previously insurmountable problems.
- Shape the culture of a startup by taking ownership, thinking independently, and iterating quickly.
About You
- You are a builder at heart – someone who thrives on transforming raw complexity into robust and elegant systems that make a real-world difference. You’re comfortable with pipelines, cloud platforms, and distributed data, but what really drives you is turning data into tangible impact at scale.
- You are passionate about software development best practices, including versioning, testing, CI/CD, APIs, and MLOps, and have familiarity with containerization and orchestration.
- You bring a startup mindset: action-oriented, creative, resilient, and always learning. Ambiguity excites you, giving you the chance to flex your entrepreneurial muscle and strong problem-solving skills to pioneer new solutions.
- You love to collaborate, share knowledge openly, and communicate with clarity –because you know data only reaches full potential when it’s accessible and understood.
- You have a background (5+ years of experience preferred) and a Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related field, and a passion for applying your skills to real-world challenges.
Benefits offered:
- Competitive salary with performance-based bonuses.
- Retirement options that include a 6% company contribution to a defined plan, 401(k) matching, and a share ownership program.
- Generous time-off opportunities include paid time off, holidays, bereavement leave, and four months of parental leave for all parents.
- Comprehensive health plans covering medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and additional voluntary benefits.
- Access to wellness initiatives, including employee discounts and an employee assistance program for confidential support.
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 situations and meet opportunities.
Every Voice Matters
Rio Tinto is committed to equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel safe, respected and valued. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome but are essential to our success. We treat all our people fairly and with dignity.
Rio Tinto participates in E- Verify to confirm work authorization. Please visit http://www.ucis.gov/ for more information.
JOB_POSTING-3-10581
Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminum, 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.
Rio Tinto is committed to equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel safe, respected and valued. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome but are essential to our success. We treat all our people fairly and with dignity.
Rio Tinto participates in E- Verify to confirm work authorization. Please visit http://www.ucis.gov/ for more information.
Take your leadership career to the next level.
Where can Rio Tinto take you?
You’re passionate and ambitious with tremendous career aspirations. The breadth and growth of our organisation empowers you to define your ideal career path.
Take a look at Katie’s career journey
- 2022 - PresentManager Projects - Energy DevelopmentBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
- 2021Superintendent Operations CentreBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
- 2020Development / Drill and Blast SuperintendentPilbara, Western Australia
- 2019Deputy Quarry ManagerPilbara, Western Australia
- 2018Development SupervisorPilbara, Western Australia
- 2017Senior Engineer of Drill, Blast and SurveyPilbara, Western Australia
- 2016Production EngineerPilbara, Western Australia
- 2015Mine scheduler - 2 week plannerPilbara, Western Australia
- 2014Drill and Blast EngineerPilbara, Western Australia
- 2012Graduate Mining EngineerPilbara, Western Australia
Working at Rio Tinto
Help us deliver the materials that make human progress possible.
The plane you’re flying in just landed. You fire up your phone and get your laptop out of the overhead bin. Immediately, you’re in work mode – thousands of miles from your office. Do you ever stop to think about all the materials that make life in the 21st century possible? At Rio Tinto, we discover, develop and deliver the materials that drive human progress. When you work with us, you’ll experience advantages you won’t find anywhere else.
Our application process
01
Apply
The first thing you’ll need to do is apply to the role. You can do this with your LinkedIn profile or you can upload your resume. We’ll also ask you to complete a few questions before you submit your application.
02
Undergo assessments
Our assessments are designed to help us work out whether you are suitable for the role. We will let you know which ones you’ll need to complete.
03
Interview(s)
Our interviews could be in person or online. It’s a great opportunity for us to get to know you a bit better, answer any of your questions and talk about the exciting career opportunity you have applied for.
04
Offers and checks
At this stage, we will let you know if you have been successful. If you have been, we’ll need to conduct a couple of checks, such as a background or security check. You may also need to do a medical assessment depending on the role you have applied for.
05
Join the Rio Tinto team
Once the checks have been completed, we’ll be in touch to talk with you about your start date and answer any questions you may have before you start with us.