Principal Engineer Tailings

Principal-Level Tailings & Water Dams Engineering Opportunities

• Great opportunity to join a global mining organisation offering outstanding personal development & career opportunities
• Provide technical leadership and expertise in promoting technical excellence and risk reduction
• Permanent full-time roles based in Brisbane, Australia

About the Roles

Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

We have an opportunity for a Principal Tailings professional in our Copper Technical Team. The role will be reporting to the lead Principal Tailings Engineer, Copper and work as part of the wider Copper technical team. The role will support the lead Principal tailings Engineer and focus on providing expert tailings storage facility (TSF) design and management support, as well as guidance and direction to our operations and site and product group leadership teams.

The role is a great opportunity for a highly collaborative and motivated individual to participate in Rio Tinto technical initiatives and provide tailings management and geotechnical across the tailings lifecycle from design to closure, for the Rio Tinto Copper Product Group. Responsibilities of the role include:

• Lead operational and technical support, governance across the product group by managing a small to medium team of professionals and technical specialists
• Champion safe and sustainable tailings management within the product group
• Reporting to the lead Principal Tailings Engineer:

• • Support effective risk management through implementation and assurance of the Tailings Management System
  • Support Development of technical and operational standards
  • Facilitate and provide input to working groups
  • Facilitate reporting across the product group and keep senior leadership, including the Accountable Executive informed
  • Provide technical review of major changes and project deliverables, where required
  • Develop relationships with and serve as a technical resource to Rio Tinto Copper assets
  • Identify and demonstrate technical and operational improvement opportunities
  • Provide approval of study deliverables

• Maintain an active and engaged community of internal and external stakeholders
• Manage relationships with external partners, including the Engineer of Record companies

What you’ll bring

• Minimum of 10 years industry experience including considerable experience in design, construction, operations and closure of tailings and water storage facilities
• Extensive knowledge of tailings storage facility and dams design, construction and operations
• In depth knowledge of soil mechanics from a dam safety perspective and expertise in the safe operation and monitoring of tailing facilities
• Expertise in geotechnical investigations, analyses and designs relating to tailings and water storage facilities and associated infrastructure.
• Expertise in reviewing geotechnical design reports from quality and corporate assurance prospective.
• Demonstrated leadership of technical teams and strong stakeholder engagement
• Demonstrated ability to work within large multi-disciplinary teams to consistently achieve safety and operational outcomes and delivery of targets
• Demonstrated ability to work with peers in different geographic locations
• Strong oral and written communication
• The ability to work constructively with all levels of the organisation
• Tertiary qualifications in civil engineering, engineering geology or related discipline with significant experience in tailings management
• Deep understanding of relevant standards and guidelines, including GISTM
• Experience in risk assessment and risk management principles.

It will also be beneficial if you have:

• Master’s Degree or PhD in Civil/Geotechnical Engineering would be highly regarded
• Membership of relevant professional organizations.
• Experience leading tailings, heap leach or other related programs
• A well-developed network across the tailings industry
• Experience communicating with senior leaders.

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
• Superannuation Contributions
• Generous Rio Tinto employee share program, which allows you to purchase Rio Tinto Company shares. 
• Comprehensive medical benefits including subsidized private health insurance for employees and immediate family
• Attractive share ownership plan
• Company provided insurance cover
• Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions
• Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical wellbeing support
• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)
• Exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, cars, retail and more)
• Possible domestic relocation assistance

Where you’ll be working

Rio Tinto’s Development and Technology group engages and partner with Rio Tinto businesses across 73 operating sites, 35 countries and 6 continents to help create value, manage risk and innovate for the future, whilst providing range of support and services functions, to ensure technical optimisation, establish and transfer best practices, develop strategies to drive performance improvements, and ensure that technical innovation provides a source of long-term competitive advantage.

The Rio Tinto Copper group is a global organisation with operations and projects in the U.S. (Kennecott Utah Copper, "RTKC", and Resolution Copper Project), Mongolia (Oyu Tolgoi), Simandou (Guinea) and Western Australia (Winu Cu-Au project). 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 situations and meet opportunities.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be 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.

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