Engineering Student - Bitumen Production Reliability

The Opportunity JOB DESCRIPTION

Join our team at one of our Oil Sands operations and dive into the world of Plant Reliability Engineering!

As part of our Plant Operations Reliability team, you'll work on critical assets like conveyor belts, pumps, and compressors, and electrical distribution systems, conducting failure analysis investigations and refining equipment strategies for long-term safety and performance. This hands-on role offers a chance to deepen your engineering knowledge, tackle design challenges, including those related to instrumentation and control systems, and contribute to our world-class mining operations.

If you are mechanically or electrically inclined and passionate about machinery and instrumentation, this opportunity is for you!

- Job location: Fort McMurray, AB – Albian Sands or Horizon

- Shift schedule: 4 days on, 3 days off, working 10 hours per shift

- Term lengths: 8 or 12 months

- Term starts: January or May 2026

- Safety sensitive position: Yes

Key Accountabilities

- Collaborate with Bitumen Production and our Upgrading and Utilities Engineering Team in activities relating to operations, maintenance or construction support

- Understand process plant operation and equipment

- Collaborate with project and operations teams to ensure proper alignment with operations needs and requirements

- Review assets and data to see where we can improve the frequency of maintenance and be able to improve our uptime on equipment

- Participate in developing cost effective strategies for equipment that is problematic in the field

- Assist engineers in producing maintenance work packages

- Gather field measurements & data to assist engineers

- Focus on safety, cost reduction and reliability

- Assist engineers by calculating weekly and monthly reliability KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

- Maintain and troubleshoot Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems

- Ensure optimal performance of critical electrical components to drive efficient operations

What You Bring To The Role

- Currently enrolled in bachelor’s degree program in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering (Preferred; other disciplines will be considered)

- Good understanding of rotating equipment components, pumps, pressure vessels, pressure piping & valves

- Good work ethic and positive attitude

- Strong mechanical aptitude

- Experience in computer programming/coding such as Python, VBA or SQL is considered an asset

- Possess a valid Class 5 Alberta driver’s license or equivalent out of province license with a reasonably clean driver abstract

- A pre-employment drug screening test must be successfully completed

What We Offer

- Competitive salary

- Quality camp facilities with multiple amenities available

- Company Sponsored Fly-In/Fly-Out from Calgary or Edmonton, Alberta

- May be eligible for relocation to Calgary, Edmonton or Fort McMurray pursuant to Canadian Natural’s Relocation Policy

- Multiple volunteer opportunities within the community

Check out our

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS overview to see what we have to offer! If you are interested in this exciting student work term opportunity, please include your resume, cover letter and unofficial transcripts as part of your online application. All candidates applying to Canadian Natural must have legal authorization to work in Canada with no restrictions. Only the selected candidates will be contacted. This posting will close once a successful candidate has been selected. About Us

Canadian Natural operates one of the largest Campus Recruitment programs in the country, hiring over 400 students every year. Students hired on with us are made to feel a part of the team, gaining high level experience, knowledge, and training that introduces and prepares them for full-time employment. Students may be considered for permanent, full-time positions upon graduation through our New Grad program! Our structured New Graduate Developmental Programs exemplify our mission to develop our people.

We are proud to share that Canadian Natural has been ranked as a Top Employer for 2023 & 2024 by Canada's Future Workforce and also one of Forbes' Canada's Best Employers in 2025.

Industry Leader:

We commenced business in 1989 with a handful of employees and modest production, but today we employ more than 10,000 people and produce over 1 million BOE/d.

Community Investment:

Social responsibility is a critical element of our commitment to responsible operations and part of our success and pride as a Company. We are committed to investing in the communities where we live and work, creating shared value along the way.

Compensation and Benefits:

We strive to share Company success with all employees through a comprehensive total compensation package.

Our People, Our Stories:

Our stories demonstrate the strong culture that exists at Canadian Natural – one that focuses on developing people, working together and doing it right, with fun and integrity.

Check out some of our Student Testimonials !