Senior Metallurgical Engineer – Projects

Senior Metallurgical Engineer – Projects

- Be a key leader in one of the world’s leading mining organizations

- Drive innovation and excellence in metallurgical engineering

- Permanent role based in- Salt Lake City, Utah

About the role

We are looking for a Senior Metallurgical Engineer – Projects is a key technical leader responsible for developing, executing, and supporting metallurgical and process improvement projects at the Kennecott Concentrator. Reporting to the Technical Manager, this role ensures safe, efficient, and reliable operation of crushing, grinding, flotation, dewatering, circuits through disciplined project engineering, metallurgical expertise, and cross-functional collaboration.

You will lead the scoping, design, and implementation of projects aimed at improving throughput, recovery, concentrate quality, and operational stability, while supporting long‑term concentrator metallurgical strategy and life‑of‑asset planning.

Key Responsibilities will include:

Project Development & Execution

- Lead metallurgical project scoping, business case development, and cost–benefit analysis.

- Develop process design criteria, mass balances, and performance models for new installations or upgrades.

- Serve as the technical owner/support through FEL stages, detailed engineering, construction, commissioning, and ramp-up.

- Collaborate with Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, and OEMs to ensure designs meet operability and maintainability requirements.

Metallurgical & Process Expertise

- Provide expert support in grinding, flotation, reagent chemistry, and dewatering processes.

- Identify bottlenecks and improvement opportunities using data analytics, plant trials, and metallurgical test work.

- Lead metallurgical investigations and root cause analyses for process upsets or underperforming circuits.

- Review and optimize process control strategies, instrumentation, and process automation.

Technical Leadership

- Mentor junior metallurgists and engineers, guiding them in project management, test work, and plant troubleshooting.

- Develop and maintain standards, procedures, and best practices for process design and testing.

- Represent the Concentrator Technical team in cross‑site projects and technology evaluations.

Safety, Compliance & Risk Management

- Ensure all project work complies with site safety systems, MSHA regulations, and Rio Tinto standards.

- Conduct and review Practical Problem Solving (PPS), risk assessments, and management of change (MOC) documentation.

- Embed a culture of safety and responsible project execution.

Stakeholder & Vendor Management

- Work directly with equipment and reagent vendors, engineering firms, and labs to define scopes and evaluate technical solutions.

- Provide technical input for procurement, contracting, and vendor performance evaluation.

About you

To be successfully considered for this role, you will have:

- Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mineral Processing, or related discipline.

- 8+ years of metallurgical or process engineering experience in concentrators or mineral processing plants.

- Demonstrated experience leading projects.

- Strong understanding of comminution, flotation, mineralogy, and metallurgical balancing.

- Proven ability to interpret plant data, execute test work, and model process performance.

- Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage operators, leaders, and technical experts.

- Strong analytical mindset and problem‑solving capability.

- Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast‑paced operating environment.

- Influencing and stakeholder engagement across departments.

- Commitment to safe work practices and continuous improvement.

- Technical curiosity and willingness to challenge the status quo.

Preferred

- Experience in copper sulfide concentrators or similar base-metal operations.

- Familiarity with tools such as PI Vision/PI Datalink, JKSimMet, MetSim, or flotation modeling software.

- Prior exposure to advanced control systems or digital optimization tools (e.g., APC, machine vision).

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

Where you will be working

Rio Tinto Kennecott is a fully integrated mining operation located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, US. Kennecott is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto. For more than 110 years, Kennecott has been mining and processing minerals from the rich orebody of the Bingham Canyon Mine. Kennecott is a strong economic driver and strives to be a valuable community partner through strategic partnerships, charitable giving and sustainable development practices.

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.

Respect and Inclusion

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.