This position is located on-site at our mine in Lovelock, NV.
Position Overview:
The Chief Engineer is responsible for leading mine engineering, planning, and technical governance for a large-scale open-pit operation. This role oversees the development and execution of short-, medium-, and long-range mine plans aligned with the Life of Mine (LoM) strategy, annual budgets, production targets, and ore-delivery requirements. The position provides technical leadership to the mine engineering team and supports the advancement of a digitally enabled, autonomous mining environment through integrated planning, data-driven decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration.
Job Responsibilities:
• Mine Planning
o Lead the development and execution of mid- and short-term mine plans.
o Oversee sequencing, haulage, equipment requirements, stockpiles, waste placement, and drill-and-blast planning.
o Review forecasts and mine-to-plan performance, identifying risks and corrective actions.
o Ensure plans are practical, aligned with production requirements, and clearly communicated.
• Team Leadership
o Lead and develop five direct reports within a broader technical team of eleven.
o Direct Senior Mine Engineers and Mine Engineers responsible for short-range planning.
o Set priorities and performance expectations while supporting employee development and succession planning.
• Survey and Drill-and-Blast
o Oversee survey and drill-and-blast functions, ensuring accurate and timely planning inputs.
o Coordinate activities with operations, geology, and other technical teams.
o Monitor performance and improve safety, productivity, fragmentation, and cost.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
o Partner with operations, geology, processing, maintenance, hydrogeology, and other site teams.
o Incorporate dewatering and other technical requirements into mine plans.
o Communicate plans, risks, and changes to support coordinated operational execution.
• Systems, Improvement, and Compliance
o Maintain effective planning standards, data, documentation, and approval processes.
o Optimize the use of Vulcan, MinePlan, operational data, and related planning systems.
o Support autonomous and digitally enabled mining initiatives.
o Ensure engineering, survey, and drill-and-blast activities comply with MSHA, regulatory, and company requirements.
Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in an open-pit hard-rock mining environment; gold or copper experience is applicable.
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience leading mine engineer or technical services teams.
• Strong experience developing and executing mid- and short-term mine plans.
• Demonstrated leadership and people-management experience.
• Experience overseeing or coordinating survey and drill-and-blast functions.
• Proficiency with Vulcan and MinePlan is required.
• Strong cross-department relationship-building and communication skills.
• Experience with dewatering programs is preferred.
• Experience in an autonomous or digitally enabled mining environment is preferred.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Professional Engineer registration or eligibility for registration is preferred.