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.
About Us:
Solidus Resources is a U.S.-based gold development company backed by Waterton Mining. The company is focused on advancing the Spring Valley Gold Project in Pershing County, Nevada, and specializes in taking high potential gold assets through late-stage development and into production. Solidus applies a technically rigorous, capital-disciplined approach to mine development, with a strong emphasis on environmental stewardship, operational safety, and community engagement.
The Spring Valley Gold Project is located in the prolific Humboldt Range, an area with approximately 60 million ounces of gold endowment within a 50-mile radius. Envisioned as a long-life, low-cost open-pit, heap-leach operation, Spring Valley has a robust resource base and considerable exploration upside along a 7-mile strike length across the Black Ridge fault zone.
With a leadership team experienced in engineering, permitting, and large-scale project execution, Solidus Resources is advancing Spring Valley through feasibility, permitting, and construction, with a clear path toward operational readiness. The company’s goal is to responsibly unlock the value of U.S.-based gold assets while building a reputation for excellence in project delivery and sustainable development.
This position is located on-site at our mine in Lovelock, NV.