Senior Engineer - Tailings

GHD; City of Brisbane; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

GHD is seeking a Senior Tailings Engineer to join the Queensland Tailings and Mine Waste Group. You will lead geotechnical designs, manage investigations, and support field engineering for complex tailings projects across Australia and internationally.

You'll collaborate with multidisciplinary teams on planning through closure, exercise strong technical writing, and maintain compliance with regulatory standards. This role emphasizes hands‑on leadership and design excellence.

Qualifications

• Degree qualification in Engineering (Civil or Geotechnical), with RPEQ, CPEng or the ability to acquire it in a short timeframe.
• 6–12 years of relevant experience in tailings engineering.
• Proven capability across all project phases, from planning and approvals to operation and closure.
• Experience managing design and documentation using tools such as GeoStudio and Muk3D.
• Strong technical writing skills, particularly for proposals and reports.
• Ability to interpret geotechnical investigation results and apply them to design.
• Skilled in assessing construction methods, materials, and quality standards.
• Experience analysing tailings storage facilities under static and dynamic loads.
• Current driver’s license.

Responsibilities

• Deliver tailings storage facility and geotechnical designs, including foundations, embankment dam stability, hydraulic analysis, water balance, deposition planning, and groundwater analysis.
• Scope and manage geotechnical investigations to support tailings projects.
• Provide construction certification and field engineering support.
• Lead or support multi‑disciplinary teams across planning, feasibility, detailed design, construction, and closure phases.
• Conduct surveillance inspections and risk assessments to meet regulatory and client requirements.

Skills

Tailings engineering

Geotechnical design

Technical writing

Team leadership

Regulatory compliance

Site inspections

Education

Engineering degree (Civil or Geotechnical)

RPEQ/CPEng or eligible

Tools

GeoStudio

Muk3D

Job description

Job Description

There's no pledge more important than the one we make to look after our environment, and we're committed to helping you do exactly that. Join us as we strive to ensure a sustainable future for our communities and the world we live in. Become part of our global network of skilled engineers, scientists, auditors, planners and environmental specialists, all working together to leave this world better than we found it.

Who are we looking for?

Our team supports some of the most complex and high-profile tailings projects across Australia and internationally, offering you the chance to make a real impact.

We are inviting applications from Senior Tailings Engineers to join our market‑leading Queensland Tailings and Mine Waste Group. This well-regarded Team is known for their deep technical expertise and holistic approach to tailings management.

Working with a flexible, welcoming and high‑performing team, this position offers a variety of work and will see you:

• Deliver tailings storage facility and geotechnical designs, including foundations, embankment dam stability, hydraulic analysis, water balance, deposition planning, and groundwater analysis.
• Scope and manage geotechnical investigations to support tailings projects.
• Provide construction certification and field engineering support.
• Lead or support multi‑disciplinary teams across planning, feasibility, detailed design, construction, and closure phases.
• Conduct surveillance inspections and risk assessments to meet regulatory and client requirements.

What you will bring to the team:

• Degree qualification in Engineering (Civil or Geotechnical), with RPEQ, CPEng or the ability to acquire it in a short timeframe.
• 6–12 years of relevant experience in tailings engineering.
• Proven capability across all project phases, from planning and approvals to operation and closure.
• Experience managing design and documentation using tools such as GeoStudio and Muk3D.
• Strong technical writing skills, particularly for proposals and reports.
• Ability to interpret geotechnical investigation results and apply them to design.
• Skilled in assessing construction methods, materials, and quality standards.
• Experience analysing tailings storage facilities under static and dynamic loads.
• Current driver’s license.

GHD is an equal opportunity employer, and we want everyone to be able to fully participate in our recruitment process. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people of all identities.

We respectfully ask that no agency resumes be presented at this stage.

About Us

Come together and make a meaningful impact.

We bring our people together to create something bigger and solve some of the world's most complex problems. Come and experience the power of commitment and see strategy and ideas come to life when you join GHD.

Let's drive real change.

Our Pledge to You

At GHD, we don't just believe in the power of commitment, we live and breathe it every day.

That's why we pledge to empower our people to make a positive impact. Combining our deep technical expertise with the capabilities of our clients and partners, we respond to some of the most complex challenges facing our planet today.

See where your commitment could take you.

That's the #PowerOfCommitment

Who We Are

GHD is a global professional services company that leads through engineering, architecture, and construction expertise. We are an employee-owned company with over 11,000 diverse and skilled individuals, across more than 200 offices spanning five continents.

The Power of Commitment is our brand promise. It's what makes us different. We are bound to our stated vision and determination to address humanity's most urgent needs: to make water, energy and urbanisation sustainable for generations to come.