International Mineral Processing, Technical Leader

Vale; Schamal al-Batina; On-site; OMR 18,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

Vale in Oman seeks a senior professional to lead SSMA practices and refine production simulations, coordinating across mine planning, geology, and plant operations. The role focuses on defining ROM specifications and ensuring robust integration of process variables to enhance resource efficiency and recovery.

The candidate will drive optimization initiatives, support startup and ramp-up activities, and strengthen cross-functional collaboration to deliver reliable performance across international

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mineral Processing, Metallurgical, or Chemical Engineering; Master’s degree desirable.
• 10–15 years of experience and international exposure.
• Fluency in English; Portuguese desirable.
• Mass balance / simulation / data reconciliation experience.
• Productivity / data analysis / technical communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead SSMA practices and collaboration routines across teams.
• Refine production simulations and integrate mass, quality, and tailings variables.
• Define ROM specifications and quality limits, aligning geology inputs.
• Lead risk and optimization studies across operations to improve recovery.
• Provide startup and ramp-up support with cross-functional coordination.
• Monitor process variables and drive continuous improvement and control.

Skills

SSMA practices

production simulations

risk assessment

process monitoring

integration across functions

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mineral Processing, Metallurgical, or Chemical Engineering

Master’s degree desirable

Tools

METSIM / JKSimMet / USIM PAC / BILCO

Job description

• Leads SSMA practices and promotes collaboration, feedback, and development within teams.
• Plays a leading role in refining production simulations, ensuring proper integration of mass, quality, and tailings variables across planning interfaces.
• Leads the definition of ROM specifications and quality limits, integrating mine and geology inputs to strengthen resource efficiency.
• Leads optimization and risk assessment initiatives that enhance reliability and recovery outcomes across operations.
• Provides technical knowledge in start-up and ramp-up activities, ensuring effective integration across process areas.
• Leads the monitoring and critical review of process variables across areas, supporting continuous improvement and stronger process control.
• Leads production plan integration activities, evaluating ROM variability and anticipating risks to production and quality.
• Leads the application of geometallurgy, strengthening predictability and integration between mine and plant.
• Acts across functions, connecting technical solutions with operational needs and strengthening collaboration among areas.
• Provides recognized technical expertise to different stakeholders, connecting technical requirements with business needs.
• Leads integration between operations and engineering across multiple areas, ensuring technical consistency.
• Leads the development of simulation tools that strengthen planning quality and optimization capabilities.
• Strengthens technical robustness coordinating peer reviews and supporting the development of scale-up criteria.
• Leads the development of optimized material handling solutions that improve continuity and performance.
• Contributes to the technical positioning of products across regions, linking process knowledge with market needs.
• Leads technical assessments in origination, ensuring alignment between ore characteristics, plant capabilities, and market requirements.
• Leads the development of process intelligence concepts and tools that strengthen operational insight.
• Participates in technical evaluations and due diligence processes related to business opportunities.
• Leads evaluation and implementation efforts for new technologies with application potential.
• Leads the execution of industrial tests, ensuring technical consistency and learning capture.
• Leads evaluation of technical and economic aspects of initiatives, ensuring alignment between cost, performance, and expected gains across operations.
• Leads execution of innovation and R&D initiatives, ensuring technical consistency and alignment with operational challenges.

Job Summary

• Leads SSMA practices and promotes collaboration, feedback, and development within teams.
• Plays a leading role in refining production simulations, ensuring proper integration of mass, quality, and tailings variables across planning interfaces.
• Leads the definition of ROM specifications and quality limits, integrating mine and geology inputs to strengthen resource efficiency.
• Leads optimization and risk assessment initiatives that enhance reliability and recovery outcomes across operations.
• Provides technical knowledge in start-up and ramp-up activities, ensuring effective integration across process areas.
• Leads the monitoring and critical review of process variables across areas, supporting continuous improvement and stronger process control.
• Leads production plan integration activities, evaluating ROM variability and anticipating risks to production and quality.
• Leads the application of geometallurgy, strengthening predictability and integration between mine and plant.
• Acts across functions, connecting technical solutions with operational needs and strengthening collaboration among areas.
• Provides recognized technical expertise to different stakeholders, connecting technical requirements with business needs.
• Leads integration between operations and engineering across multiple areas, ensuring technical consistency.
• Leads the development of simulation tools that strengthen planning quality and optimization capabilities.
• Strengthens technical robustness coordinating peer reviews and supporting the development of scale-up criteria.
• Leads the development of optimized material handling solutions that improve continuity and performance.
• Contributes to the technical positioning of products across regions, linking process knowledge with market needs.
• Leads technical assessments in origination, ensuring alignment between ore characteristics, plant capabilities, and market requirements.
• Leads the development of process intelligence concepts and tools that strengthen operational insight.
• Participates in technical evaluations and due diligence processes related to business opportunities.
• Leads evaluation and implementation efforts for new technologies with application potential.
• Leads the execution of industrial tests, ensuring technical consistency and learning capture.
• Leads evaluation of technical and economic aspects of initiatives, ensuring alignment between cost, performance, and expected gains across operations.
• Leads execution of innovation and R&D initiatives, ensuring technical consistency and alignment with operational challenges.

KEY CHALLENGES

• Establish trusted relationships across multiple plants, acting as a recognized technical partner who connects operational needs with process solutions and reinforces alignment across teams.
• Promote knowledge sharing across teams and sites, strengthening retention of expertise and consistent application of best practices.
• Translate broader technical priorities into actionable initiatives, maintaining alignment across teams and projects.
• Lead refinement of predictive models and simulation routines, strengthening the quality of technical inputs used for production planning and decision support.
• Lead cross-functional integration between geology, mine planning, and process teams to improve ROM specification definition and strengthen operational consistency.
• Lead risk anticipation and optimization initiatives across process areas, improving recovery, product quality, and operational reliability in international plants.
• Lead technical support during start-up and ramp-up, ensuring coordinated action across functions and mitigating risks to production stability.
• Lead the use of geometallurgy and integrated mine-to-plant approaches to improve predictability of production and process performance.
• Lead initiatives to test and implement new technologies and process improvements, strengthening competitiveness and sustainability in the operating context.
• Promote SSMA behaviors, open dialogue, and people development across teams, helping reduce exposure to risk and strengthen collaborative routines.
• Actively contribute to studies with CSS and Origination, facilitating technical information sharing related to plant behavior, ore characteristics, and product performance in a multicultural environment.
• Contribute to benchmarking and market-based analyses, translating external references into practical opportunities for process and performance enhancement.

Main Responsibilities

• Responsible for leading SSMA practices and collaboration routines that strengthen people development and operational discipline.
• Responsible for leading production plan simulations and integrating mass, quality, and tailings variables into technical planning routines.
• Responsible for defining ROM specifications and quality limits and ensuring alignment with geology and mine planning requirements.
• Responsible for leading risk and optimization studies across operations and translating findings into practical technical actions.
• Responsible for leading start-up and ramp-up support and ensuring coordination across process areas.
• Responsible for leading process monitoring and critical analysis across areas to improve control, stability, and performance.
• Responsible for leading production plan integration and anticipating risks to quality and production through better cross-functional alignment.
• Responsible for leading geometallurgical application and improving integration between mine and plant perspectives.
• Responsible for connecting operational demands and technical solutions across functions to strengthen alignment and execution.
• Responsible for providing expertise to multiple stakeholders and connecting technical needs with operational and business requirements.
• Responsible for leading and enabling the application of simulation tools, ensuring their effectiveness in planning and optimization routines.
• Responsible for leading technical reviews, contributing to the definition of scale-up criteria and validation requirements, and developing characterization proposals and plans.
• Responsible for leading optimized material handling solutions that improve stability, continuity, and performance.
• Responsible for contributing to technical product positioning across regions and linking process understanding with market needs.
• Responsible for leading technical assessments in origination and ensuring alignment between ore, plant, and market fit.
• Responsible for leading process intelligence development and improving the quality of operational insights across teams.
• Responsible for participating in due diligence evaluations and helping connect technical findings with business needs.
• Responsible for leading evaluation and implementation of new technologies with practical application potential.
• Responsible for leading industrial test execution and ensuring technical learning is captured and applied.
• Responsible for leading evaluation of budgets and gains and ensuring technical and economic alignment across initiatives.
• Responsible for leading R&D activities and coordinating partnerships with universities, suppliers, and research centers.

Qualifications

Academic background

• Bachelor’s degree in Mineral Processing, Metallurgical, or Chemical Engineering; Master’s degree desirable as a differentiation factor.
• Years of Experience - 10–15 years
• Languages - Fluency in English; Portuguese is desirable, depending on role and location context.
• Mineral characterization - Solid experience applying mineral characterization to process performance and optimization.
• Mass balance / simulation / data reconciliation (METSIM / JKSimMet / USIM PAC / BILCO) - Adjusts models, interprets results, and uses software tools autonomously for process analysis, mass balance, and data integration.
• Statistics / DOE / advanced analysis (Minitab / JMP / Design-Expert / STATGRAPHICS - Performs more robust statistical analysis (e.g., SPC, DOE) and interprets results with technical autonomy.
• Productivity / data analysis / technical communication (Excel / PowerPoint) - Organizes data, performs simple calculations, and prepares clear basic technical presentations.
• Innovation processes - Experience contributing to innovation projects and supporting implementation of new technologies.
• Due diligence - Experience supporting due diligence with structured and consistent technical input.
• Project development - Experience participating in and contributing to project development and optimization.
• International exposure - Some experience interacting with different regions or supporting international initiatives.

Behavioral Profile

• Balances independent work with collaborative engagement across teams
• Combines technical analysis with input from others to reach balanced decisions
• Connects detailed analysis with broader system implications
• Open to change when it improves performance and integration
• Builds trust through collaboration and knowledge sharing
• Systems thinking; structured problem solving
• Cross-functional communication; active listening
• Collaboration across areas; knowledge sharing
• Ownership of deliverables; coordination
• Analytical - Data analysis; problem solving; attention to detail
• Discipline; time management; reliability
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Strong multicultural and multidisciplinary background