Cortez - Underground Senior Mechanical Engineer, Mine Utility Systems

Nevada Gold Mines; Elko (NV); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision plans

401(k) with employer contribution

Paid time off

Company match share purchase program

Job summary

Nevada Gold Mines is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to lead design, modeling, and documentation for underground and surface mine utility systems at the Cortez operation. You will oversee dewatering, process water, utility water, compressed air, and related infrastructure, ensuring accurate drawings and disciplined change control.

The role emphasizes field verification, turnover documentation, and coordination with operations, maintenance, and engineering teams to support reliability and

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering required.
• PE license or FE Exam preferred.
• Minimum of five years of mechanical engineering experience, preferably in mining or utility systems.
• Experience with hydraulic modeling and pump/piping analysis.
• Modeling software experience (AFT Fathom, PIPE-FLO, WaterGEMS/WaterCAD, EPANET, AFT Arrow).
• Knowledge of pumps, compressors, pipes, valves, and mine utility system operation.
• Experience with as-built drawings, P&IDs, and turnover documentation.
• Experience managing consultants, contractors, vendors, and project deliverables.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and AutoCAD; familiarity with Civil 3D, Navisworks, Bluebeam, GIS, SAP.
• Strong communication and ability to work safely in field/underground.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and validate models for underground and surface mine utility systems.
• Maintain accurate as-built drawings and system records for mine water and compressed air.
• Support future mine planning by evaluating capacity, placement, and sizing.
• Establish and support mechanical utility documentation practices and turnover requirements.
• Troubleshoot issues such as low flow/pressure, pipe leaks, and equipment shortfalls.
• Perform pump, piping, and compressed air analyses and system curve development.
• Provide mechanical support for conveyors, crushers, and fixed-plant equipment.
• Review consultant/contractor/vendor deliverables and commissioning records.
• Oversee construction, commissioning, startup, and performance testing of utility systems.
• Coordinate with underground operations and other teams to align models with field conditions.
• Support reliability improvement and asset management for pumps, compressors, dryers, tanks, etc.
• Identify opportunities to improve capacity, energy efficiency, and safety.

Skills

Mechanical engineering

Project management

Strong communication

Safety focus

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

PE license or FE exam preferred

Tools

AFT Fathom

PIPE-FLO

Bentley WaterGEMS/WaterCAD

EPANET

AFT Arrow

AFT Impulse

Bentley HAMMER

AutoCAD

Civil 3D

Navisworks

Bluebeam

SAP

Job description

JOB DESCRIPTION

At Nevada Gold Mines, our vision is to be the world's most valued gold mining business by finding, developing, and operating the best assets with the best people.

Our engineering team is looking for a Senior Mechanical Engineer - Mine Utility Systems at our Cortez operation. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership for underground and surface mine water and compressed air infrastructure, with a focus on system modeling, as-built documentation, future mine planning, troubleshooting, reliability improvement, and project support.

This role will develop and maintain models and drawings for existing and future mine utility systems so mechanical infrastructure is planned, modified, documented, and commissioned through clear engineering ownership, field-verified records, disciplined change control, and consistent project turnover standards. The role will also provide mechanical engineering support for fixed-plant equipment such as conveyors, crushers, and related material handling systems.

At Nevada Gold Mines, we are committed to a safe work environment, sending every person home safe and healthy every day and leaving a sustainable legacy in our host communities. We offer a generous benefits package that includes competitive medical, dental, and vision plans with national provider networks, a 401k retirement plan with employer contribution, paid time off, company-sponsored medical clinics, a company match share purchase program, and much more.

Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and validate models for existing and future underground and surface mine utility systems, including dewatering, process water, utility water, compressed air, tanks, sumps, pumps, compressors, piping networks, and pressure zones.
• Maintain accurate as-built drawings and system records for mine water and compressed air infrastructure, including piping layouts, pump stations, compressor stations, valve locations, receivers, tie-ins, meters, instrumentation, and control points.
• Support future mine planning by evaluating water and compressed air capacity, pump and compressor station placement, pipe sizing, pressure management, redundancy, and long-term operating requirements.
• Establish and support mechanical utility documentation practices, including field verification, drawing updates, model updates, management of change, commissioning records, and project turnover requirements.
• Troubleshoot system issues such as low flow, low pressure, excessive pressure drop, pump cavitation, water hammer, compressor capacity shortfalls, leaks, moisture carryover, pipeline failures, valve problems, and unreliable dewatering performance.
• Perform pump, piping, and compressed air analysis, including pump curve review, compressor performance review, system curve development, head loss calculations, NPSH evaluation, receiver sizing, pipe sizing, flow balancing, and operating envelope definition.
• Provide mechanical engineering support for conveyors, crushers, and related fixed-plant or material handling equipment, including review of reliability issues, equipment modifications, guarding, chutes, drives, structural interfaces, and maintainability improvements.
• Provide technical review of consultant, contractor, and vendor deliverables, including calculations, models, drawings, specifications, scopes of work, test plans, redlines, and commissioning records.
• Provide oversight for construction, installation, commissioning, startup, and performance testing of mine utility systems and related mechanical infrastructure.
• Coordinate with underground operations, maintenance, mine engineering, survey, planning, projects, consultants, and contractors to keep models and as-builts aligned with field conditions.
• Support reliability improvement and asset management for pumps, compressors, dryers, filters, piping, tanks, receivers, valves, sumps, conveyors, crushers, and related mechanical system components.
• Identify opportunities to improve utility capacity, energy efficiency, standardization, maintainability, safety, and long-term planning across underground and surface operations.
• Ensure mechanical utility system work complies with MSHA requirements, site safety procedures, environmental requirements, applicable codes, engineering standards, and management-of-change processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering required.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license or successful completion of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam preferred.
• Minimum of five years of mechanical engineering experience required, preferably in mining, underground mine infrastructure, industrial utility systems, water systems, compressed air systems, or heavy industrial environments.
• Experience with hydraulic modeling, compressed air system analysis, pump and piping analysis, water distribution, dewatering, or industrial utility systems required.
• Experience with modeling software such as AFT Fathom, PIPE-FLO, Bentley WaterGEMS/WaterCAD, EPANET, AFT Arrow, or similar preferred; surge analysis experience with AFT Impulse or Bentley HAMMER preferred.
• Strong knowledge of pumps, compressors, dryers, receivers, pump curves, compressor curves, system curves, piping networks, valves, tanks, sumps, pressure zones, head loss, pressure drop, flow measurement, and mine utility system operation required.
• Working knowledge of conveyors, crushers, chutes, drives, bearings, guarding, material handling systems, and fixed-plant mechanical reliability preferred.
• Experience maintaining or reviewing as-built drawings, piping layouts, mechanical drawings, P&IDs, construction redlines, and turnover documentation required.
• Experience managing consultants, contractors, vendors, scopes of work, technical reviews, schedules, budgets, and project deliverables required.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and AutoCAD required; experience with Civil 3D, Plant 3D, Navisworks, Bluebeam, GIS tools, SAP, or similar platforms preferred.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work safely in field and underground environments required.

What We Can Offer You

• A comprehensive compensation package including competitive medical, dental, and vision plans with national provider networks, a 401k retirement plan with employer contribution and employer match, paid time off, company-sponsored medical clinics, a company match share purchase program, and much more.
• Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team.
• Endless opportunities to grow and learn with industry colleagues.
• Access to a variety of career opportunities across the organization.

Nevada Gold Mines is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

About Us

Our mission is to be the world's most valued gold and copper mining business. We are committed to partnering with our host countries and communities to transform their natural resources into tangible benefits and mutual prosperity. Barrick is a leading global mining, exploration and development company. With one of the largest portfolios of world-class and life-long gold and copper assets in the industry - including six of the world's Tier One gold mines - Barrick's operations and projects span 18 countries and five continents. Barrick is also the largest gold producer in the United States. We create real, long-term value for all stakeholders through responsible mining, strong partnerships, and a disciplined approach to growth. Barrick shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "B" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "ABX".

About The Team

Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) is a joint venture between Barrick (61.5%) and Newmont (38.5%) that combined our significant assets across Nevada in 2019 to create the single largest gold-producing complex in the world. NGM produces approximately 3.5 million ounces of gold a year. The massive mining operation comprises eight mines along with their associated infrastructure and processing facilities and hosts three of Barrick's Tier One assets: Carlin, Cortez, and Turquoise Ridge. At NGM, our mission is to be the world's most valued gold mining business by finding, developing, and owning the best assets, with the best people, to deliver sustainable returns for our owners and partners.