Lead Underground Mining Engineer

stealth.earth; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Startup equity

Remote-first team

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Stealth Critical Metals (stealth.earth) seeks an experienced mining engineer to own the underground drill-and-blast program for our first field pilot in the southwest US. This hands-on role involves designing, documenting, and enforcing blasting procedures, coordinating with MSHA, and integrating with our drilling and systems engineering team.

You will develop blast designs, set fragmentation targets, manage on-site rounds with licensed blasters, review outcomes, and recalibrate to scale the

Qualifications

• Degree in mining engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of mining engineering experience including hands-on underground drill-and-blast.
• Drafted blast designs and procedures at operating mines.
• Knowledge of MSHA regulations and field inspections.

Responsibilities

• Own the blasting program end to end for the pilot.
• Lead MSHA engagement and explosives safety case.
• Develop blast designs: pattern geometry, powder factor, timing, confinement.
• Write program documentation, blast plans, and safety procedures.
• Oversee blast rounds and calibrate based on results.

Skills

Long-hole open stoping

MSHA compliance

Field execution

Geomechanics basics

Regulatory liaison

Education

Degree in mining engineering

Tools

JKSimBlast

SHOTPlus

O-Pitblast

Job description

About us

Stealth Critical Metals (stealth.earth) is building a new way to mine. Our patented system reaches deep, high-grade orebodies from surface through boreholes, combining directional drilling, wireless-initiated blasting, and hydraulic extraction. No shafts, no tunnels, and no people underground. The goal is to make deep critical-metal deposits economic that conventional methods leave in the ground. We are a funded, remote-first team from mining and oilfield services, preparing our first field pilot at a porphyry copper deposit in the southwest US.

The role

Bring underground drill-and-blast engineering in-house. You will own the blasting program for our pilot, from design and documentation through MSHA engagement and field execution. Our team is strong in drilling and systems engineering; you will own the mining and blasting side. This is a hands-on engineering role, with title and level set by experience.

• Apply drill-and-blast engineering to a new mining architecture, working from first principles rather than precedent.
• Own the blasting program end to end, at a company where your decisions shape the technology.
• Work alongside veterans of leading oilfield service, explosives, and mining companies.
• Hold early-stage equity in a company building next-generation mining technology for critical metals.
• Own the blasting program: develop blast designs (pattern geometry, powder factor, charge distribution, timing, and confinement) and fragmentation targets for borehole extraction, finalized with our explosives supplier's engineers.
• Write the program documentation: blast plans; integration of the explosives supplier's storage, handling, and transport procedures; misfire procedures; and the vibration and airblast monitoring plan.
• Lead MSHA engagement and the explosives safety case for a wireless initiation system new to this application, directing our MSHA regulatory specialist.
• Set stope siting and geometry with geomechanical input (hydraulic radius and stability graph), and scope and coordinate external numerical modeling.
• Define draw control, dilution limits, and the oversize-intervention strategy.
• Translate the integrated engineering plan into an executable pilot mining specification.
• Oversee blast rounds on site with licensed blasters, confirming each round follows the blasting program.
• Assess each blast (fragmentation, vibration, and misfires) and recalibrate charge, geometry, and timing for the next round.
• Manage ground and collapse risk, and own surface-safety procedures around the boreholes.
• Host MSHA inspections and keep explosives and compliance records audit-ready.
• Capture blast, fragmentation, and recovery data to calibrate our scale-up models.

Required skills, expertise, and qualifications

• Degree in mining engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of mining engineering experience, including hands-on underground drill-and-blast (long-hole open stoping, VCR, or similar).
• Blasting programs: you have drafted blast designs, loading and firing procedures, and explosives handling and storage procedures at an operating mine.
• Working knowledge of applied geomechanics and ground control.
• Demonstrated field execution track record: a working engineer, not a desk planner.
• Willing to work on site during pilot operations.
• Intellectual flexibility: comfortable operating outside conventional mining paradigms (no shaft or tunnel, personnel-free downhole, and surface access only). Must adapt mining-engineering rigor to a fundamentally different architecture rather than defaulting to legacy methods.
• Demonstrated knowledge of MSHA and applicable BATF regulations, direct experience with field MSHA inspectors, including hosting inspections, and keeping an explosives program compliant.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without visa sponsorship.

Preferred

• Blast design software (e.g., JKSimBlast, SHOTPlus, or O-Pitblast) and fragmentation analysis.
• Experience with electronic or wireless initiation systems.
• Blast vibration and airblast monitoring.

Location

Remote, ideally based in: Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, or Nevada, with on-site work at our southwest US pilot site during pilot operations.

Compensation

Market-competitive salary, startup equity, and benefits.