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Minerals Engineering Jobs (NOW HIRING)

About Mariana Minerals Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company ... Lead by example, in all safety processes, ensuring complete safe engineering and operating ...

About Mariana Minerals Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company ... Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering or a related field. * 5+ years of experience in surface ...

Contract Piping Designer

Houston, TX · On-site

$75K - $120K/yr

... Minerals hosted AutoCAD Plant 3D environment * Define requirements for third party EPC companies to complete detailed engineering What You'll Bring * 5+ years of experience with AutoCAD Plant 3D * CA ...

About Mariana Minerals Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company ... Collaborate with engineering, procurement, and project management teams to ensure accurate and ...

Bachelors degree or higher in Engineering (Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, or Minerals Engineering) * Minimum 5 years of work experience in process development, piloting, scale-up ...

Lead Resource Geologist

Houston, TX · On-site

$140K - $175K/yr

About Mariana Minerals Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company ... In this role, you will work closely with mine planning, mining engineering, and operations teams to ...

About Mariana Minerals Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company ... Coordinate with engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operations teams.

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering is seeking applications for numerous Part-Time Graders for the 2024 to 2025 Academic Year . Job Duties

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Minerals Engineering information

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$32.5K

$63K

$95.5K

How much do minerals engineering jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 13, 2026, the average yearly pay for minerals engineering in the United States is $62,977.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $47,000.00 and $72,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What engineers make $500,000 a year?

In the field of minerals engineering, senior-level professionals such as chief engineers or those in executive roles with extensive experience and specialized expertise can earn salaries approaching or exceeding $500,000 annually. These positions often require advanced degrees, leadership skills, and significant industry experience, typically within large companies or consulting firms. Compensation at this level may include bonuses, stock options, or profit sharing.

What are the typical challenges faced by minerals engineers when working on extraction projects?

Minerals engineers often encounter challenges such as optimizing resource recovery while minimizing environmental impact, adapting to varying ore compositions, and ensuring the safety and efficiency of extraction processes. They must collaborate closely with geologists, environmental scientists, and project managers to address regulatory requirements and technological limitations. Effective communication and problem-solving skills are essential for navigating these complex, multidisciplinary projects, which often involve both fieldwork and office-based analysis.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Minerals Engineer, and why are they important?

To excel as a Minerals Engineer, you need a solid background in geology, metallurgy, and chemical engineering, typically backed by a relevant engineering degree. Familiarity with mineral processing software, laboratory analysis tools, and industry-standard safety protocols is essential. Strong problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills help drive innovation and effective project management. These capabilities ensure efficient resource extraction, compliance with regulations, and the advancement of sustainable mining practices.

Will AI replace mining engineers?

Mining engineers play a critical role in designing and managing extraction processes, and AI is used to enhance data analysis, safety, and efficiency in mining operations. However, AI is a tool that supports rather than replaces the expertise, decision-making, and problem-solving skills of mining engineers. Human oversight remains essential for complex tasks, ethical considerations, and adapting to unpredictable conditions in the field.

What is minerals engineering?

Minerals engineering, also known as mineral processing or extractive metallurgy, is the field of engineering focused on the extraction, processing, and refinement of minerals from ores. It involves various techniques to separate valuable minerals from waste material, improve ore quality, and prepare minerals for further industrial use. Minerals engineers work in mining operations, research, and development to optimize processes for efficiency, safety, and environmental sustainability. They play a critical role in supplying essential raw materials for industries such as construction, electronics, and manufacturing.

Do mining engineers make a lot of money?

Mining engineers typically earn competitive salaries that vary by experience, location, and industry sector. According to industry data, the median annual wage is above the national average for engineering roles, with higher earnings possible for those with specialized skills or managerial responsibilities. Certifications and experience in mineral extraction, safety, and environmental management can also influence earning potential.

What is the difference between Minerals Engineering vs Geotechnical Engineering?

AspectMinerals EngineeringGeotechnical Engineering
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Minerals Engineering, Geology, or related fieldsBachelor's or Master's in Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, or Geology
Work EnvironmentMining sites, mineral processing plants, laboratoriesConstruction sites, underground and surface projects, laboratories
Employer & Industry UsageMining companies, mineral processing firms, research institutionsConstruction firms, consulting agencies, government agencies
Common Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding roles in mineral extraction and processingUnderstanding ground stability and foundation design

Minerals Engineering focuses on the extraction, processing, and optimization of mineral resources, often working in mining environments. Geotechnical Engineering, on the other hand, deals with soil and rock stability for construction and infrastructure projects. While both roles require geology-related credentials and may involve fieldwork, their industries and daily tasks differ significantly.

What do mineral engineers do?

Mineral engineers design and develop processes for extracting minerals from ores efficiently and safely. They analyze deposits, select appropriate extraction methods, and optimize operations using tools like computer modeling and laboratory testing. Their work often involves environmental considerations and compliance with safety regulations.
More about Minerals Engineering jobs
What states have the most Minerals Engineering jobs? States with the most job openings for Minerals Engineering jobs include:
Infographic showing various Minerals Engineering job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 94% Full Time, 4% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $62,977 per year, or $30.3 per hour.

Staff Machine Learning Engineer

Mariana Minerals

Ann Arbor, MI • On-site

$160K - $200K/yr

Full-time

Posted 2 days ago


Job description

About Mariana Minerals
Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We're reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.
The Role
Mariana Minerals is building the critical minerals supply chain from the ground up-and we're looking for a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to help make it autonomous.
We're not a software company selling tools to mining operators. We are a mining company that builds software. Mariana designs, builds, commissions, and operates our own mines and refineries. We develop proprietary chemical processes and run them at lab, pilot, and commercial scale. Today, we're producing battery-grade lithium salts from real oil and gas wastewater in our facilities. Our first commercial-scale lithium production facility, Lithium One, is targeting initial production in Q1 of 2027.
As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Mariana, you'll set the technical direction for how we make refining autonomous. You'll define how control models are built, validated, and trusted on live equipment across our circuits and facilities-and you'll personally take on the hardest modeling problems standing between us and fully autonomous operations. Your decisions will show up in real recovery rates, energy consumption, reagent usage, and uptime across every plant we run.
The Tech
This is some of the most interesting applied AI work happening today.
Our internal platform, uses the same reinforcement learning toolkits that power self-driving vehicles and humanoid robots-but applied to autonomous, short-interval control of mineral refining circuits. Models adjust operating set points and configurations in real time, optimizing across lithium recovery, reagent consumption, energy intensity, and equipment uptime simultaneously.
The environment is noisy and non-stationary: wastewater compositions shift, ore grades change, equipment ages. The system must continuously adapt. The end goal is fully autonomous refining operations. When you ship here, you can literally watch the physics change.
Under the hood, that means training control models inside physically realistic simulators of our process units, then closing the gap against real plant data before anything touches live equipment.
What You'll Do
  • Own the autonomy roadmap across multiple circuits and facilities-deciding which unit operations to automate next and where investment in simulation and modeling pays off.
  • Define how control models are validated and certified safe to deploy on real refining equipment, including how the gap between simulation and reality is measured and closed.
  • Set the standards for our simulators and our modeling stack, so the whole team builds controllers that are reproducible, safe, and grounded in real project economics.
  • Personally solve the hardest modeling and control problems-non-stationarity, safety constraints, and multi-objective optimization across recovery, reagent use, energy, and uptime.
  • Partner with leadership on major capital and operational decisions, translating techno-economic and process insight into strategy.
  • Multiply the team through technical direction, design review, and mentoring of engineers at every level-and partner with our data engineering leaders to shape the data platform the autonomy roadmap requires. You own the modeling and the on-plant outcome; they own the backbone.
Desired Qualifications
  • 8+ years in machine learning engineering (or an exceptional 6+ with demonstrated org-level technical leadership), including production ML or control systems that ran in the real world.
  • A track record of setting technical direction for ML systems in physical, industrial, robotics, or control domains.
  • Deep expertise in reinforcement learning under non-stationarity, simulation and digital twins, and closing sim-to-real gaps-plus the judgment to know when a simpler approach wins.
  • Demonstrated ability to de-risk ambiguous, never-been-done problems: framing the objective, the success metric, and the path for others.
  • Strong cross-functional influence with both technical leadership and domain experts-chemists, metallurgists, process engineers, and geologists.
  • A builder at heart. Staff engineers here still ship.
Why This Role
We own the projects, generate the data, and close the loop. Every facility we build makes the software smarter-and the next facility faster and cheaper.
Mining is one of the last major industrial sectors that hasn't been rebuilt with modern software. The opportunity here isn't a feature gap-it's entire workflows and systems that don't exist yet.
Your work will directly shape how critical minerals are produced at scale in the coming decades. This is a role for someone who wants to set the technical direction of an entire industrial-AI platform while it's still being invented-not maintain one that already exists.
Our culture is built on three principles:
Extreme Ownership - We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.
Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate - We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.
Share Your Legos - We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.
Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply.