Principal Rock Mechanics Engineer

Who We Are

Founded in 1993, Kinross is a Canadian-based senior gold mining company with operations and projects in the United States, Brazil, Mauritania, Chile and Canada. Our focus on delivering value is based on our four core values of Putting People First, Outstanding Corporate Citizenship, High Performance Culture, and Rigorous Financial Discipline.

Mining responsibly is a priority for Kinross, and we foster a culture that makes responsible mining and operational success inseparable. Our values-based approach ensures that sustainability and our environmental, social and governance commitments are a core part of our strategy and plans for future growth. In line with our values, we also aim to build meaningful partnerships with all of our stakeholders, including communities, shareholders, employees, governments and suppliers.

Kinross maintains listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol: K) and the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: KGC).

Job Summary

The Principal Rock Mechanics Engineer serves as the Company's senior technical specialist and subject matter expert for underground rock mechanics, geotechnical risk management, ground control, and excavation stability. The position provides independent technical assurance and technical leadership across underground operations, projects, and studies, ensuring that geotechnical risks are identified, assessed, communicated, mitigated, and managed throughout the mine life cycle. The role is a key interface between site operations, project and study teams, Kinross Technical Services, senior leadership, and external consultants. It establishes and maintains underground geotechnical standards, challenges critical assumptions, reviews material technical decisions, and leads complex investigations requiring advanced rock mechanics expertise. The position primarily provides governance, assurance, review, and specialist guidance and provides operational support to site teams.

Key Responsibilities

1. Geotechnical Risk Management and Governance

• Serve as the Company's technical authority for underground geotechnical risk management and ground control.
• Lead the identification, assessment, communication, and mitigation of geotechnical hazards and risks across underground operations, projects, and studies.
• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve corporate underground geotechnical governance frameworks, standards, design criteria, risk management processes, and verification systems.
• Provide independent technical assessment of geotechnical risks and opportunities to site leadership, Kinross Technical Services, project leadership, and senior management.
• Support development, implementation, review, and audit of Ground Control Management Plans and associated site standards, procedures, and Trigger Action Response Plans.
• Lead or support investigations of significant ground control incidents, geotechnical failures, seismic events, and unexpected ground behaviour.

2. Technical Assurance and Corporate Support

• Provide independent peer review and technical assurance of critical underground geotechnical designs, analyses, models, assumptions, and recommendations.
• Review and challenge the geotechnical basis of mine plans, strategic options, capital decisions, and major changes to mining methods, layouts, sequencing, or ground support strategies.
• Confirm that geotechnical work is appropriate to the decision being made, the level of study, the quality of available data, and the magnitude of the associated risk.
• Provide clear technical opinions and risk-based recommendations to Kinross Technical Services, technical review committees, project teams, site leadership, and senior management.

3. Studies, Projects, and Strategic Evaluations

• Provide geotechnical leadership and assurance for conceptual, scoping, pre-feasibility, feasibility, execution, expansion, and life-of-mine studies.
• Define fit-for-purpose geotechnical investigation programs, study scopes, technical deliverables, design criteria, data requirements, schedules, and budgets.
• Review study assumptions, methods, analyses, and recommendations to ensure they are technically robust, risk-based, practical, and aligned with corporate standards.
• Provide specialist input to mining method selection, development and infrastructure layouts, stope and pillar design, extraction sequencing, stress management, backfill strategy, ground support, and mine access.
• Support project stage-gate reviews, project execution, commissioning, operational readiness, ramp-up, and transition to site ownership.
• Participate in due diligence reviews, acquisitions, divestments, option assessments, and other strategic technical evaluations.

4. Corporate, Site, and Consultant Interaction

• Act as the primary technical link between Kinross Technical Services, site geotechnical teams, project and study teams, and specialist external consultants on significant underground rock mechanics matters.
• Provide advice and support to site teams while maintaining clear accountability for site implementation and operational decision-making.
• Develop consultant scopes of work, technical specifications, evaluation criteria, and deliverable requirements.
• Select, direct, coordinate, and technically manage specialist consultants and independent reviewers.
• Review consultant approaches, interpretations, numerical models, conclusions, and recommendations, and ensure that deliverables meet the required technical quality and business need.
• Integrate consultant findings with internal knowledge and translate technical results into clear decisions, actions, risks, and accountabilities.

5. Rock Mechanics and Design

• Provide specialist expertise in underground rock mechanics, excavation stability, stress management, seismicity, and ground support performance.
• Lead or review advanced analytical and numerical assessments of stope stability, pillar stability, large excavations, mine-scale stress redistribution, seismic response, rockburst potential, fault-slip potential, stress-induced damage, squeezing ground, backfill interaction, and extraction sequencing.
• Establish and review geotechnical design criteria, acceptance criteria, modelling standards, calibration requirements, and appropriate factors of safety or risk-based design thresholds.
• Review and guide the selection and optimization of static and dynamic ground support systems, including rock bolts, cable bolts, mesh, shotcrete, and other reinforcement or retention systems.

6. Monitoring, Seismicity, and Ground Behaviour

• Provide oversight and assurance of underground geotechnical instrumentation, monitoring and interpretation strategies.
• Support development and review of monitoring thresholds, Trigger Action Response Plans, exclusion protocols, and response strategies for abnormal ground behaviour.
• Recommend changes to monitoring systems, mine plans, ground support, operating practices, or risk controls where observed performance differs from design expectations.

7. Technical Leadership and Capability Development

• Mentor and provide technical guidance to site geotechnical engineers, rock mechanics specialists, engineers, geologists, and technicians.
• Develop and maintain corporate underground geotechnical standards, guidelines, technical notes, review tools, and training materials.
• Support technical competency assessment, professional development, succession planning, recruitment, and development of underground geotechnical capability.

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Geological Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Civil Engineering, Geology, or an equivalent relevant discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of relevant underground mining geotechnical or rock mechanics experience.
• Demonstrated experience supporting underground operations, major mining studies, and capital projects.
• Recognized expertise in underground rock mechanics, excavation stability, stress management, ground control, and geotechnical risk management.
• Strong understanding of underground mining methods, mine planning, development, production sequencing, backfill, and operational constraints.
• Ability to communicate complex technical issues clearly to operational, technical, project, and senior leadership audiences.
• Strong technical writing, judgement, facilitation, and influencing skills.
• Ability to travel to underground operations and projects and to work underground as required.
• Valid driver's license.
• Experience with multiple underground mining methods and operating jurisdictions.
• Experience with recognized numerical modelling and mine design software, such as FLAC3D, 3DEC, UDEC, RS2, RS3, Map3D, UnWedge, Deswik, or equivalent tools.

Compensation and Total Rewards

The base salary range for this role is $180,000 to $205,000 CAD plus a target Short-Term Incentive bonus of 25%, 15% (LTI) and group benefit coverage. The hiring range reflects our targeted compensation framework for the role. The actual offer will be determined through a comprehensive evaluation of each candidate’s experience, capabilities, and potential impact, along with consideration of internal equity, team structure, and benchmark market data for similar positions. In addition to base salary, Kinross offers a comprehensive total rewards package designed to support employee well-being, performance, and long-term development.

Use of AI in Our Hiring Process

We use AI-enabled tools to help sort and review applications based on job-related criteria. All hiring decisions, including who moves forward in the process, are made by a human.

Existing Vacancy

This job posting is for an existing vacancy.