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Senior Tailing Engineer

Copper Quail


Job Location:

Johannesburg - South Africa

Salary: Not provided by the employer
Experience Required: 5years
Posted: 6 September 2026 (14 days ago)
Application Deadline: 4 December 2026
Vacancies: 1 Vacancy

Job Summary

A premier engineering consultancy is seeking to employ a senior-level self-motivated tailings engineer with more than 7 years of tailings-related experience on a full-time basis based in Rivonia. The engineer will contribute to new and existing projects and assist project managers and project directors with the surveillance of existing tailings storage facilities and the design of new ones as well as return water dams.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Planning and scheduling of projects

  • Compilation of proposals and appointment of sub-contractors and sub-consultants

  • Surveillance of tailings storage facilities and return water dams

  • Performing as and/or assisting the Engineer of Record (EoR) in carrying out annual audit inspections on tailings storage facilities and return water dams

  • Travel to sites predominantly South Africa Tanzania and West Africa to conduct site inspections related to monitoring and construction management

  • Driving and managing the design of new tailings storage facilities return water dams or associated infrastructure together with travelling to site to conduct field investigations relevant to the project

  • Performing and overseeing stability analysis of various facilities and types of residue

  • Transfer of knowledge and delegating work to a team of graduate junior and intermediate-level engineers

  • Managing projects and reporting back to project managers and directors

  • Keeping up with the latest developments in the tailings industry and expanding the internal knowledge base

Preferred Skills & Attributes:

  • Strong critical thinking and problem-solving abilities

  • Excellent communication skills fluent in English

  • Dynamic self-motivated with a willingness to take responsibility and ownership of tasks

  • Ability to manage client relationships source new work and promote service offerings

  • Effective time management and strong attention to detail

  • Strong mentoring organizational and planning skills




Requirements

More than 7 years of tailings engineering experience

  • B Eng or BSc Eng in Civil Engineering

  • Postgraduate experience in geotechnical engineering will be advantageous

  • Registered as a Professional Engineer with ECSA

  • Strong fundamental understanding and knowledge of soil mechanics

  • Strong fundamental understanding and knowledge of CPTu testing and interpretation

  • Strong fundamental understanding and knowledge of related laboratory testing of soils and tailings material

  • Strong understanding of the various types of engineering contracts

  • Experience in geotechnical investigations

  • Experience in Tailings Dam Breach Assessments

  • At least 5 years of experience with limit equilibrium and numerical slope stability and seepage analysis with a strong understanding of software such as GeoStudio Plaxis or Slide

  • Proficiency in MS Word MS Excel MS Outlook MS PowerPoint and MS Projects / Primavera

  • Proficiency in AutoCAD Civil 3D or Modelmaker

  • Valid drivers license and passport




Benefits
Medical Aid and Provident Fund


Required Skills:

Specialized Capability: Mandatory experience in developing and assessing water balances using GoldSim. Licensing: Valid South African drivers license. Industry Knowledge: Deep understanding of surface water management along with relevant legislation regulations and guidelines particularly in a mining and industrial context. Skills & Competencies Software Proficiency: General: MS Word Excel PowerPoint MS Project AutoCAD (Civil 3D). Specialized: GoldSim PCSWMM HEC-RAS UPFLOOD WRSM2005 Flo-2D QGIS/ArcGIS ModelMaker. Advantageous: Programming/coding skills (Visual Basic Python). Project & Team Leadership: Demonstrated project management skills with strong interpersonal capabilities to work collaboratively in a team environment. Communication: Excellent written and spoken English with exceptional technical report-writing skills.


Required Education:

BSc Eng (Civil) or BEng (Civil). An MSc or MEng in Hydrology and Hydraulics is preferred.