Senior Technical Director, Hydrometallurgy & Mineral Processing Engineering

This Opportunity

WSP is seeking a Senior Technical Director, Hydrometallurgy & Mineral Processing Engineering to join our South Jordan, Utah office. This senior technical role will provide subject matter leadership for hydrometallurgical and mineral processing projects from concept and front-end development through scoping, pre-feasibility, feasibility, detailed execution, commissioning, and operational support.

The successful candidate will lead process engineering teams, shape technically robust flowsheets, direct laboratory and integrated pilot programs, and translate test results into practical process designs. The role combines hands-on technical work, project planning, client engagement, quality oversight, mentoring, proposal support, and collaboration with multidisciplinary study and execution teams.

The position will support projects involving lithium, uranium, vanadium, rare earth elements, copper, cobalt, zinc, and other base or critical minerals. The Senior Technical Director will work in office, laboratory, pilot-plant, and site environments and may lead teams across multiple locations and cultures.

Your Impact

• Provide senior technical direction for hydrometallurgical and mineral processing studies and execution assignments, ensuring work is technically sound, fit for purpose, and aligned with agreed scope, schedule, budget, and quality requirements.
• Lead development and review of design criteria, metallurgical balances, process flow diagrams, process descriptions, equipment lists, equipment selection and sizing, and process and piping documentation.
• Develop, evaluate, and optimize hydrometallurgical flowsheets incorporating leaching, pressure oxidation, atmospheric leaching, resin-in-pulp, resin-in-leach, carbon-in-pulp, ion exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation, electrowinning, and membrane or nanofiltration technologies, as applicable.
• Direct laboratory test work and integrated continuous pilot campaigns, including test planning, vendor or laboratory coordination, data analysis, interpretation of results, and definition of design inputs and scale-up criteria.
• Apply process simulation and mass-balancing tools, including Aspen-based simulation and spreadsheet models, to evaluate process alternatives, utilities, reagents, recoveries, recycle streams, and operating performance.
• Lead process contributions to concept, scoping, pre-feasibility, and feasibility studies, including process trade-off studies, technology selection, risk identification, capital and operating cost inputs, and technical report preparation.
• Support project execution, equipment installation, commissioning, ramp-up, troubleshooting, and process optimization for new and existing facilities.
• Identify and assess novel technologies and opportunities to apply existing technologies in innovative flowsheets, balancing technical maturity, operability, safety, environmental considerations, and economic value.
• Act as a senior client interface by presenting findings, addressing technical concerns, communicating progress and decisions, and building trusted relationships with clients, laboratories, technology providers, vendors, and project partners.
• Prepare and review technical proposals, scopes of work, study reports, design deliverables, technical papers, and presentations for client and professional audiences.
• Mentor and coach process engineers and technical staff, promote sound engineering judgment, and strengthen consistent work practices, knowledge sharing, and quality review across project teams.
• Work with project managers and discipline leaders to develop execution strategies, realistic work plans, budgets, schedules, staffing plans, and risk mitigation actions for large or complex assignments.
• Contribute to business development by identifying opportunities, supporting client engagement, developing repeat work, and positioning WSP capabilities in hydrometallurgy and critical-minerals processing.
• Apply WSP administrative, financial, quality, safety, ethical, and professional conduct requirements in all project and field activities.

Core Technical Competencies

• Hydrometallurgical flowsheet development and optimization from bench-scale testwork through pilot campaigns and commercial implementation.
• Process design for leaching, solution purification, ion exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation, electrowinning, resin and carbon circuits, and membrane or nanofiltration applications.
• Metallurgical accounting, mass and solution balances, process simulation, equipment sizing, and interpretation of laboratory and pilot data.
• Critical- and base-minerals processing, with relevant experience in commodities such as lithium, uranium, vanadium, rare earth elements, copper, cobalt, and zinc.
• Technology evaluation, process trade-off studies, scale-up, commissioning, operational troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
• Technical leadership across study, engineering, execution, and commissioning phases, including multidisciplinary interface management.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources and conduct, and adhere to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

Who You Are

• Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, mineral processing, metallurgical engineering, mining engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• More than 20 years of relevant process engineering and hydrometallurgical experience, including leadership of complex studies or execution assignments.
• Demonstrated experience taking mineral processing projects from concept through feasibility and into execution, commissioning, or operations support.
• Substantial experience planning, overseeing, and interpreting laboratory testwork and pilot-scale programs.
• Strong scientific and analytical understanding of hydrometallurgy, process design, metallurgical balances, and process optimization.
• Experience evaluating or developing technology and integrating novel or established technologies into practical flowsheets.
• Proven ability to lead technical teams, plan work, manage schedules and quality, review deliverables, and communicate technical decisions clearly.
• Established client-facing experience, including technical presentations, report writing, issue resolution, and relationship development.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize competing demands, exercise mature technical judgment, and know when broader specialist or project leadership input is required.
• Commitment to mentoring and developing engineers and technical staff and to working effectively with diverse, geographically distributed teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to prepare clear, defensible technical reports and proposals.
• Commitment to workplace safety and ability to comply with WSP health, safety, drug and alcohol, harassment, ethics, and conduct requirements.
• Ability to travel occasionally to laboratories, pilot facilities, client offices, and project sites, including remote locations, and to work schedules suited to project requirements.
• Must successfully complete and pass WSP motor vehicle screening where driving is required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional registration or active membership in a recognized mining, metallurgy, chemical engineering, or process engineering professional organization.
• Demonstrated technical standing through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, short-course instruction, professional committees, or industry awards.
• Experience collaborating with leading hydrometallurgical laboratories, consultants, technology providers, and operating companies across international projects.
• Experience in consulting, proposal development, client account growth, and supporting the development of new or repeat work.

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