Senior Process Optimization Engineer

About Us

We’re a small, focused company doing work that most of the industry hasn’t caught up to yet. We automate and optimize critical mining processes, thickening, flotation, and water treatment. We’re the only systems integrator in BC built specifically around mining. We’re growing, and this role is central to where we’re going.

If you’ve spent years becoming genuinely good at mineral processing and you’ve been the person in the room who actually understands the problem, but not always the one who gets to own the solution this is worth reading.

The role

You’ll lead our thickener and process optimization practice. That means being the senior technical authority on every engagement the person clients trust to walk their site, diagnose what’s wrong, and fix it. It also means helping us win that work: using your network, your reputation, and your knowledge of who in this industry has a problem we can solve.

We don’t split “technical” from “business development” and we’re not looking for someone who does either. The right person sees those as the same thing.

In practice:

• Lead process optimization engagements focused on thickener underflow density control, flocculant optimization, and related unit operations
• Develop and implement process control strategies — from initial assessment through to commissioning and handover
• Drive business development through your own relationships and industry presence, and lead the technical side of those conversations
• Shape how we approach this work — the methodologies, the tools, the way we deliver — this isn’t a role where that’s already decided for you
• Build the team around you over time as the practice grows

What we need

5+ years of genuine mining process experience: either designing processes with an engineering firm, optimizing them on site with an operator or developing them in R&D with an OEM. You should know what a poorly-tuned flocculant dosing strategy looks like at 2am and have the instincts to sort it out.

Beyond the technical depth:

• A real network in the mining industry — people who will take your call and value your opinion
• Experience bringing in work, whether at a consultancy, as an independent, or inside a larger firm you understand the client side of this business
• The ability to own a project completely: scope, delivery, client relationship, outcome. You can hold people accountable both on the client side and within your own organisation.
• Enough comfort with ambiguity to build something that doesn’t fully exist yet
• Strong communication with clients, with operators on site. You’re a leader when things aren’t going to plan.

Compensation

Base salary of $160,000–$180,000 depending on experience, plus a performance bonus tied directly to the results you deliver and the business you help grow. We want your upside to reflect your contribution if this practice succeeds because of you, that should be visible in what you take home.

We’ll have a straightforward conversation about what the full package looks like for the right person.

Why Tusk

We make decisions quickly. There’s no procurement committee, no six-month approval cycle, no layer of management between you and the work. If you’ve spent time inside a large organization and found it slower than it needed to be, you’ll notice the difference immediately.

You’ll have genuine autonomy over how this practice is built and run. We have opinions and we’ll share them, but we’re not hiring a senior engineer to execute someone else’s playbook.

We’re small enough that what you do here is visible to clients, to the industry, and inside the company. If you’ve been good at this work for years and want to build something rather than maintain something, this is the right conversation to have.