Mechanical Engineer

• Your work will directly influence the safety, reliability, and performance of critical equipment, helping keep a world-class smelter operating at its best. 
• Gain exposure to complex industrial assets, lead meaningful improvement projects, and develop your career.
• This permanent, full-time, role is based in Kitimat, BC. The perfect place to live and work, combining the tranquility of a small community with an unrivaled love for the great outdoors

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future.  Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other.  

About the role 

We are looking for a Mechanical Engineer to help the Asset Management team deliver safe, reliable, and efficient performance of critical plant assets. In this role, you'll contribute to improving equipment reliability, sustaining operational performance, and driving continuous improvement initiatives while working with operations, maintenance, and technical teams across our modernized aluminium smelter in Kitimat.

This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys solving complex engineering challenges in a heavy industrial environment and wants to build expertise in asset management and reliability engineering. You'll work with the specialized equipment that powers Rio Tinto's reduction process, including overhead cranes with custom tools and other critical assets that support one of the world's most advanced aluminium smelting operations.

While we don’t offer fly-in-fly-out arrangements, we do offer relocation assistance, to help you settle in and thrive. Join us and become an integral part of our vibrant community. Located on British Columbia, Canada's northwest coast, Kitimat is a welcoming, family‑friendly community set between the mountains and the sea. Known for its strong local economy, modern amenities, short commutes, and endless opportunities for outdoor adventure, it’s an ideal place to build both a career and a life.

What you’ll be doing 

Reporting to the Superintendent Asset Management, you will: 

• Improve the reliability, availability, and performance of critical plant assets through asset management best practices, continuous improvement initiatives, and equipment lifecycle strategies.
• Develop preventive and predictive maintenance programs, engineering standards, and work procedures that support safe, efficient, and high-quality maintenance execution.
• Lead maintenance and reliability strategies for routine and major work scopes to maximize asset performance, reduce production impact, and support safe operational outcomes.
• Analyze equipment failures and performance trends using root cause analysis and defect elimination methodologies to identify, prioritize, and close reliability gaps.
• Provide technical expertise and troubleshooting support to maintenance teams, resolving immediate equipment issues while identifying long-term solutions that improve asset health and reduce downtime.
• Manage equipment specifications, material substitutions, and bills of materials while partnering with Operations and Maintenance stakeholders to deliver sustainable reliability improvements.  

About you 

We’re looking for someone whose experience aligns with the key requirements below. If you bring relevant experience and are excited by the opportunity, we encourage you to submit an application. 

Required for Success 

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team
• Ability to troubleshoot equipment issues, apply engineering principles, and identify opportunities to improve asset reliability and performance.
• At least two years of engineering experience in processing plants, mining, manufacturing, pulp and paper, or a similar heavy industrial environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or an equivalent discipline, with registration or immediate eligibility to register as an Engineer-in-Training with Engineers and Geoscientists BC.
• Knowledge of work management processes and maintenance or asset management practices.
• Ability to influence, collaborate, and communicate effectively with cross-functional stakeholders to solve technical problems and improve asset performance.

What we offer  

Be recognized for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.

The base salary range for this role is $90,560 – $135,840 CAD in addition to allowances, bonus, equity, health or retirement benefits, and any other discretionary benefits offered at Rio Tinto. Our base salary ranges are based on role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by the skills, experience, and impact you bring to the role. Our talent acquisition partners can share more during the hiring process.

At Rio Tinto, we offer a competitive reward package that reflects the value that each person brings to our business. As part of our pay philosophy, we believe equity represents fairness, and is rooted in our values and aligns with what we stand for.

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority
• Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions
• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)
• Attractive share ownership plan
• Exclusive employee discounts
• Domestic relocation program 

Where you’ll be working  

Rio Tinto’s BC Works is a part of the Atlantic Operations of the Aluminium product group and has been operating in British Columbia for over 70 years. With industry leading new technology and four generations of employee expertise, as well as our hydropower facility at Kemano and the Nechako Reservoir, the Kitimat smelter is one of the world’s most competitive aluminium smelters, producing aluminium with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry.

Rio Tinto is proud to operate in BC alongside our 1,000 employees, partners, community stakeholders and First Nations, and we look forward to the next 70 years.

Applications close on Sunday, 6 September 2026 (Rio Tinto reserves the right to remove advertised roles prior to this date). 

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion
At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQ+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

À propos de Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto est un chef de file mondial du secteur des sociétés minières et des matériaux. Nous sommes établis dans 35 pays où nous produisons du minerai de fer, du cuivre, de l’aluminium, des minéraux critiques et d’autres matériaux nécessaires à la transition énergétique mondiale et à la prospérité des personnes, des communautés et des nations. 

Nous exerçons nos activités depuis 150 ans, en nous appuyant sur les connaissances accumulées au fil des générations et sur les différents continents. Notre mission – trouver de meilleures façons de fournir les matériaux dont le monde a besoin – nous guide dans notre quête d’innovation et d’amélioration continue, dans le but de fabriquer des produits à faibles émissions et répondant aux bonnes normes environnementales, sociales et de gouvernance. Mais comme nous ne pouvons pas y arriver seuls, nous nous attachons à créer des partenariats nous permettant de résoudre des problèmes, de créer des situations mutuellement avantageuses et de saisir des occasions.

Respect and Inclusion
Chez Rio Tinto, nous accueillons favorablement et encourageons les candidatures d’Autochtones, de femmes, de membres de la communauté LGBTQ+, de travailleurs âgés, de personnes handicapées et de représentants d’origines diverses.

Nous sommes déterminés à créer un milieu inclusif où les employés se sentent à l’aise d’être eux-mêmes. Nous souhaitons de plus que chacun ait l’impression que sa voix compte, que toutes les cultures sont respectées et que les points de vue, aussi variés soient-ils, sont non seulement bienvenus, mais également essentiels à notre succès. Nous nous traitons mutuellement avec équité et dignité, sans égard à la race, au genre, à la nationalité, à l’origine ethnique, à la religion, à l’âge, à l’orientation sexuelle ou à tout autre aspect distinctif.