Career Opportunities: Director Metallurgy & Strategic Planning (135526)

Description

This role is focused on driving value by improving the metallurgical performance of current and future processing plants, particularly for the Grasberg mine. Key responsibilities include overseeing ore characterization, forecasting mill performance (throughput, recovery, and concentrate grades), and continuously improving the mill forecasting system using advanced software. The role involves acting as the Qualified Person (QP) for SEC reporting, developing process flows for plant expansions, and engaging with both internal teams and external engineering partners to ensure alignment with design and automation objectives. Additionally, the role evaluates new technologies, maintains supplier relationships, and supports site personnel in resolving critical challenges.

• Strategic Planning including:
  • Opportunity identification and framing
  • Converting Opportunities into Projects for execution.
  • Gaining approval for new projects from stakeholders
  • Identifying resources to assist with project execution
• Technology and Innovation
  • Embracing and leaning hard into Technology and Innovation in a way that adds value to the corporation
  • Assessing the strategic fit of various Technology and Innovation and determining whether to frame this as an opportunity.
• Project Execution including:
  • Management of internal and external resources 
  • Accountability for achieving project schedule and cost outcomes
  • Regularly communicating project status and outcomes to stakeholders
• Relationship Building
  • Engagement with personnel at the PTFI jobsites – Grasberg and Manyar
  • Engagement with personnel across the wider Freeport organization
  • Engagements with vendors, consultants, metallurgical labs
  • Maintaining and expanding a network of contacts in the industry focused on metallurgy and mineral processing
  • Coaching and mentoring of team members assigned to the Director, as well as management of their performance
• Other
  • Preparation and presentation of update material to FCX executive management and external business partners
  • Preparation and presentation of technical materials for patents and conferences
  • Organizing site and other visits

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• BSc or BE with 10 years' experience in the mineral processing or engineering related fields
• At least 5 years of experience at a mine site. 
• Specialized technical expertise in three (3) metallurgy-related areas and good general knowledge in another 4 metallurgy-related areas.  Metallurgical areas include crushing, grinding, flotation, leaching, smelting, hydrometallurgy, liquid-solid separation (including thickening and filtering), tailings, materials handling, process modeling and simulation, statistical analysis, process automation control, sampling and assaying, and metallurgical accounting.
• Proficiency in speaking, listening, and writing English.
• Ability to travel 80-120 days per year.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Operational experience at an underground mine.  
• Working knowledge of the Indonesian language.

Additional Comments:

This Phoenix-based position supports our Grasberg mine and Manyar Smelter operations in the provinces of Papua and Java provinces in Indonesia. Areas of focus at these operations include Oreflow, Milling and Dewatering circuits at Grasberg and copper concentrate material handling and slag concentrator circuits. 
The Director oversees a small team of mineral processing professionals. Currently the team is made up of one (1) Senior Principal Engineer, one (1) Principal Engineer II, and two (2) Principal Engineer I, and is responsible for their development, including through regular coaching and mentoring as well as for succession planning and justifications for headcount additions.
The Director is responsible for an annual budget of metallurgical work including mineralogy, bench scale test work, and work done by external process consultants in the range of USD$3M as well as for budgets associated with AFEs for dedicated non-routine work which, at in certain years, can amount to $20-30M under his/her oversight. 
Freeport engages world-class external process consultants, and these may be located in other time zones. The Director will need to be able to hold and field evening and/or early morning calls, depending on the location of the consultants.
The incumbent must be available to undertakes significant domestic and international travel. Specifically:

• 3-4 site visits to the Grasberg mining complex located near Tembagapura, Papua and our Manyar smelters, located in Gresik, Surabaya. Generally, trip to both sites are combined with a duration of typically 2-4 weeks including travel. The ability to walk and tour plant areas is required, and at Grasberg the Mill is located at an elevation of approximately 300 meters.
• Regular visits to various offices in North America where engineering work for Grasberg is being conducted. Currently the locations are New Orleans, Louisiana, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Typically, these trips would be of 3-5 day duration on a bimonthly basis.
• Benchmarking visits to external sites as needed.
• Occasional visit to consultants' offices in various parts of the world including North America and Australia. Typically, a visit to Australia will be combined with a visit to Indonesia.
• Visits to metallurgical labs undertaking test work for Grasberg including Hazen Research, Golden, Colorado, SGS Lakefield, Ontario, Freeport Mineral Processing Lab at our Technology Center in Tucson, on an as needed basis.
• Conference attendance in North America with typically one conference per year.

Criteria/Conditions:

• Location requires mobility in an office environment; each floor is accessible by elevator.  Occasionally work will be performed in a mine, outdoor or manufacturing plant setting. 
• Must be able to frequently sit, stand and walk.