Control Systems Engineer III - Newmont Mining Corporation

Newmont Mining Corporation is a leading global gold producer with key assets in Nevada, Peru, Australia, Ghana and Suriname.

Newmont’s Africa Operations holds two gold mining operations in Ghana: the Ahafo Mine located in the Brong-Ahafo region and the Akyem Mine located in the Eastern region. There is also near mine exploration and development focus in Ghana to annually replace gold reserves. Newmont Africa also has early-stage exploration programs in the African countries of Ethiopia and Morocco.

Our Africa operations employ approximately 5,900 employees and contractors, with the majority working at the Ahafo Mine. We offer an unparalleled blend of opportunity and career satisfaction with all the benefits you would expect from a global company. This, combined with our growth opportunities, makes Newmont a great company to work.

Our Akyem and Ahafo mines have made significant sustainable community development investments in our host communities. These include establishing Development Funds at our Akyem and Ahafo operational areas with each mine contributing US$1 per ounce of gold sold and 1% of net pre-tax annual profit into its community development fund.

The only gold company listed in the S&P 500 index, Newmont 2007 became the first gold company selected to be part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Newmont’s industry-leading performance is reflected through our Africa operations’ high standards in environmental management, health and safety for our workforce and creating value and opportunity for our employees, host communities and Newmont’s shareholders.

About This Role:

The Control Systems Engineer III is responsible for maintaining the availability and integrity of the Industrial Control System (ICS) infrastructure across multiple sites in the region.

The incumbent:

• Provides technical expertise on Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) & Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) configuration, troubleshooting, maintenance, and upgrades.
• Provides technical guidance for networking, telemetry, and all site Operational Technology (OT) infrastructure including the PI Historian suite of applications.
• Is required to provide support to maintenance, control room / operations and projects departments to safely maximize production capacity across both processing and mining facilities.
• Is required to collaborate with control system vendors to manage minor upgrades, patching and incorporate new products reliably into the site Industrial Control System (ICS).
• Is required to lead the implementation and utilization of Newmont standard Industrial Control System (ICS) applications for alarm and controller performance, downtime reporting, electronic shift logging.
• Is required to implement change requests and project support, adhering to existing site configuration standards and Management of Change (MOC) processes.
• Has sufficient experience in mineral processing and mining facilities to understand and manage the risks associated with any temporary or permanent changes to the site Industrial Control System (ICS).
• Is required to participate in the global Fixed Plant Control System (FPC) community of practice where lessons learned, and best practices are shared.
• Is also required to recognize and replicate where appropriate best-practice solutions provided by the global Fixed Plant Control System (FPC) community.

In This Role You Will:

• Monitor multiple sites control system infrastructure status and resolve any issues identified.
• Implement temporary and permanent change requests to Industrial Control System (ICS) software/application.
• Execute and / or support projects impacting on site industrial control systems.
• Monitor, report and improve the key Industrial Control System (ICS) performance metrics (alarm & controller reporting, system availability etc.).
• Diagnose and resolve operations and maintenance issues related to the industrial control system.
• Support the site Operational Technology (OT) infrastructure and applications, including the PI Historian suite.
• Participate in the global process control community.

Your Training, Skills and Experience Checklist:

Formal Qualification (including Professional Registrations):

• Tertiary Qualification in control systems engineering, or related discipline.

Experience:

• 5-7 years’ experience working with control systems in any related industry.
• Significant and demonstrable experience in at least one of the following systems:
  • Schneider Modicon Programmable Logic Controller (PLCs).
  • Citect Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Human Machine Interface (HMI) systems.
  • Wonderware Human Machine Interface (HMI) systems.
  • Rockwell Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs).
  • Yokogawa Centum VP Distributed Control Systems (DCS).
• Significant exposure and understanding of industrial Ethernet networks.
• Significant exposure to Industrial Control System (ICS) communications protocols including Modbus Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) / Internet Protocol (IP), Optical Process Control (OPC), Profibus etc.
• Significant exposure to Information Technology (IT)/Operational Technology (OT) fundamentals including virtual server installations, database management, active directory management, cyber-security.
• Knowledge and understanding of OsiSoft PI application suite desirable.
• Knowledge of industry best practices for industrial control systems.

Skills and Abilities:

• Advanced Personal Computer (PC) skills and computer literacy.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving ability.
• High attention to detail and effective communication.
• Ability to mentor and influence technical resources regionally and globally.
• Ability to interact competently with stakeholders at various levels up to and including site process managers.
• Ability to work effectively with site and broader control system teams.

Working Conditions:

• The position is located at our Ahafo South mine.
• The position is predominantly site based though work conditions will vary with;
  • sometimes working from the site, subject to site roster patterns, and
  • sometimes working remotely from home, and/or
  • sometimes working in the regional office.