Geotechnical Engineer (R&D)

LKAB is an international mining and minerals group that offers sustainable iron ore, minerals and special products. We are committed to developing carbon-free processes and products by 2045, leading the transformation of the iron and steel industry.
We are one of Sweden's oldest industrial companies and are wholly owned by the Swedish state. Since 1890 we have developed through unique innovations and technological solutions and are driven forward by more than 4,500 employees in 12 countries. In 2020, the LKAB group had sales of about SEK 34 billion.


Want to join us on our exciting journey?
LKAB is facing an important challenge on how to mine our massive orebodies at greater depths. This requires an extensive development work for the next-generation production systems.


About the position
We are now looking for a geotechnical engineers with focus on numerical modeling who want to be part of our journey towards the future. As a person you are genuinely interested in geotechnical engineering applied to deep mining. You will take a major role in the successful design and construction of our future mines ensuring that critical aspects of geotechnical design are followed.


You will be based in the city of Kiruna or Gällivare situated in Swedish Lapland, above the Arctic Circle.


What areas of expertise are we looking for?
• Mining methods (including caving and backfilling methods), mine design and rock mechanics applied to deep underground mining and seismically active mines.
• Experience in the application of stress managing techniques (hydrofracturing, mine sequencing, destressing, etc).
• Demonstrated ability to use specialised geotechnical and seismic software, i.e., RocScience suite, Itasca suite, Leapfrog, Voxler and Abaqus viewer and MxRap suite.
• Advanced numerical analyses skills to evaluate the different mine design and mine sequencing scenarios. • Advanced skills in programming languages Python and Fish.
• An understanding of the mine planning process from long term to short term. Comprehensive knowledge of Deswik MDM system.
• Understanding of surface deformation mechanisms for underground cave mines.
• Data quality is the first step in ensuring an adequate geotechnical assessment of our future mine designs. Input to critical data requirements and logging practices will be expected.
• Geotechnical behavior also includes the gravity flow of the cave masses, rock fragmentation and cave propagation mechanisms.


The position requires a strong knowledge and interest in identifying and overcoming the challenges of mining on increasingly deeper levels. Qualities fundamental to this job are a passion for geotechnical engineering applied to mine design and problem-solving, an interest in suggesting and testing new solutions and good analytical abilities. You are a self-driven person, enjoy teamwork, have good communication skills and are interested in creating an international network of contacts.


You hold a MSc or a PhD in a relevant field and significant/multi-year industrial experience is of great importance. Site operations experience is highly advantageous as is exposure to caving mining methods and large scale backfill operations.


Other information and application
Great opportunities for fantastic outdoor activities both in summer and winter time exist. For more information, please visit Lapland’s website www.kirunalapland.se or www.welcometogallivare.com
To learn more visit lkab.com and sustainableundergroundmining.com.


Submit your application no later than 10th April. Selection takes place continuously.


For further information about this position, please contact:


• Jordi Puig, Head of Department Mining Technology, +46 (0) 72 560 26 95, puig@lkab.com
• Matthias Wimmer, Mining Technology Section Manager Kiruna +46 (0)980 622 64, wimmer@lkab.com


Union representatives:


Kiruna/Svappavaara
Sakari Alanko, Unionen, 0980-725 08
Björn Åström, Sveriges Ingenjörer, 0980-72903


Malmberget/Luleå
Unionen Södra - Per Ola Eriksson, 0920-38076
SACO-klubben Södra - Annika Taavoniku, 0970-79532
Ledarna Södra – Annica Kaati 0970-76765