Manager Exploration & Mining Artificial Intelligence

About the Role

Ma’aden is seeking a Manager, Exploration & Mining Artificial Intelligence to lead the integration of AI solutions across its mining operations in Riyadh. This full-time role focuses on enhancing resource discovery, orebody understanding, safety, planning, productivity, efficiency, and sustainability through advanced AI applications.

Role Purpose and Impact

The Manager will identify, develop, deploy, and ensure the adoption of AI solutions across various functions including exploration, geology, resource modeling, mine planning, drilling and blasting, material movement, fleet optimization, production, and mine safety. This position involves translating operational challenges into scalable AI solutions and collaborating with multiple technical and operational teams to deliver measurable and sustainable value.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a prioritized portfolio of Exploration & Mining AI use cases aligned with business strategy and operational targets.
• Assess opportunities based on business value, technical feasibility, data readiness, scalability, and operational risk.
• Lead the design, development, testing, deployment, and continuous improvement of AI, machine learning, optimization, computer vision, and geospatial analytics solutions.
• Enable applications such as exploration targeting, geological interpretation, resource estimation support, and mine planning optimization.
• Ensure solutions are production-ready, scalable, maintainable, explainable, and aligned with operational and technical requirements.
• Partner with exploration, geology, mine planning, technical services, mining operations, maintenance, and safety teams to address operational challenges.
• Apply predictive and prescriptive analytics to improve discovery targeting, orebody understanding, plan compliance, and cost performance.
• Support hazard detection, fatigue and proximity analytics, equipment health insights, and risk-informed decision-making.
• Coordinate integration of AI solutions with geoscience platforms, mine planning systems, fleet management systems, and enterprise applications.
• Work with Enterprise AI and AI & ML Ops teams to utilize approved platforms, components, deployment pipelines, and model lifecycle standards.
• Monitor deployed models for performance, reliability, drift, availability, and continued business value.
• Embed AI outputs into exploration workflows, technical services processes, operational practices, and management decision-making.
• Lead user engagement, change management, training, and knowledge transfer to support effective adoption and sustainable operational ownership.
• Track realized benefits and report performance against safety, discovery, planning, production, productivity, reliability, cost, and sustainability measures.
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team combining AI, data science, geoscience, mining engineering, and operational expertise.
• Ensure solutions comply with safety, cybersecurity, data governance, model governance, responsible AI, quality, and operational risk requirements.
• Manage activities within approved scope, budget, schedule, quality, and performance expectations.

Qualifications and Experience

• Experience: 10+ years of relevant experience, with at least 5 years in AI, advanced analytics, geospatial analytics, mining optimization, automation, or digital transformation. Experience in mining, metals, exploration, energy, or another asset-intensive industry is preferred.
• Leadership: Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams and delivering AI or advanced analytics solutions in exploration, mining, or operational environments.
• Project Lifecycle: Proven experience progressing solutions from use-case definition and development through production deployment, adoption, and value realization.

Work Environment

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, within Ma’aden’s operational framework.