Principal Specialist Mine Waste to Value

About the Principal Specialist, Mine Waste to Value Role

Maaden is seeking a Principal Specialist, Mine Waste to Value, for a full-time position in Saudi Arabia. This role focuses on transforming mining waste streams into strategic sources of business value. The Principal Specialist will enable Maaden to unlock new revenue opportunities, improve resource recovery, reduce environmental liabilities, and advance circular economy objectives by converting waste rock and tailings into commercially viable products and solutions.

The position plays a critical role in accelerating innovation that contributes to both business growth and environmental stewardship, serving as a bridge between technology development, commercialization, and operational deployment.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape and maintain a long-term waste-to-value portfolio aligned with growth, sustainability, and circular economy objectives.
• Identify and prioritize opportunities that maximize value recovery from waste rock, tailings, and other mining by-products.
• Build a sustainable pipeline of innovation and commercialization opportunities that support long-term business growth.
• Expand value creation through the recovery of critical minerals, industrial minerals, aggregates, and other marketable products.
• Develop commercially viable products derived from mining waste streams that create new revenue opportunities.
• Accelerate validation and commercialization of innovative resource recovery technologies.
• Evaluate emerging technologies based on technical readiness, scalability, economic viability, environmental impact, and strategic fit.
• Provide expert technical leadership for feasibility studies, due diligence activities, and innovation assessments.
• Strengthen Ma’aden’s innovation capability through global benchmarking and adoption of industry best practices.
• Advance opportunities through laboratory testing, pilot programs, demonstration projects, and commercial implementation.
• Develop robust business cases and investment recommendations that support informed decision-making.
• Monitor project outcomes to ensure value realization, operational effectiveness, and scalability.
• Build strategic relationships with research institutions, universities, technology providers, startups, and industry organizations.
• Establish collaborative programs that accelerate innovation, technology validation, and commercialization.
• Leverage global innovation ecosystems to strengthen Maaden’s competitive advantage and access to emerging technologies.
• Assess market opportunities and business models for waste-derived products and technologies.
• Identify licensing, partnership, joint venture, and commercialization opportunities that maximize economic returns.
• Enable successful commercialization by aligning technical, legal, procurement, sustainability, and operational stakeholders.

Outcomes and Impact

Success in this role will be measured by the following outcomes:

• Creation of new revenue streams through successful commercialization of waste-derived products and technologies.
• Increased resource recovery rates across mining operations through innovative waste utilization initiatives.
• Successful progression of waste-to-value projects from feasibility assessment to commercial deployment.
• Acceleration of technology access, innovation outcomes, and commercialization success through strategic partnerships.
• Reduction of environmental liabilities through sustainable waste management and circular economy solutions.
• Generation of measurable financial, operational, and sustainability benefits from innovation investments.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering, Metallurgy, Mineral Processing, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a related discipline.

Required Experience

• More than 7 years of experience in mining, mineral processing, technology development, innovation, business development, or strategic partnership environments.
• Experience in mine waste, waste rock, tailings valorization, resource recovery, or circular economy initiatives.
• Proven experience leading technology development, pilot programs, feasibility studies, or commercialization projects.
• Demonstrated experience managing executive, governmental, industry, and research stakeholder relationships.

Work Type and Location

This is a full-time position based in Saudi Arabia.