Biological Mine Water Treatment Scientist – Intermediate

The Opportunity

We are looking for a full-time Biological Mine Water Treatment Scientist to add to our Saskatoon office. In this role, you will work directly with our management team and scientific staff to deliver technical-based reports for our clients. You will be involved in the technical design and optimization aspects of water treatment projects focused on passive, semi-passive, and biological water treatment in the mining sector. These projects currently include the first (and still only) full-scale gravel bed bioreactor operating at a mine in North America, and a range of other projects and technologies such as: constructed wetland treatment systems, in situ treatment (pit lakes, mine pools), saturated rock fills, and improvements to active biological systems. These span the mine life cycle spectrum of greenfield feasibility assessments, operating mines, closure planning, and remediation of long-term legacy sites. You will have the opportunity to participate in an innovative, fast-growing company working in the environmental field. This permanent, full-time position is a unique opportunity to grow and expand your career.

One of the things that makes Maven unique is our state-of-the-art water treatment pilot facility and laboratory. This gives us the ability to not only do desktop consulting and design work, but also to advance emerging technologies and develop and optimize other technologies in site-specific ways. This expands to our proprietary on-site mobile pilot-scale units that are used at mine sites across Canada. You will have the opportunity to do theoretical design, while also being able to validate and optimize water treatment systems through pilot-scale testing to further support your scientific assumptions.

We are growing rapidly and want you on our team

Join our team and find out firsthand why we were namedSaskatchewan Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Business of the Year! At Maven, we believe in a sustainable future, where clean energy and products are made with minimal impact on water and the environment. We are growing our team of scientists, engineers, and support personnel to meet the ever-increasing demand for our services and technologies. As a small but growing team, you will have exposure to a wide range of opportunities within the organization, and the ability to specialize as we add more people to the team. Our core values of Always Evolving, Be the Catalyst, and Celebrate Uniqueness permeate through everything we do at Maven.

Who we are looking for

• You are intellectually curious and enjoy multidisciplinary problem-solving in a team-oriented setting.
• You are a structured and logical thinker, capable of taking a system or process and breaking it down into its component parts.
• You have read this job posting in detail and include in your cover letter a one or two sentence description of your favourite biogeochemical reaction.
• You are highly analytical, have strong attention to detail and ability to tackle complex problems.
• You are accountable for your work and outcomes.
• You’re an effective communicator with possess strong organizational skills.
• You embrace using our core concepts of Always Evolving, Be the Catalyst, and Celebrate Uniqueness to create value.

What you’ll be doing

As a consulting firm, our team is focused on helping our clients solve problems, make strategic decisions, anticipate needs, and achieve their goals. This requires us to take a collaborative client-centric approach to how we do science at Maven. The focus of this role is on the design and optimization of water management and treatment strategies using a wide range of tools and techniques.

To successfully contribute to these consulting activities, things you will commonly be doing include:

• Develop proposals, workplans, and respond to RFPs.
• Work as a collaborative team member on the analysis, interpretation, and reporting of data from our pilot- and full-scale water treatment systems for mining operations.
• Contribute to water management and treatment designs through calculations and science-based risk assessments.
• Consult on water treatment projects from initial site studies to pilot- and demonstration-scale through to implementation at full-scale.
• Optimize semi-passive water treatment systems (such as treatment wetlands, bioreactors, in situ treatment, etc.) using internally developed tools and technologies.
• Involved in technology development programs through the design and prototyping of mobile pilot-scale technology for semi-passive and enhanced passive treatment systems.
• Create, scale, and improve processes and operations.
• Develop calculators and algorithms for the operation of biological and semi-passive water treatment systems.
• Write technical descriptions of scientific and engineering processes geared for all types of readers.

Your Experience and Qualifications

• Degree in a scientific field such as biogeochemistry, geochemistry, geology, water quality, environmental sciences, biology, chemistry, or a similar field. Relevant degrees in engineering disciplines will also be considered.
• Your education and experience are one of the following combinations: BSc + 4 years work experience, MSc + 2 years work experience, or PhD in a related area. Ensure you communicate the relevancy of your studies and work in your cover letter and CV.
• Strong knowledge of semi-passive water treatment (treatment wetlands, in situ treatment, etc.) or active bioreactors.
• Experience with experimental design, data interpretation, and associated technical reporting associated with water treatment systems.
• Proficiency with advanced spreadsheets and other data analysis and visualization methods including statistics or modeling software as appropriate to your area.
• Experience in project management principles and budgeting.
• Eagerness to continuously learn and expand your knowledge and skillsets while also sharing information and mentoring others.
• Actively working towards a relevant professional designation (e.g., PChem, P.Eng., RPBio, EP, etc.).

Additional preferred skills

• Interpretation of microbial analyses involved in the biogeochemical processes.
• Advanced data management and visualization, such as R, SAS, Python, etc.
• Experimental design.
• Experience with fieldwork, water sampling, field data management, etc.

Schedule

• Opportunity to have a flexible work schedule once onboarded, trained, and integrated into projects.
• Travel may be possible depending on client and project needs.
• Evening, weekend, or overtime work may be required from time to time based on project needs.

Benefits

• Modern incentive programs (financial, additional time off, and/or career progression).
• Opportunity to rapidly advance within a growing company.
• Ongoing professional development opportunities.
• Coverage of annual dues for relevant professional designations.
• Potential to travel to Canadian and international project sites (as appropriate to the project needs).
• Paid sick time and mental health days.
• Modern pension program (which can also be used for student loans or first-time home buyers).
• Paid overage of medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.

Relocation assistance is available for candidates within North America to move to Saskatoon.

Salary and Compensation

$55,000 - $100,000, depending on qualifications and experience (internal salary band III to V)

How to Apply

Apply by Monday March 6, 2023. Interviews will be held in mid-March.

Maven is an equal-opportunity employer. We appreciate your interest in applying to our company. Note that only those applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.