Senior Water Quality Scientist

Okane is an integrated engineering and geoscience consulting company with a global team across Canada, USA, Australia, and New Zealand.

We help mining companies to return mine-affected land responsibly and safely at the end of a mine’s lifecycle. We believe in challenging the status quo and advocate for meaningful partnerships and positive outcomes for community stakeholders and Indigenous rightsholders.

Our solutions are led by a team of interdisciplinary experts spanning various engineering, science, and technology-based fields, including community and stakeholder engagement, mine planning, mine closure design, geotechnical and civil engineering, geology, geochemistry, hydrology and hydrogeology, soil sciences, rehabilitation, revegetation, and environmental monitoring.

Why Choose Us?

We champion diversity and inclusion. We believe in flexibility, work-life balance, and an open-door approach to communication. We provide employees with the tools to succeed and grow with the company and benefits that ensure our employees have the means to feel fulfilled.

Okane’s purpose is to ‘Help Create a Better Tomorrow’. Our workplace culture is defined by the everyday behaviors of our team and driven by our core values: Passionate, Thoughtful & Caring, Smart & Clever, Positive, and Humble.

Our employees enjoy:

• Competitive salary and performance incentive.
• Annual vacation time.
• Paid sick days.
• Health and dental coverage.
• Health spending account.
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
• Growth and advancement opportunities along with an annual allowance for professional development.
• Flexible workplace policy, including maternity and parental leave top-ups and flexibility when returning to work.
• Being a part of an organization recognized as one of the Top Employers of Saskatchewan (2023) & one of Canada’s top Small & Medium Employers (2023).

Our Next Senior Water Quality Scientist

We have an exciting opportunity for a senior water quality scientist to join our team. Reporting to our Principal, Water Stewardship, the Senior Geochemistry and Water Quality Scientist will mentor direct reports and provide technical oversight on WQ modelling and assessment work, data analysis, technical reporting, and support our clients with regulatory and permitting processes. In this role, the senior geochemistry and water quality scientist will help grow Okane’s Water Stewardship team and solution category for Integrated Mine Closure and Mine Planning. This role is remote but preference for Vancouver, BC.

Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities

• Provide technical expertise on the development and review of conceptual and numerical water quality models and assess impacts to the receiving environment (surface and groundwater).
• Work closely with Okane’s environmental geochemistry team to integrate geochemical and ML/ARD characterization in WQ models, interpret model outputs and inform water management strategies and planning.
• Quality technical outputs and review for mine water management planning and water quality projects in all phases of mine life.
• Provide technical guidance, mentorship, and leadership to direct reports and Okane staff.
• Provide senior technical input to project teams ensuring core processes and technical standards are followed.
• Prepare advanced technical documentation and reports.
• Serve as an Engineer/ Scientist of Record, where appropriate.
• Support and guide clients through regulatory and permitting processes.
• Prepare and review detailed work scopes for proposals.
• Project coordination and budgeting.
• Foster and maintain effective client and regulator relationships and networks including identification of innovative opportunities.

Job Requirements

• Technical background in water quality modelling, geochemistry (with a focus on ML/ARD issues and mine closure), and water balance modelling.
• Experience using GoldSim, GeoStudio and other numerical modelling programs.
• Experience with regulatory and permitting processes and providing critical review of mine closure and reclamation projects.
• Experience with the environmental assessment process is an asset.
• Knowledge of regulations, codes, and standards including permitting procedures and practices is an asset.
• Knowledge of hydrology, hydrogeology, and environmental engineering is an asset.
• Possess leadership skills and abilities including communication, accountability, honesty, empathy, creativity, responsibility, and flexibility.
• Experience and aptitude for multidisciplinary work and dynamic team environments.
• Interact competently with internal and external stakeholders of varying levels of expertise.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills – business and technical writing.
• Embody Okane’s Core Vision (Help Create a Better Tomorrow) and Values (Passionate, Smart and Clever, Positive, Thoughtful and Caring, and Humble).
• Lead with integrity, fairness, and transparency.
• Ensure Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines in the execution of all work.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Okane is committed to providing a diverse and inclusive work environment where every employee feels valued, respected, and has a sense of belonging. A diverse workforce is critical to our success, and we believe in bringing your whole self to work. We welcome all qualified candidates to apply and hope you will choose Okane as your employer. If you require accommodation for the recruitment/interview process, please let the HR Team know, and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Application Deadline

We welcome all qualified applicants to submit their Cover letter and CV by November 30th, 2024. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply. We thank you for your interest in Okane. However, those candidates who are selected will be contacted.