Senior Engineer, Functional Safety

Rio Tinto • Salt Lake City, UT

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Be part of a safety-first organization where your work directly protects people and critical operations. Grow your expertise in functional safety within a global mining leader known for technical excellence. Enjoy a permanent, Salt Lake City-based role with access to world-class outdoor recreation and a strong local community. At Rio Tinto, we are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace where everyone feels safe, respected, and able to succeed. We actively encourage applications from women and from people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We know that great technical capability comes in many forms, and we’re focused on building teams that reflect the communities we operate in and support each other to do their best work. We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future. Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other. About the role We are looking for a Functional Safety Senior Engineer to lead and continuously improve safety instrumented systems that protect people, assets, and operations. This is a great opportunity for a collaborative and technically strong professional to contribute to critical risk management and system performance in a complex industrial environment. Reporting to the Process Safety Management Superintendent and working in a multidisciplinary team within the Process Safety function, you will:

Requirements

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team
• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, or chemical engineering
• Five years of experience working in fixed plants or heavy industrial environments
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across teams while also working independently when needed
• Hands-on experience implementing functional safety programs aligned with IEC 61508 and IEC 61511
• Experience participating in or facilitating HAZOP and LOPA studies
• Strong background in developing safety requirement specifications and participating in safety assessments
• Solid understanding of asset lifecycle management, cost drivers, and risk-based decision making
• Proficiency with ExSILentia or similar functional safety modeling tools

Nice To Haves

• Certified Functional Safety Expert certification

Responsibilities

• Champion a strong safety culture by ensuring all functional safety activities align with Rio Tinto safety standards and proactively identifying and addressing risks
• Facilitate and contribute to LOPA studies to support accurate Safety Integrity Level determination
• Lead development of Safety Requirement Specifications in collaboration with process and technical engineering teams
• Guide conceptual design of safety instrumented functions in alignment with IEC 61511 requirements
• Develop clear and effective cause and effect diagrams for safety systems
• Create and validate functional testing procedures, including pass and fail criteria for SIS components
• Perform SIL verification using ExSILentia or equivalent tools to ensure system reliability and compliance
• Lead functional safety assessments across the lifecycle and partner with stakeholders to implement improvement plans
• Provide technical support and troubleshooting expertise to maintenance teams for SIS-related issues
• Support projects through design, verification, commissioning, and continuous improvement of safety systems

Benefits

• Competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with an annual incentive bonus.
• Access to top-tier family-friendly health programs including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, and various voluntary benefits.
• Excellent retirement plan including up to 6% defined company contribution; Generous 401k matching program.
• Attractive share ownership plan.
• Comprehensive leave policies which cover all the moments that matter in life: PTO (paid time off), paid holidays, and paid bereavement leave.
• A generous parental leave policy, which ensures you’re able to spend quality time with your new family.
• Discount programs for leisure purposes and access to Virgin Pulse with incentives supporting your wellbeing.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides confidential counselling or expert guidance for you and your family to help get through life’s challenges.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior