The posting
About the Company
In the coming decades, demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, and cobalt will continue to grow. These minerals are needed to build electric infrastructure, vehicles, data centers, and electronics. However, the mining industry is making 10x fewer discoveries per dollar spent on exploration compared to 30 years ago because the easy-to-find, near surface deposits have largely been discovered.
KoBold was founded to be the first AI native mineral exploration, mine development, and technology development company. Our goal is to turn mineral exploration into a repeatable science to discover the minerals the world needs—by integrating artificial intelligence, human intelligence, and new technology. Our multidisciplinary teams of data scientists, engineers, and geologists work together to build data systems, design new sensors, and establish industry-leading workflows to develop and test subsurface predictions on our exploration projects.
Our first discovery, Mingomba, is a high-grade copper deposit in Zambia, found after spending materially less than industry average. We are developing Mingomba with the same technical rigor that we apply to exploration. The Mingomba team brings together mine and processing engineers, geologists, data scientists, software engineers, and community, health & safety, construction, and operations specialists. By combining industry knowledge and cutting edge technology, we are developing Mingomba into a world class project that has safer and more predictable outcomes for ourselves, partners, and communities. It is expected to create thousands of good jobs for generations.
KoBold runs exploration programs in eight countries, all with the potential for another discovery.
KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Durable Capital, StepStone, and Standard Investments; and strategic natural resources companies BHP and Mitsubishi.
About the Role
KoBold is advancing multiple exploration programs across Zambia, including our flagship Mingomba copper discovery. As Senior Hydrogeologist, you will lead all hydrogeological aspects of our exploration and early-stage development activities. You will design groundwater monitoring programs, develop conceptual and numerical hydrogeological models, manage water balance assessments, and ensure compliance with Zambian water regulations (WARMA). You will work closely with the drilling, environmental, and community relations teams to ensure water resources are responsibly managed across all project sites.
As projects advance toward feasibility, you will provide hydrogeological inputs for mine water management planning, dewatering strategies, and environmental impact assessments. You will also support community engagement on water-related matters and serve as the technical authority on groundwater issues for internal and external stakeholders.
Responsibilities
- Identify data gaps in the hydrogeology program
- Coordinate and lead field teams to execute these data collection programs
- Provide technical and administrative support to hydrogeologic field operations in support of mine area surface and groundwater management strategies, including piezometric completions, drill stem injection test, other monitoring and characterization tests
- Coordinate and support of numerical and conceptual groundwater modeling: review/validation of results as well as contribution technical insights to derive novel hydrogeologic analyses
- Preparation of detailed technical scopes and execution of work, including dewater and production wells drilling and completion of dewatering wells as well as water exploration drilling and testing projects
- Provide technical support in the design and development of groundwater management strategies for mine planning and development
- Assess the impact of local (mine sale) as well as regional (basin scale) hydrogeologic conditions in ming operations and provide alternatives and detailed technical advice for mine water management.
- Actively communicate with other regional operators regarding mine water management at a regional scale and build collaborative management strategies and programs
- Collaborate with Project teams as the hydrogeology domain expert on engineering design to actualize a dewatering strategy
Qualifications
- Bachelor's or post-graduate degree in hydrogeology, geology, geological or environmental engineering, or closely related discipline
- 6-10 years of work experience in hydrogeology
- Experience in designing and implementing hydrogeologic field studies
- Experience in analyzing hydrogeologic data to support the development of conceptual and numerical models of groundwater flow, including familiarity with modeling software such as MODFLOW or FEFLOW
- Deep expertise in porous media flow and coupled groundwater/ surface- water systems.
- Knowledge of groundwater management strategies for
- Enthusiasm for developing novel mathematical models, both physics-based and data-driven
- Drive to self-teach programming fundamentals and learn KoBold’s code repositories
We are committed to equal employment opportunities for all people.
This position is a fixed term contract role.
At this time, we are only accepting applications from Zambian nationals.
Location: Copperbelt, Zambia.
What to Expect
Joining KoBold means getting the opportunity for hands-on exposure to our exploration projects around the world. All employees are expected to travel to project sites, with a minimum of one week per year. Field-facing and technical roles spend significantly more time in the field.
