Principal Geologist

Fortescue

Posted on:  18th Aug 2026

About Us

 

Fortescue is both a proud West Australian company and a global green solutions business. We are recognised for our culture, innovation and industry-leading development of infrastructure, mining assets and green energy initiatives.

 

Our Opportunity

 

Work Location: Perth Office – Fortescue’s Perth office is located on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people

 

 

Roster:  Monday to Friday

 

 

We have an exciting opportunity to join Fortescue's Exploration Australia Critical Minerals team as a Principal Geologist.

 

 

Fortescue is undertaking exploration programs across Australia focused on copper, gold and other critical minerals.

 

 

Reporting to the Exploration Manager, you will work alongside experienced exploration professionals and multidisciplinary technical teams to generate new opportunities, assess third-party opportunities and progress projects from early-stage assessment through to drill testing.

 

Key Responsibilities

 

  • Provide technical leadership across Fortescue's Australian copper-gold exploration portfolio
  • Develop regional geological interpretations and mineral systems models to support exploration targeting
  • Lead project generation, target generation and portfolio prioritisation activities
  • Review exploration strategies, work programs and technical recommendations
  • Identify and evaluate new copper-gold and gold exploration opportunities
  • Support exploration investment decisions through high-quality technical analysis and recommendations
  • Mentor and develop exploration geologists while strengthening technical capability across the team
  • Prepare technical reports and present exploration outcomes to senior leadership
  • Promote a strong culture of safety, collaboration and continuous improvement.

 

Qualifications and Experience

 

  • Degree in geology or a related earth science discipline
  • Minimum 10 years' exploration experience with demonstrated technical leadership
  • Proven success in greenfields exploration, project generation and mineral discovery
  • Strong understanding of mineral systems, structural geology and regional geological interpretation, particularly porphyry copper-gold, iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG), orogenic and/or intrusion-related gold systems
  • Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary exploration teams and mentoring geologists
  • Excellent technical writing, communication and presentation skills
  • Experience working in international exploration environments will be highly regarded
  • Experience using ArcGIS, Leapfrog, ioGAS and geological database software will be advantageous
  • English language proficiency will be highly regarded
  • Current valid drivers licence.

 

Our Commitment

 

Fortescue is deeply committed to providing a safe culture that builds respect, fosters inclusiveness, and values diversity. We celebrate individual strengths and team members from all backgrounds are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. Our global workforce drives and promotes an inclusive culture, both within our organisation and throughout the communities we interact with across the world. Diverse backgrounds include First Nations Peoples, people with differing abilities, LGBTIQ+ community, gender, neurodiverse, cultural diversity, all age groups, and those with an intersectional or multiple diverse characteristics. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

 

 

https://fortescue.com/careers 

 

 

Internal Candidates / Current Contractors please apply via Success Factors Careers Portal. For further information on how to apply please visit the Fortescue Hub. 

 

 

Fortescue reserves the right to close applications early should a suitable pool of candidates be identified. Fortescue will never contact you to ask for payment of any kind, whether directly or through a third party.

 

Get this job