Member of the Special Projects Staff

ABOUT MARIANA MINERALS

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

THE ROLE

Special Projects is a high-agency problem-solving team at Mariana, empowered by leadership to solve the company’s most critical and least defined problems. In any organization, there are high-leverage, ambiguous problems that either fall between organizational structures or have proven intractable within a team. Special Projects solves these problems by embedding quickly, using first-principles thinking to decomp problems, leading cross-functional execution, and iterating rapidly toward a solution before moving on to the next challenge. It is a dynamic, high-ownership, low-ego team that requires seasoned, independent problem-solvers. Problem spaces include but are not limited to: engineering, operations, software development, new project development, finance, brand, and more.

We are calling all ambitious, eccentric generalists who want to build a generational company.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own critical, ambiguous problems end-to-end: take on discrete problems with diverse stakeholders and drive to defined outcomes with high visibility within the company.
• Build and lead teams you won't manage: assemble the right people from across the company for each project, set a pace, and bring them along. If your effectiveness has historically depended on org-chart authority, this will be a difficult role.
• Build systems that outlast the project: deliver iterative working solutions while creating the processes so the project succeeds on its own. This is very much a hands-on builder role.
• Communicate relentlessly and plainly: up and down the chain, set strategic direction and build consensus.
• Execute with judgment: make real decisions in leadership's absence consistent with the company’s strategy; identify and scope special projects for the team.

WHO YOU ARE

• High agency: you have a strong bias for action. You are willing to push, experiment, and act without waiting for instructions.
• Low ego: you are more interested in the problem being solved than in being seen solving it.
• High EQ: you understand people intuitively and know how to get the best out of them.
• Magnetic: people are drawn to working with you.
• Curious: you want to know how the block model is built, how a refinery works, where sorbent comes from, how legal contracts are structured, why we care about accruals, how best to do a retro, why the model says what it says, and so on.
• Comfortable with ambiguity: you are not scared of endless shades of grey.
• Direct: you speak and write plainly and clearly.
• Composed: as the old special operations adage goes, be a duck. You are calm under pressure.
• Quick study: you get to working literacy in unfamiliar technical or commercial domains quickly while maintaining humility.
• Gritty: you are excited by the opportunity to work through gnarly problems.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-8+ years in roles that demanded ownership of undefined problems: engineering, operations, consulting, banking, construction, founder or early-employee at a startup, military service, or comparable. Preference for those who have operated at high-growth startups.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver results through people who do not report to you.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication.
• Willingness to engage seriously with both technical and commercial material (mining/process engineering, construction, contract structure, financial modeling, software, robotics, autonomy architecture). Depth in any one of these areas is a plus, but genuine interest in all is a requirement.
• Willingness to travel to our mines and refineries (Moab, UT; East Texas; potential international operations); 25-50% but subject to change.
• No mining experience required, but industrial, technology, construction, aerospace, and/or manufacturing experience is a plus.

OUR CULTURE IS BUILT ON FOUR PRINCIPLES

• Everyone Gets Home Safe. We never put speed or cost ahead of people.
• Extreme Ownership. We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.
• Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate. We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.
• Share Your Legos. We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.
• Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply!