Principal Engineer (Underground Fire) | MECoE | Brisbane, Adelaide, or Perth

About BHP

At BHP we support our people to grow, learn, develop their skills and reach their potential. With a global portfolio of operations, we offer a diverse and inclusive environment with extraordinary career opportunities. Our strategy is to focus on creating a safe work environment where our employees feel strongly connected to our values and objectives, and where the capability of our people is key to our success.

Come and be a part of this success.

About MECoE

BHP’s Maintenance and Engineering Centre of Excellence (MECoE) brings together a dedicated and innovative team committed to achieving and maintaining world-class maintenance standards across BHP’s global operations. We value diverse perspectives and experiences, empowering our people to make a meaningful impact.

At MECoE, you’ll leverage cutting-edge tools, technologies, and approaches to deliver real value, setting new benchmarks, driving continuous improvement, transforming services, and supporting our teams across the business.

About the Role

An exciting opportunity exists within our global MECoE Engineering team. We are actively seeking a highly capable and experienced Fire Engineer with a strong background in underground mining.

Reporting to the Process Safety Engineering Manager, the Principal Engineer (Underground Fire) will play a critical role in defining and leading global standards, applying industry-leading practices, and leveraging technological advancements to manage the risk of underground fire and explosion across BHP.

In this challenging and highly visible global role, you will act as a technical Subject Matter Expert and:

• Define, develop and continuously improve global standards, processes, systems, and technologies for managing underground fire and explosion risks.
• Lead governance and assurance activities, including oversight of critical controls across BHP’s global operations.
• Support material risk management processes related to underground fire and explosion priority group risks.
• Build and nurture collaborative partnerships with operational assets to drive improved safety outcomes.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with Operational and Functional stakeholders to enhance risk management effectiveness.
• Communicate effectively and influence stakeholders at all levels across the organisation.
• Champion innovation and change within a complex business environment.
• Demonstrate professionalism, integrity, and alignment with BHP’s Charter, Group Level Documents, Code of Conduct, and statutory obligations.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or equivalent tertiary qualification; a specialisation in Fire Safety is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated of industry experience in Fire Safety Engineering, with a strong background in underground mining environments.
• Deep expertise in both active and passive  fire protection systems and controls related to the underground fire and explosion management.
• Proven ability to apply enterprise-wide risk management processes effectively.
• Demonstrated experience in the design and operation of fire protection systems.
• Strong understanding of underground ventilation principles and their role in fire and explosion risk. Solid understanding of International, Australian, and local codes and regulations related to underground fire and explosion risk.
• Familiarity with Asset Management processes.
• Exceptional technical leadership, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills within a matrix organisation.
• High-level strategic thinking, critical analysis, and problem-solving abilities.
• A track record of successfully leading strategic change initiatives and delivering impactful outcomes in complex environments.
• Experience implementing and/or managing fire safety systems across multiple commodities is highly desirable.

Location

This role can be based at our Australian corporate offices in Brisbane, Adelaide, or Perth. You will work Monday to Friday, with site travel required from time to time. Flexible work arrangement is also offered. We encourage team collaboration, and our corporate office teams are expected to work from the office at least three days per week.

To find out more about working with BHP and to meet some of our team, click here.

Ready to make a global impact in underground fire safety? Apply now and help us shape safer, smarter mining operations.

Application close on Thursday, 28 Aug 2025

About Our Process

At BHP, we are committed to employing individuals who align with the BHP Charter Values and meet the requirements of the role. As part of the recruitment process, there are a number of checks which may be conducted to demonstrate applicants’ suitability for a role including police / criminal background checks, medical, drug, and alcohol testing, due diligence checks, right to work checks, and/or reference checks.

If you are already employed directly by BHP, please log in using your BHP email address or apply via our internal jobs portal.

Supporting a Diverse Workforce

The size, stability and magnitude of our business not only provides significant opportunity for professional development, but also attractive salary packages with performance-based bonuses and a best-in-class employee share program. We know there are many aspects of our employees' lives that are important, and work is only one of these, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits include flexible working options, a generous paid parental leave policy, other extended leave entitlements and parent rooms. 

At BHP, we know that we are strengthened by diversity. We are an Equal Opportunity employer that is committed to making BHP a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive and be at their best every day. We are focused on creating a workforce that’s more diverse and represents the communities where we work and live. providing a work environment in which everyone is included, treated fairly and with respect. We are an Equal Opportunity employer and recognise that true diversity includes gender, age, race, disability status, sexual orientation, religion, neurodiversity, education levels, and many more aspects of your identity.

BHP is committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible for all. If you have a disability, we know that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. If you would like to reach out to someone about your situation and our recruitment process, please email us at inclusion@bhp.com