---
title: 'Construction & Commissioning Quality Engineer at Mariana Minerals'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/construction-commissioning-quality-engineer-mariana-minerals-houston-vyh5qjshhjfa'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-23'
---

# Construction & Commissioning Quality Engineer at Mariana Minerals

- **Company:** Mariana Minerals
- **Location:** Houston, TX
- **Compensation:** $140k–$180k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-21
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-23
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/marianaminerals/425306c5-d092-4cab-9bc9-a6d565b55169

## Job description

## 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

As a Construction & Commissioning Quality Engineer, you will lead site quality across all of Mariana Minerals’ industrial process facilities, from construction and installation through testing, commissioning, handover, and project closeout. You’ll make sure quality requirements are built into field execution, verified at every hold point, and documented so each plant is turned over complete, compliant, and ready to run. This is a company-wide role covering every Mariana Minerals project, not a single site. You’ll be the primary quality interface between site teams, Construction Management, Field Engineering, Design Engineering, Process Engineering, Supply Chain, contractors, vendors, and Operations, and you’ll set consistent quality standards across all of our builds. Your work will be vital to building plants that start up safely, reliably, and right the first time.

## What You’ll Do

Site Quality Leadership & Planning:

- Lead site quality activities across construction, installation, testing, commissioning, handover, and closeout on every Mariana Minerals project.
- Develop and execute site-specific Quality Plans, Inspection and Test Plans (ITPs), inspection checklists, and quality schedules.
- Ensure contractual, regulatory, local statutory, environmental, and Mariana Minerals quality requirements are understood and verified in the field.
- Support kick-off meetings, handovers to site and commissioning teams, project coordination meetings, and final handover reviews.

Inspections & Commissioning Quality:

- Execute C&C ITPs and verify that inspections, tests, witness points, hold points, and acceptance criteria are completed per project requirements.
- Coordinate internal and third-party inspection resources for mechanical, electrical, dimensional, welding, coating, NDE, calibration, and functional testing.
- Plan and run witness inspections, site audits, and surveillance activities, including readiness checks, required equipment, and calibration status.
- Ensure nonconforming work is not built upon, concealed, or handed over until it is dispositioned and corrected.

NCRs, Corrective Action & Continuous Improvement:

- Initiate, investigate, and close NCRs, deviations, punch-list items, and corrective actions with clear objective evidence.
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective/preventive action with site teams, engineering, contractors, and suppliers.
- Monitor quality risks, NCR trends, and overdue actions; escalate issues affecting schedule, safety, environmental compliance, or cost.
- Capture lessons learned across all sites and standardize quality processes company-wide to reduce rework on future builds.

Turnover Documentation & Records:

- Manage site quality records, including inspection reports, test records, commissioning records, and turnover packages, so they are complete, traceable, and contract compliant.
- Compile quality data books, dossiers, and closeout packages, and track open actions and approvals through closure.
- Coordinate with Document Control to keep records available for review, acceptance, and archive.

Contractor & Supplier Quality Oversight:

- Hold contractors, vendors, and site suppliers to Mariana Minerals quality requirements, site procedures, and specifications.
- Monitor contractor and vendor quality performance and drive resolution of issues affecting construction, commissioning, or turnover.
- Partner with Supply Chain when supplier documentation, NCRs, or shipment release records affect site acceptance.

Systems & Automation:

- Collaborate with software engineering to digitize ITPs, inspection records, and NCR tracking, and support ongoing automation of quality workflows.

Health, Safety & Environment:

- Promote a safe work culture and build safety and environmental requirements into inspection and acceptance criteria.
- Ensure site quality activities align with HSE plans and local regulatory requirements.

## What You’ll Bring

- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Quality Management, or a related technical field; or equivalent experience.
- Experience in construction, commissioning, field, or project quality on industrial, mining, processing, or power generation projects.
- Hands-on experience with ITPs, quality plans, witness and hold points, NCR management, root cause analysis, and corrective/preventive action.
- Ability to interpret specifications, contracts, drawings, procedures, and acceptance criteria, including applicable codes and standards.
- Experience with mechanical, electrical, dimensional, welding, coating, NDE, calibration, or commissioning inspection preferred.
- Auditing experience (supplier or site audits) preferred.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, document management systems, and digital quality or tracking tools.
- Excellent communication, judgment, and decision-making abilities, with the ability to influence without direct authority across multiple teams and sites.
- Highly organized and detail-oriented, able to manage multiple sites, inspections, and open actions at once.
- Willingness to travel frequently to project, supplier, and manufacturing sites.
- Experience with EPC/EPCM delivery models highly desirable.

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!

## About Mariana Minerals

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company focused on supplying the minerals critical to modern energy, AI, and defense technologies.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A, $85M funding in July 2025)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available
- **Founders**: Turner Caldwell (Co-Founder & CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Metal Ore Mining / Critical Minerals
- **Target customers**: B2B – energy, AI, and defense supply chains (including downstream manufacturers and government entities)
- **Mission or purpose**: "Create a future of critical mineral abundance" by reimagining the global minerals supply chain with software, automation, and data-driven decision making.

## Products & Services
- **Copper One (formerly Lisbon Valley Copper Mine)**: World’s first autonomous mine, located in Utah. Produces copper using integrated automation and software control. Restarted production in April 2026.
- **Lithium One**: Lithium project (on the roadmap or early development).
- **Other mineral projects**: Graphite, Uranium, Rare Earth Metals, Cobalt, Nickel, Aluminium – at various stages (stealth or roadmap).
- **CapitalProjectOS**: Internal software platform for capital project management (mentioned in leadership bio).
- **Technology Stack**: React, dbt, TypeScript, Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, microservices, SCADA, Autodesk, and many others – indicating a strong software engineering backbone.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding – $85M Series A (July 2025, 1 investor)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Lead investor not publicly disclosed (Andreessen Horowitz was pitched but not confirmed as an investor). Partners include Bot Auto, WeRide, Pronto, Atoms (based on LinkedIn mentions). Also works with UMA (Utah Mining Association).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 3,575% YoY to 107 employees (as of mid-2026). 73 active job postings. Opened the world’s first autonomous mine (Copper One) in April/May 2026, generating significant industry news and social media engagement.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Software-first approach**: The company builds automation and data systems from the ground up, rather than layering tech onto legacy mining operations. This enables fully autonomous mining.
- **Vertical integration**: They develop, own, and operate mineral projects, controlling the entire value chain from extraction to processing.
- **Deep tech stack**: Use of AI/ML (TensorFlow, PyTorch), simulation, and real-time control systems to optimize mining operations.
- **First-mover in autonomous mining**: Copper One is claimed to be the world’s first autonomous mine, giving them a significant lead in operational efficiency and safety.

## Strategic Focus
- Scale autonomous mining operations beyond copper (lithium, graphite, uranium, etc.)
- Secure domestic supply of critical minerals for U.S. energy, AI, and defense needs.
- Continue aggressive hiring across engineering, operations, and field roles.
- Expand from Utah to additional sites (Houston engineering office, potential new projects).

## Why Work Here
- **Culture principles**: "Extreme Ownership", "Engineer Out Requirements, Then Automate", "Share Your Legos" – emphasizing accountability, simplification, and collaboration.
- **Work environment**: High-growth startup with a mission-driven focus on critical infrastructure. Offices in San Francisco (HQ), Houston (Engineering), and La Sal, Utah (mine site). Hybrid/remote policy not explicitly stated, but multiple office locations suggest flexibility for field vs. office roles.
- **Notable perks**: Opportunity to work on cutting-edge autonomous systems and AI in a traditional industry. Strong engineering culture with modern tech stack (React, Python, ML). Rapid career growth due to company expansion.
- **Talent sources**: Attracts talent from Tesla, Redwood Materials, Lilac, ExxonMobil, Amazon Web Services, and other tech/energy companies – indicating a high-caliber peer group.

## Sources
1. [marianaminerals.com](https://marianaminerals.com/)
2. [marianaminerals.com/careers](https://marianaminerals.com/careers)
3. [marianaminerals.com/about](https://marianaminerals.com/about)
4. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/marianaminerals](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/marianaminerals)
5. [linkedin.com/company/mariana-minerals](https://www.linkedin.com/company/mariana-minerals)

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