Laboratory Operations Manager

Lab Manager – Mining & Metallurgical Testing Employment Type: Full-time Compensation: $100,000–$160,000 total cash compensation, plus equity and benefits About the Company We are partnering with a venture-backed mining technology company developing a new approach to copper recovery using biological systems, mineral processing and data-driven process development. The company is moving from laboratory R&D into paid customer programs and field deployment, with technology designed to improve copper recovery from challenging ores while reducing chemical use and environmental impact. The Opportunity The company is hiring a Lab Manager to lead day-to-day operations of its mineral processing and metallurgical testing laboratory in Arvada. This is a hands-on leadership role with direct responsibility for supervising technicians and research staff, maintaining strong safety and quality standards, and ensuring the lab produces reliable data that supports R&D, scale-up and field execution. The right person will be comfortable leading people while staying close to the technical work. Key Responsibilities Directly supervise, train and develop laboratory technicians and research staff. Own team scheduling, workload planning and day-to-day lab priorities. Manage sample intake, documentation, equipment, reagents, consumables and SOPs. Oversee crushing, splitting, sizing, pulverizing and representative sample preparation. Support and manage column-leach and other metallurgical testing programs. Monitor solution chemistry, irrigation, flow, recovery and test performance. Track assay data, mass balances, recovery calculations and metallurgical results. Coordinate with external assay laboratories and maintain high data quality. Partner closely with scientists, engineers and field teams to translate lab results into pilot-scale execution. Maintain a strong safety culture around chemicals, mineral-processing equipment and laboratory operations. Candidate Profile The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership with practical mineral-processing or metallurgical laboratory experience . Required Experience 5–7+ years in a mineral processing, metallurgical testing, mining, hydrometallurgical or related technical laboratory. Demonstrated experience directly managing technical staff , including technicians, research associates, scientists or engineers. Experience with scheduling, training, performance management and employee development. Hands-on experience with mineral or ore sample preparation, including crushing, splitting, sizing or pulverizing. Understanding of sampling, particle-size distribution and sample representativeness. Experience managing multiple concurrent laboratory or test programs. Strong safety and chemical-handling experience. Ability to work hands-on alongside the team as needed. Ability to work on-site in Arvada, Colorado daily . U.S. work authorization without sponsorship requirements. Strongly Preferred Column-leach or long-duration metallurgical testing experience. Copper ore or copper hydrometallurgy experience. Familiarity with acid leaching, PLS, raffinate, recovery and mass balances. Heap leach, SX/EW, bioleaching or sulfide-ore exposure. Experience coordinating with third-party assay laboratories. Degree in Metallurgical Engineering, Mineral Processing, Chemical Engineering, Mining Engineering or a related field. Why This Role This is an opportunity to take real ownership of a growing technical laboratory at a company moving from R&D into field deployment. The Lab Manager will help shape the team, operating standards, safety culture and testing infrastructure while directly influencing how a new copper-recovery technology is validated and scaled. #J-18808-Ljbffr