Working in dams and tailings management has given this engineering technologist the chance to travel across Australia.
Engineering technologists aren’t your regular engineers. They modify and adapt established engineering practices and advance engineering technology, making the complex accessible for clients and peers.
That’s also an accurate job description of Associate Dams and Tailings Engineer Jodie Kilpatrick TMIEAust CEngT.
Kilpatrick, who was named Emerging Engineering Technologist of the Year at the 2023 Engineers Australia Excellence Awards, has lived and worked across Australia as an employee and consultant in the mining industry, helping operators to increase capacity, raise dam safety standards and boost company culture.
Described by the judges’ panel as building “sincere and valuable relationships within the workplace” and supporting “up-and-coming engineers”, Kilpatrick has shared with create what motivated her early-career jump from science to engineering, how she builds relationships with mining operators, and what she’s proudest of achieving.
Read the full Q&A below.
Tell us about your background and how your career has progressed?
“I was born in a mining town and naturally moved into a graduate role in a mining company after graduating from university. That was good for me because I’ve had the opportunity to work across Australia, in places such as Melbourne, Tasmania, and central and far north Queensland.
“I also made the leap from hydrology and water resources into dam management, primarily tailings dams as they have been highlighted as a risk for the mining industry. This was something of a natural progression from my background in science.
“I’d identified the opportunity to fill gaps within the mining industry, and saw ways to help the industry improve the way it was managing risk. I’ve found a passion for working with people to raise the standard of teams.”