Senior Project Geologist
San Diego, CA, USA
USD 160k-160k / year + Equity
Posted on Nov 3, 2026
Careers
Senior Project Geologist
About the Company
Our mission is to discover the raw materials needed to create a prosperous world for the next 1000 years. With modern software and hardware, we aim to reduce mineral discovery timelines from 10 years to 1 year. Founded in 2023 by lifelong geoscientists, ExploreTech is a venture-backed business that develops technology and uses it to explore for minerals all over the world.
About the Role
We’re accelerating the pace of mineral discovery. Our AI drill targeting software has gone 8 for 8 hitting mineralized targets, a significant improvement over industry standards. Now the biggest mining companies in the world want results on their ground, and we deliver them as a service. We’re hiring a Senior Project Geologist to lead our most complex and most important customer projects.
You’ll own customer-facing projects from first conversation to final deliverable: scoping the work with chief geologists and exploration teams, using our software, Python APIs, and modeling tools to produce geological results, and working through those results with the customer’s geologists. You’ll take on the largest and most technically demanding projects, mentor our Project Geologists, and help shape how we deliver. The role sits between geology, software, and the customer, and you’ll work closely with the founders.
What You’ll Do
- Lead our most complex customer projects, including multi-deposit and multi-project engagements, from scope through delivery
- Use our software, Python APIs, and modeling tools to generate geological results and drill targets
- Run technical discovery with customers and work with our science and engineering teams to turn their geology into project scope and pricing
- Guide exploration thinking and drilling decisions in partnership with customer geologists and executives
- Mentor and review the work of Project Geologists
- Write proposals, statements of work, and technical reports
- Help define and improve how we deliver projects, from templates to quality standards
- Bring customer feedback to the product and research teams
- Join customer field campaigns and site visits as needed
About You
- Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in geology, economic geology, or a related earth science field
- 8+ years of hands-on mineral exploration experience, including leading projects or teams from target generation through drill testing
- A track record of delivering drill-ready targets or discoveries
- Comfortable with Python, scripting, and 3D modeling and GIS tools
- Credible and personable with experienced geologists and executives; you can discuss ore deposit models, drill targeting, and data quality at a peer level
- Comfortable owning a project, its timeline, and the customer relationship
- Able to travel to customer sites and remote parts of the US and world
Bonus Points For
- Professional registration (P.Geo, CPG, or equivalent)
- Experience developing software tools for exploration
- Experience mentoring geologists
- Startup experience
Location
San Diego, California
Travel to customers and field sites as needed
Salary
Starting at $160,000
+ equity
Benefits
100% healthcare coverage
(medical, dental, vision)
Our Hiring Process
- Intro call: a conversation with a founder about your background and what you want to work on.
- Role conversation: a deeper discussion of the work itself with the people you’d work alongside.
- Final conversation: meet the founders and the team, and ask us anything. If it’s a fit, we’ll make an offer.
If you’re ready to accelerate critical mineral discovery across the world, we encourage you to apply!
ExploreTech is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.