Summary
Maaden is a mining and metals company developing an integrated mining value chain in Saudi Arabia. The Director, Technology Development leads technology strategy and portfolio priorities, guiding solutions from discovery and validation through operational deployment and scale. The role oversees portfolio governance, value measurement, investment decisions, and the development of senior technical specialists. Applicants need a bachelor's degree in engineering or a related discipline and more than 20 years of relevant experience, including significant experience in mining or another asset-intensive industry. The position is based in Riyadh; no salary or visa conditions are stated.
The posting
As published on maaden.com.sa. Pulled from the employer's site and shown as they wrote it.
Maaden, established in 1997, is one of the fastest-growing mining companies in the world and the largest multi-commodity mining and metals company in the Middle East. We are leading the development of the mining industry to become the third pillar of Saudi Arabia’s economy by building a world-class, unique, and fully integrated mining value chain. We are pleased to share an exciting opportunity for the below mentioned position. This role offers a chance to contribute to our ambitious growth and play a key part in shaping the future of mining in the Kingdom.
Job Title: Director, Technology Development
Reporting To: VP, Technology Enablement
Business Unit / Function: Technology & Innovation
Department: Technology Enablement
Grade: M13W
Why This Role Matters
The Director, Technology Development turns Ma’aden’s technology ambition into measurable business value. The role provides enterprise leadership across a diverse portfolio of technology domains, connecting business priorities with specialist expertise and directing investment and execution toward the opportunities with the greatest potential to improve safety, productivity, reliability, growth and operational performance.
The role creates the conditions for technologies to move effectively from discovery and validation into scaled operational deployment. It integrates the work of Chief Specialists and senior subject matter experts, establishes clear portfolio priorities and governance, and ensures technology solutions are operationally ready, adopted and sustained.
Through disciplined prioritization, executive decision-making and strong technical leadership, the role strengthens Ma’aden’s ability to deploy technology at scale while building the specialist capability required for future growth and operational excellence.
What You Will Deliver Technology Strategy & Portfolio Direction
- Shape and execute an integrated Technology Development portfolio that translates enterprise priorities into focused domain strategies, roadmaps and investments.
- Prioritize opportunities against business value, strategic relevance, deployment readiness, safety, risk and scalability, balancing near-term performance with longer-term capability.
- Integrate priorities across technology domains to reduce fragmentation, strengthen synergies and focus specialist capacity on Ma’aden’s highest-value challenges.
Deployment & Value Realization
- Direct the progression of priority technologies from discovery and validation through deployment, adoption and scale, with clear outcomes, ownership and decision points.
- Establish measurable value hypotheses, baselines and performance measures that connect technology deployment to operational and business outcomes.
- Ensure deployed solutions are embedded into operational workflows and tracked through sustained adoption and value realization.
Portfolio Governance & Execution
- Establish a disciplined portfolio operating model covering investment decisions, stage gates, resource allocation, risk, technical assurance and executive performance reviews.
- Strengthen execution by ensuring priority initiatives have robust business cases, accountable ownership, realistic deployment plans and operational sponsorship.
- Resolve critical dependencies and competing priorities across functions, assets and technology domains, redirecting resources where needed to protect delivery and value.
Technical & People Leadership
- Lead and develop Chief Specialists and senior subject matter experts, preserving their technical authority while aligning domain priorities and performance to common enterprise outcomes.
- Build a high-performance culture founded on safety, technical rigor, accountability, collaboration, innovation, knowledge transfer and delivery discipline.
- Strengthen succession and critical technology capability through targeted development, external expertise and strategic partnerships.
Enterprise Alignment & Influence
- Align business units, Operations, Engineering, Technology & Innovation and corporate stakeholders around technology priorities, investment choices and deployment roadmaps.
- Provide senior leadership with clear insight into portfolio performance, value, risks and investment trade-offs to strengthen decision-making.
- Shape external technology partnerships that accelerate access to relevant expertise, solutions and capabilities while protecting Ma’aden’s strategic and operational interests.
What Success Looks Like
- Technology investments are concentrated on clearly prioritized opportunities with defined business outcomes, sponsorship and measurable value.
- Priority technologies progress efficiently from discovery and validation into operational deployment, adoption and scale.
- Deployed technologies deliver sustained improvements in targeted safety, productivity, reliability, cost, growth or operational performance measures.
- Portfolio governance enables timely investment, continuation, scaling or stop decisions based on evidence, readiness, risk and realized value.
- Chief Specialists and senior SMEs operate as aligned enterprise technical authorities with strong succession, knowledge transfer and capability development.
- Business and technology stakeholders align around integrated roadmaps, clear accountabilities and transparent portfolio performance.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, preferably Mining, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial, Mechatronics, Automation, Systems Engineering or a related discipline.
Experience
- 20+ years of progressive experience across engineering, technology deployment, operations, major projects or other relevant asset-intensive environments.
- Significant experience in mining, processing, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy or heavy industry, with exposure to operational performance, safety and technology-enabled transformation.
- Demonstrated experience leading senior specialists or multidisciplinary technical teams and delivering through complex matrix organizations.
- Proven experience developing technology strategies, governing enterprise portfolios and progressing solutions from discovery and validation through scaled operational deployment and sustained value realization.
Skills That Matter
- Technology strategy, maturity assessment and scaled deployment
- Enterprise portfolio prioritization and investment governance
- Business value and benefits realization
- Mining, processing and industrial technology
- Technology assurance, safety and operational risk
- Program, portfolio and stage-gate governance
- Financial and commercial decision-making
- Executive stakeholder and partnership management
- Leadership of senior technical experts
- Change leadership, capability building and knowledge transfer
Benefits
1. Career Growth
2. Competitive Salaries
3. Comprehensive Package
4. Inclusive Work Environment
5. Work-Life Balance
6. Employee wellness