Operators - Tiwai

Production Operator Roles Tiwai - NEW YEAR, NEW YOU, NEW JOB
We're recruiting now for roles commencing around March 2026

Get in early and apply today

Why join us?

• Great opportunity to gain skills for a new career – no previous experience required, full training and support provided.
• Balanced Work-Life Rhythm – our lifestyle-friendly roster provides a harmonious balance between career and home life, ensuring you spend more time with your loved ones and doing the things that matter most to you.
• Join our friendly teams – we look after each other because your safety and wellbeing are always our priority.

About The Role
Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.
New Zealand's Aluminium Smelter (NZAS), referred to as Tiwai, is on the lookout for curious-minded individuals who want to take on a rewarding career with us We are seeking expressions of interest from people keen to start a new chapter and join our Tiwai whānau as a Production Operator, where you'll become part of various departments on-site, including Reduction, Carbon Rodding, Carbon Green & Bake, and Casting & Logistics.

Every hour of every shift, your safety and wellbeing is our number one priority. We do the work only if it is safe, and we invest to make sure every member of the team has the quality tools they need to do their job.

Reporting to our Supervisors and Superintendents, you'll join our close-knit, proud and hardworking teams. The role of a Production Operator is integral to the safe and high-quality production of Tiwai's product offering – aluminium. The aluminium produced at NZAS is the purest in the world. Our teams care about their work and the people who make it happen.

What You'll Do
Working in a strong team environment, you will support our operational teams to ensure the safe and sustainable production of aluminium through the operation of mobile and fixed plant equipment, alongside manual duties. Tasks include

• Keeping safety front of mind in all tasks
• Working as part of a team to meet shared goals across each shift
• Operating and housekeeping of machinery such as cranes, sweepers and forklifts
• Working on reduction lines tapping metal, cell dressing, raising beams
• Furnace preparation, pit operations, production inspections and mobile equipment operation

Our roster is a 12-hour day/night shift (two-day, two-night, and four-day off rotation), allowing you to balance work and lifestyle commitments.

About You

• Strong communication skills and team orientation
• Ability to undertake physical work in a hot industrial environment
• Self-motivated with a desire to learn and a commitment to safety
• No prior industry experience required – full training provided
• Experience in teamwork, physical work or shift work is highly regarded

What We Offer
As part of the Rio Tinto group, you'll enjoy

• Full training provided
• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority
• Competitive base salary with annual incentive program
• Comprehensive medical insurance scheme
• Attractive share ownership plan
• Leave for all of life's reasons (annual, parental, sick leave) including long service leave
• Transport assistance between Invercargill and Tiwai
• Competitive superannuation programme
• Career development & education assistance

About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can't do it on our own, so we're focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion
At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.