About the Company

KoBold Metals is a mineral exploration company using AI to explore for the metals we need for our transition to a low-carbon economy. KoBold’s business is discovering, defining, expanding, and developing mineral resources, and KoBold’s objective is to achieve a step-change improvement in exploration success: we aim to discover more tier 1 resources, faster, and with fewer failures.

KoBold has a global portfolio of more than 50 exploration properties targeting nickel, copper, cobalt, and lithium, which range from 100%-owned to partnerships with both majors, junior explorers, and prospectors.

Our team includes the best of the industry in exploration geoscience, data science, software engineering, operations, and business personnel. Prior to joining KoBold, KoBold team members have made nearly 20 discoveries. Our exploration programs are co-led by our geoscientists and data scientists, who develop exploration hypotheses, rigorously quantify uncertainty in our understanding of the subsurface, and design data collection programs that most effectively reduce uncertainty, drawing upon a large suite of proprietary exploration technology built by our data scientists and software engineers. Our field programs validate and improve the system and have demonstrated material improvements over conventional exploration methods

KoBold is privately held and our investors include: institutional asset managers T. Rowe Rice and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Standard Investments, and Sam Altman’s Apollo Projects; and leading natural resources companies Equinor, Mitsubishi, and BHP.

About the position

In this role, you will report directly to KoBold Metals Africa’s Chief Executive Officer. You will work closely with the global Commercial Analytics team (across North America and Europe) to structure ambiguous problems, build financial and operational models, and provide recommendations to the CEO for key decisions.

The work will span a variety of topics and include traditional market analyses such as creating supply/demand forecasts and writing commodity outlook reports, and non-traditional analyses as-needed to advance KoBold’s mission – e.g., operational and financial modeling for KoBold’s exploration programs, build vs. buy decisions for KoBold’s technology, mine economics modeling, investment memos, and scientific communication materials for external audiences. This role will suit a young professional with a proven record of proactive problem-solving and previous exposure to varied professional settings. The learning curve will be steep, and the work will be intellectually demanding.

Responsibilities

• Aggregate existing research and/or conduct original research to build forecasts and models related to commodity markets, KoBold operations, mine development, and more
• Work with the CEO of KoBold Metals Africa to answer strategic questions about the company’s current and future operations on the continent
• Develop visual and analytical products on KoBold Metals Africa’s business development and exploration projects for the Board of Directors and investors or partners
• Use a first-principles approach in collaboration with various KoBold functions to help make decisions or improve operational efficiency (e.g., cost models for technology, HR, exploration programs, carbon emissions reporting, trade-off/sensitivity analyses)
• Conduct analytics for critical workstreams in mine development and exploration; build and maintain financial models assessing project economics
• Support others on the global Commercial Analytics team on various analytical assignments.

Qualifications

• Education in a STEM discipline or economics (especially any degree with exposure to statistics)
• At least 3 years of experience in technology, natural resources, finance, or professional services (candidates from other backgrounds are encouraged to apply and detail in a cover letter how their unique experience would make them well-suited to this position)
• A proven record of self-directed problem-solving in previous employment
• Experience with Python or other scientific computing language and/or financial modeling is strongly preferred
• Top-notch communication and organizational skills
• Regardless of formal training, a strong orientation toward thinking from first principles with respect to science, technology, economics, and business
• Demonstrated ability to quickly absorb and synthesize complex information, with a keen eye for detail and intellectual rigor
• Exceptional curiosity and eagerness to learn, with a proactive approach to exploring new concepts and technologies
• Excitement about joining a fast-growing early-stage company, comfort with a dynamic work environment, and eagerness to take on a range of responsibilities
• Ability to independently prioritize multiple tasks effectively. French speaker (advantageous).

NOTE: All candidates are expected to include a cover letter explaining why they think they would be a good fit for the position, and we expect you to write it without AI assistance.

KoBold Metals is an equal opportunity workplace and an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunities for people of any race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, age, citizenship, disability, or veteran status.

This position is a full-time contract. At this time, we are only accepting applications from Zambian nationals.

Location: Lusaka, with frequent travel expected to exploration and development sites. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in Zambia.

What to Expect

Joining KoBold means getting the opportunity for hands-on exposure to our exploration projects around the world. All employees are expected to travel to project sites, with a minimum of one week per year. Field-facing and technical roles spend significantly more time in the field.