Intern Program 2026/2027- Electrical Engineer – Gladstone, QLD

Ready to drive meaningful change? We’re on the lookout for passionate individuals who are eager to join our team and help us tackle the challenges shaping our future. At Rio Tinto, we believe innovation thrives when diverse minds collaborate toward a common purpose – creating a better tomorrow. Let’s shape the future together. 

Finding better ways™ to move our people forward.

Start your career as an Intern Electrical Engineer in Gladstone, working at either Yarwun Refinery or the Boyne Smelter, two major industrial operations with very different processing challenges. We’re looking for students in their penultimate year or 2nd or 3rd year studying an Electrical Engineering or Engineering (majoring in Electrical) degree who want early exposure to complex, large‑scale processing environments. In this role, you’ll learn how a refinery or smelter operates day to day, work alongside experienced engineers, and contribute to improving processes that run around the clock. Outside of work, Gladstone offers coastal living, a strong local community, and the balance of a regional lifestyle combined with world‑class operations. This is an opportunity to build strong technical foundations and momentum at the very start of your career.

About the program 

Our Intern Program offers you the chance to help shape Rio Tinto from within. The 12-week Summer Internship Program provides hands-on experience, with the potential to secure a graduate position upon completion.

What we offer

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.

A work environment where safety is always the number one priority

A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience

Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual and sick leave)

Exclusive employee discounts

Where you will be working

Boyne Smelters Limited (BSL)

Boyne Smelters Limited is Australia’s second largest aluminium smelter with a 1,000-person strong workforce. Located approximately 20km south east of Gladstone at Boyne Island on the Central Queensland coast, BSL produces around 500,000 tonnes of aluminium per annum.

Activities at BSL include manufacturing carbon anodes in the carbon plant, aluminium production (smelting) in reduction lines, and casting of molten material into aluminium products ready to ship. The smelter is connected via a conveyor belt to the Queensland Alumina Limited refinery for the supply of alumina.

BSL is committed to protecting the environment and ensuring safe work practices where people feel safe at work and care for each other.

Yarwun

Located in Central Queensland, approximately 10km north-west of Gladstone, Yarwun alumina refinery commenced operations in 2004. Processing bauxite from our mines in Weipa and Gove, Yarwun produces more than three million tonnes of smelter grade alumina annually.

As one of the largest industries in the Gladstone region, Yarwun employs over 700 people and has a large contractor workforce.

With a focus on safely improving our process every day, the team at Yarwun challenge themselves to use existing and emerging technology to support our 24 hour operation.

Yarwun is a proud member of the Gladstone community, and along with Boyne Smelters Limited and Queensland Alumina Limited, support community investments that improve the liveability of the Gladstone region through the Here for Gladstone community fund.

Eligibility   

Intern Program – penultimate year or students in 2nd or 3rd year

Have the right to work in Australia or New Zealand (citizens, permanent residents, student or postgraduate work visa holders)

Next steps   

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future. Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other.

Please note, to be considered for this role, you must complete all pre-screening questions.    

Applications close 17 April 2026 

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 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ 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.

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