Vice President of Exploration Jobs
Vice President of Exploration jobs are open across oil and gas, mining, and natural resources companies, at every level from director-track to chief officer, with specializations in geological assessment, resource development, and portfolio strategy. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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About the Role
Engineering simulation is undergoing a structural shift. What used to be a slow, solver-driven process is becoming a fast, exploration-driven workflow, enabled by surrogate models, physics-informed AI, and GPU-accelerated methods.
This changes not just how simulations run, but how engineers design—moving from evaluating a few options to exploring entire design spaces.
We are looking for a hands-on Applied AI Engineer to experiment with these emerging technologies. Your role is to try new tools, test them, benchmark them, integrate them into prototypes, determine what actually works in practice, and give an informed decision on its viability in Bentley’s products. The goal is to develop a clear understanding of where these approaches can realistically transform engineering workflows—and where they cannot.
This is an experimental role. You will spend most of your time building and testing prototypes, not writing reports or maintaining production systems.
**This role does not offer sponsorship
What You Will Do:
- Keep track of new technologies in the field
- Evaluate emerging simulation and AI tools through hands-on prototyping
- Build and benchmark surrogate models against traditional FEM/CFD workflows
- Test robustness, limitations, and failure modes of new approaches
- Prototype hybrid pipelines (e.g., surrogate + high-fidelity validation)
- Explore how these approaches can integrate into real engineering workflows
- Report to stakeholders with clear recommendations
What We Are Looking For:
Requirements:
- Strong programming ability (Python required)
- Experience with PyTorch, JAX, or similar ML frameworks
-
Solid understanding of numerical simulation:
- FEM, CFD, or multiphysics modeling
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Familiarity with:
- Deep learning, surrogate modeling, reduced-order models, or optimization workflows
- Good communication skills and collaborative mindset
Highly Valued
- Experience building experimental or research prototypes
- Understanding of design space exploration (DOE, parameter studies, combinatorial optimization)
- Exposure to physics-informed ML or scientific machine learning
- Experience working with GPU or high-performance computing environments
- Experience working with machine learning for physics simulations
- Hands-on experience developing Multiphysics simulation code
Mindset
- Hands-on, experimental, and comfortable working with incomplete tools
- Curious but skeptical—focuses on what works, not what is claimed
- Naturally tests limits and edge cases, not just happy paths
- Thinks in terms of workflows and iteration loops, not isolated tools Able to quickly move from idea prototype
- insight
- Good business acumen; able to understand what brings value to Bentley
What Success Looks Like
- You build prototypes that demonstrate new ways to accelerate design workflows
- You identify where AI-based approaches are genuinely useful—and where they fail
- You provide clear, evidence-based insights grounded in experiments, not assumptions
.
This is a Hybrid role.What We Offer:
- Step into a collaborative work environment where ideas flourish, and teamwork propels us forward towards shared success.
- An attractive salary and benefits package.
- Bentley Impact Day: take a day off from work to volunteer with an organization of your choice.
- Celebrate milestone achievements and moments that matter through our colleague recognition award programs and our Bentley Achievers platform.
- A commitment to inclusion, belonging and colleague wellbeing through global initiatives and resource groups.
- Be part of a company committed to making a real difference by advancing the world’s infrastructure for better quality of life, where your contributions help build a more sustainable, connected, and resilient world. Discover our latest user success stories for an insight into our global impact.
Who We Are:
Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) is the infrastructure engineering software company. We provide innovative software to advance the world’s infrastructure – sustaining both the global economy and environment. Our industry-leading software solutions are used by professionals, and organizations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of roads and bridges, rail and transit, water and wastewater, public works and utilities, buildings and campuses, mining, and industrial facilities. Our offerings, powered by the iTwin Platform for infrastructure digital twins, include MicroStation and Bentley Open applications for modeling and simulation, Seequent’s software for geoprofessionals, and Bentley Infrastructure Cloud encompassing ProjectWise for project delivery, SYNCHRO for construction management, and AssetWise for asset operations. Bentley Systems’ 5,200 colleagues generate annual revenues of more than $1 billion in 194 countries.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Bentley is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, pregnancy, protected veteran status, religion, national origin, age, genetic information or any other protected characteristic. This commitment extends to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, compensation, and training. Know Your Rights as an applicant under the law.
Bentley Policy on EEO, Affirmative Action and Pay Transparency Non-Discrimination
Bentley participates in e-Verify / Bentley participate in e-Verify / Right to Work Notice
Request an Accommodation:
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Bentley is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. We encourage you to request a reasonable accommodation if you are not able to fully use or access our online application system. You can make an accommodation request by calling 610-458-5000 or sending us an email at disabilityrequest@bentley.com
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Who's Hiring



Top Industries Hiring
- Mining & Natural Resources
- Energy
- Insurance
- Electronics & Hardware
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in vice president of exploration jobs.
- 15 or more years of progressively senior geoscience or exploration experience
- Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary exploration or geoscience teams
- Experience managing exploration budgets and capital allocation decisions
- Proficiency in seismic interpretation and subsurface modeling software
- Proven record of prospect generation, drilling execution, and resource assessment
- Advanced degree in geology, geophysics, or a related earth science discipline
Tips for Your Vice President of Exploration Job Search
Quantify reserves and discovery outcomes
Your resume should lead with tangible exploration results, such as proved reserve additions, basin-entry decisions, or acreage acquisitions you led. Hiring committees at this level expect numbers tied to portfolio impact, not just descriptions of team size or program scope.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists vice president of exploration openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Tailor your cover letter to the company's basin strategy
VP of exploration searches are almost always tied to a specific play or asset class. Reference the company's current acreage position or publicly announced exploration program so the hiring team knows you've done real due diligence before applying.
Prepare technical and commercial case studies for interviews
Expect interviewers to ask you to walk through a prospect you drilled, including your pre-drill assumptions, actual outcomes, and what you'd do differently. Rehearsing two or three real examples in advance covers most variations of this question.
Negotiate relocation and field-access expectations upfront
Exploration VP roles often require periodic time in the field or at a regional office even when headquartered elsewhere. Clarify the expected travel cadence before accepting an offer to avoid a mismatch between role requirements and your situation.
Highlight cross-functional leadership in your application
Operators hiring a VP of exploration want someone who can align geoscience, land, engineering, and finance around a drilling program. Explicitly naming the functions you've coordinated across is more persuasive than listing technical credentials alone.
Vice President of Exploration Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most vice president of explorations?
The most active employers for vice president of explorations right now are Barrick Gold Corporation, Nevada Gold Mines, and Amentum, and the most openings are in Nevada, Texas, and Illinois, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand tends to track closely with commodity prices and active drilling programs.
How many vice president of exploration jobs are remote?
About 61% of vice president of exploration openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting the hands-on nature of most exploration programs. Corporate strategy and portfolio review work is most compatible with remote arrangements, while roles tied to active drilling or regional office oversight typically require on-site presence.
How do you become a vice president of exploration?
Most vice presidents of exploration build their careers through a progression from staff geoscientist or geophysicist roles into exploration management, then into director-level positions before reaching VP. Along the way you need to lead at least one full drilling campaign, build credibility managing technical teams, and demonstrate the ability to translate subsurface risk into business decisions that hold up at the executive level.
Can you get hired as a vice president of exploration without direct VP experience?
Yes, candidates coming from a senior director or chief geoscientist role are regularly considered, particularly at smaller independents and junior exploration companies where the VP title covers a broader scope. The clearest path is a strong portfolio of prospect generation outcomes, evidence of budget ownership, and at least one high-visibility well result you can speak to in depth during the interview process.
What does the vice president of exploration interview process look like?
The process typically starts with a screening call focused on your exploration philosophy and career history, followed by a technical panel where you present a prospect or basin evaluation you've led. Final rounds usually involve conversations with the CEO or CFO about capital discipline and risk appetite, and sometimes a presentation to the board or investment committee, particularly at publicly traded operators.
Where can I find and apply to vice president of exploration jobs?
You can find and apply to vice president of exploration jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search the listings to find roles that match your background and apply directly to each one that fits.
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