Meet Teck’s manager of technical growth for new mines

"Remember, engineers are solving problems with people and for people."

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Harsh Chhatwal

  • Degree: Bachelor of Applied Science
  • Grad year: 2013
  • Program:
  • Campus: Vancouver

Job: Manager of Technical Growth at Teck Resources Limited 

How did you end up studying computer engineering at UBC?

It certainly wasn’t a straight path! I wanted to study medicine – but with 800,000 applicants for 2,000 seats in India I couldn’t beat the odds. Engineering was a second choice. I did two years of computer engineering at a university in India that had a transfer program set up with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. But then about two weeks before I submitted my transfer application a friend walked into my dorm room and asked if I’d ever heard of UBC. I googled it and was immediately intent on moving to Vancouver! 

 

Any highlights from your time as an undergraduate?

I loved the culture at UBC. It’s a very welcoming community with a lot of camaraderie and caring.

I remember one of my first days on campus I was sitting a table with people from three different continents, with all of us talking about books we had read and our experiences to date! 

I wanted to share my passion for UBC with incoming students and so I was very involved in on-campus orientations, like Imagine UBC and Jump Start, and was active in many extracurriculars over my time as an undergraduate.

Imagine UBC  Jump Start

 

You started working for Teck right after you graduated and you’ve been with them ever since. Tell us how a computer engineer ended up at a mining company! 

As the industry relations manager for the Engineering Undergraduate Society, I helped organize industry networking events. At one of these I met someone from human resources at Teck who encouraged me to look into opportunities at the company. 

They flew me out to Fernie, in eastern BC, to see their mining operations and so I could familiarize myself with the position.

EUS

 

I just fell in love with the geography and the mountains. The Kootenays are absolutely gorgeous and it took me about a second to say yes to the opportunity. I have been with Teck ever since.

My first job was as a technical analyst for mining systems at the Elkview mine in Sparwood, which is about 30 minutes from Fernie. I was responsible for supporting, maintaining and troubleshooting a range of mining systems critical to production. 

After five years at Sparwood I moved to Kamloops to take on the role of autonomous systems specialist and then eventually became the supervisor of mining automation systems. I was initially responsible for overseeing the deployment of the first batch of self-driving mining trucks in BC and the fastest global deployment of this technology at the time. These are 300 tonne trucks – the tires are twice my height! I then oversaw the implementation of other autonomous technology projects at other Teck sites and led the creation of the mining automation systems team.

Teck 

 

What’s your current position at Teck?

At the beginning of 2024 I was promoted to Manager of Technical Growth for New Mines. Last year, Teck sold off its coal assets and the money generated is being invested in expanding the metals portfolio of the company, which includes building new mines. I am working closely with other managers and specialists across the company to direct technology delivery. 

For example, we are building a brand new copper mine in Peru and it’s my responsibility to make sure it has all the technology it needs to get started – everything from laptops and servers to the dispatching systems and geo-monitoring tools. 

 

What do you like best about your job?

The transition to a more sustainable planet can’t happen without copper and other minerals. I love the positive impact Teck can have by building copper mines and running its operations as sustainably and environmentally focused as possible. I love that I can be part of creating a more sustainable world. It’s also incredibly exciting to be working on new mines. 

 

Any advice for engineering students?

Many students have a single-minded belief that the acquisition of good grades and technical skills should be their primary focus in university. I’d encourage students to step back and invest time in developing their soft skills too. 

Remember, engineers are solving problems with people and for people. 

Use your time as an engineering student at UBC to do as much as you can to expand your communication and collaboration skills. Communication skills are crucial: as an engineer you will be talking and working with people from many different areas and you need to know how to explain technical concepts clearly and accurately. 

Learning how to collaborate on teams is also so important. 

Project work in class is great for developing this, but it’s limited in that you are only collaborating with other engineers. Joining clubs or being part of groups that have students from across faculties can help you learn how to engage and work with different groups – and that’s the kind of interdisciplinary collaboration that will really help you grow professionally. 

Computer engineering co-op student at work

Computer Engineering

Computer engineers can change the world. Whether it is the systems that control our phones, cars, planes or robots — every automated device has a software or hardware engineer helping to create it. 

Computer Engineering

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