Mechanical Engineering Student - Projects

Are you a student looking for an exciting opportunity that is full of meaningful, diverse, and ambitious assignments working alongside industry leading professionals? Join Canadian Natural, where we strive to provide opportunities based on your abilities, helping you to contribute in a meaningful way and apply your academic experience to challenging and rewarding projects!

As a Mechanical Engineering Student within our Oil Sands Projects team, you will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge of engineering principles and gain valuable hands-on experience by solving engineering and design problems for our world-class mining operations. You will be working in our Oil Sands Projects group in one of the following areas: Bitumen Production, Primary Upgrading, Secondary Upgrading, Support Units, Utilities and Off-Sites, Froth Treatment or Tailings.

Job location: Calgary, Alberta – Head Office or Fort McMurray, Alberta at our Albian or Horizon Oil Sands site *

Shift schedule: Calgary-based: 5 days on, 2 days off, 8 hours per day (Monday - Friday) Oil Sands-based: 4 days on, 3 days off, 10 hours per day (Monday – Thursday)

Calgary-based: 5 days on, 2 days off, 8 hours per day (Monday - Friday)

Oil Sands-based: 4 days on, 3 days off, 10 hours per day (Monday – Thursday)

Term start & length: January 8 months or May 12 months

Safety sensitive position: Yes

* Please note, depending on business needs, the work location may change. This would require the successful candidate to work at one of our Oil Sands sites north of Fort McMurray, AB.

Work with mechanical discipline to learn the basic principles of engineering and design

Design, specification, and field verification of pressure piping systems

Support professional engineers in developing the technical scope of work for procurement of mechanical equipment

Utilize hands-on mechanical aptitude and experience to solve daily problems and to increase and maintain the quality of design development

Gain insight into how the oil and gas industry operates

Gain an introduction to the management of change process during project execution

Support and follow documentation quality control processes through discipline reviews and SQUAD checks

Assist with and support work planning and project goals

Assist in reviewing and checking designs by engineering contractors

Currently enrolled in a bachelor's degree program in Mechanical Engineering

Physically capable of climbing ladders and temporary scaffolding stairs during field verification of constructed engineering designs

Strong knowledge of basic design principles

Strong mechanical aptitude

Possess a valid Class 5 Alberta driver’s license or equivalent out of province license with a reasonably clean driver’s abstract

Canadian Natural operates one of the largest Campus Recruitment programs in the country, hiring over 400 students every year. Students hired on with us are made to feel a part of the team, gaining high level experience, knowledge, and training that introduces and prepares them for full-time employment.

We are proud to share that Canadian Natural has been ranked as a Top Employer for 2023, 2024 and 2025 by Canada's Future Workforce and also one of Forbes' Canada's Best Employers in 2025 and 2026.

Industry Leader: We commenced business in 1989 with a handful of employees and modest production, but today we employ more than 10,000 people and produce over 1 million BOE/d.

Community Investment: Social responsibility is a critical element of our commitment to responsible operations and part of our success and pride as a Company. We are committed to investing in the communities where we live and work, creating shared value along the way.