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The successful applicant is expected to be a strong voice for change at a time described as the most extensive overhaul of the state's safety rules in years.
Thirty-three miners have died in the nation's coal mines this year, including 19 in West Virginia.
Spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg said Governor Joe Manchin hopes to pick a new director with a strong background in mining safety.
“Safety's the No. 1 goal," she said last week.
“Someone with a background that deals with mine safety or lends itself to the focus on mine safety. Someone who understands the industry and understands West Virginia."
Acting director James Dean is expected to leave in September. Dean, a mining safety lecturer at West Virginia University, agreed in February to take the job for six months. His predecessor, Doug Conaway, left to take a job as safety director for St. Louis-based Arch Coal, the nation's second-largest coal producer.
