Railway Operations and Maintenance Expert

SYSTRA is one of the world’s leading engineering and consulting groups specialized in public transport and mobility solutions counting around 11,000 employees. For 65 years, the Group has been involved with cities and regions in order to contribute to their development by creating, improving and modernizing their transport infrastructures and systems.
The specialised magazine Engineering News-Record ranks SYSTRA among the top three international engineering firms specialised in ‘Mass Transit & Rail’, and among the 30 largest engineering firms in the world.

Context

The duty station for this position shall be Vietnam. The assignment will primarily concern high-speed rail project but will also require multi projects assignments and short-term missions within Asia.
The Railway Operations and Maintenance Expert shall report to the Project Director as defined under the assignment. The expert shall be able to work closely with other technical specialists, including civil works, infrastructure, systems, rolling stock, safety, operations, maintenance, asset management, other experts, and stakeholders as required.

Assignment Overview:

The Railway Operations and Maintenance Expert shall provide specialist technical support on railway operations and maintenance matters across the project lifecycle. The expert shall contribute to the planning, sizing, development, and assessment of operational and maintenance concepts, strategies, plans, procedures, readiness activities, and performance arrangements to support the safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable delivery of railway systems.
The role is expected to support projects involving mainly high-speed rail, but also conventional rail, metro, and light rail transit (LRT), with emphasis on the integration of operations and maintenance requirements into project planning, implementation, trial running, and operation readiness.
The objective of the assignment is to ensure that railway operations and maintenance arrangements are technically sound, operationally practical, aligned with safety and performance requirements, and suitable for successful implementation during testing, trial operations, service commencement, and steady-state operations.
The expert shall support the review of technical specifications, tender documents, concession or O&M requirements, method statements, readiness criteria, staffing and competence plans, operational procedures, maintenance procedures, and asset management documentation.
The role shall include coordination with clients, operators, maintainers, designers, delivery teams, suppliers, and other stakeholders to ensure that operations and maintenance considerations are properly integrated into the project.

Missions/Main Duties

The Railway Operations and Maintenance Expert shall typically:

• review and advise on operations and maintenance concepts, strategies, and plans;
• support the development and assessment of operational and maintenance readiness arrangements;
• review trial operation and maintenance plans, procedures, and supporting documentation;
• assess the readiness of OCC, depot, stations, fleet, staffing, and maintenance support functions;
• review maintenance strategies, preventive and corrective maintenance concepts, and asset support arrangements;
• evaluate operational and maintenance procedures, staffing plans, and competence requirements;
• support interface management between operators, maintainers and project teams;
• contribute to safety, risk, and performance reviews related to operations and maintenance;
• assist in the definition and review of KPIs, reporting frameworks, and performance monitoring arrangements;
• support technical due diligence, procurement support, tender evaluation, and review of O&M requirements where applicable;
• identify gaps, risks, and corrective actions between systems functionalities and railway operation and maintenance;
• prepare technical notes, reports, assessments, and recommendations for the project as needed.

Profile/Skills

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 10 years’ experience of relevant experience in similar rail projects.
• Proven experience in high-speed railway or metro operations
• Knowledge in maintenance, preferably with exposure to rolling stock and systems projects.
• In-depth understanding of railway O&M principles, asset management, and system integration.
• Capable of developing/documenting O&M concepts, workflows, and risk assessments.
• Strong communicator and collaborator, able to bridge disciplines and secure buy-in from diverse teams.
• Analytical thinker, solution-driven, and attentive to safety and compliance.
• Preferably with Asia experience.

Systra is an equal opportunities company; this position is open to all applicants.

Workplace Type

On-site