Lead Senior Advisor, Maintenance Program Implementation & RAMS

Reference Number : 1215 

Status : Permanent - Full-time  

Annual Salary / Hourly Rate : $129,548 - $160,029

Number of positions to be filled : 1 

Application Deadline : 03/28/2026

Did you know that VIA Rail is carrying out ambitious projects to modernize its services and infrastructure? From our new ultramodern train fleet to ongoing improvement of our infrastructure, we’re building the future of transportation in Canada. Working for VIA Rail is being a part of a collective effort in sustainable mobility. 

Reporting to the Senior Director, Maintenance Process Transformation (LDRR Program), the Lead Senior Advisor, Maintenance Program Implementation and RAMS is the primary point of contact and maintenance engineering interface for all LDRR Program questions regarding the Maintainability, Reliability and Maintenance of the LDRR Fleet (Locomotive and Cars). They will work in close collaboration with the LDRR Engineering team, the LDRR TSSSA team, the Reliability Engineering team, the Industrial Engineering team, the LDRR Consultants and other internal Stakeholders to prioritize and manage ongoing work carried out by a multidisciplinary team of technical specialists (mechanical, electrical), in order to ensure that work progresses on schedule and deliverables are completed on time for each phase of the two distinct LDRR contracts (locomotive and Cars).

Lead Senior Advisor, Maintenance Program Implementation and RAMS will be accountable and responsible for ensuring that the Manufacturers of the LDRR fleet design a product that has been demonstrated to be maintainable and that the associated Maintenance Program is designed to optimize operational costs with asset availability and adapted to VIA’s existing Maintenance Facilities. They will also bring their expertise to bear in resolving technical aspects of requests and ensuring that all work is integrated in compliance with regulations, industry standards and VIA Rail standards.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Management/Leadership

• Interface with the Senior Managers of Engineering in developing and prioritizing project mandates and deliverables assigned to their teams.
• Provide guidance and leadership to a multidisciplinary team of specialists (mechanical, electrical) and ensure collaboration in a matrix organization, with Project and Business stakeholders, to achieve common objectives.
• Be accountable and responsible for ensuring that the Manufacturers of the LDRR fleet, design a Rolling Stock product that is maintainable and that the associated Maintenance Program is designed to optimize operational costs with asset availability and adapted to VIA’s existing Maintenance Facilities.
• Oversee the definition of the scope of the mandate, develops the work breakdown structures (WBS) according to the projects’ requirements.
• Manage the matrix team’s capacity according to the workload, manage priorities, define resource needs, and assign and supervise work according to the complexity and needs of the mandate.
• Integrates and oversees the technical work of consultants hired to support specific mandates within the project as required.
• Responsible for providing the necessary support to the entire team by defining objectives, doing individual follow-ups, while establishing a culture of individual and collective development.

2. Technical support

• Provide technical oversight of contractual deliverables to ensure compliance with the technical specifications, specifically related to the key contract deliverables for Maintainability, Maintenance Program, Maintenance Manuals, and Life Cycle Maintenance Schedule (LCMS).
• Ensure alignment of the technical specialists and the industrial engineering teams in the “parsing” of the Maintenance Program into a series of fragmented, continuous job plans.
• Provide technical accountability of the Reliability Engineering team in their review and sign-off that the maintainability requirements were attained by the manufacturers at the distinct design review phases of the project.
• Resolve technical issues as required and establish procedures, where necessary, to proactively mitigate future conflict.
• Provide Technical guidance and accountability to the Reliability Engineering team in their review and sign-off of Maintenance Manuals, Maintenance Plan, LCMS and Training Materials.
• Provide Technical guidance to the team of technical specialists in the crafting of VIA specific maintenance work instructions.
• Provide Technical accountability to the Reliability Engineering team reviewing and commenting the Manufacturers FMECA, FRACAS and incident root cause analysis.
• Provide technical guidance and accountability to the Reliability Engineering team in their review and approval of the manufacturer’s reports on corrective maintenance repairs (including Excluded Matter repairs).

3. Review and Governance

• Ensures the team’s execution of tasks meet the requirements and owner obligations denoted in the contractual documents overseeing the two LDRR procurements.
• Review and approve, as required, contract deliverable documentation submittals related to the mandate with emphasis on the Design for Maintainability reviews, Maintenance Program, Maintenance Manuals and LCMS, or other.
• Monitors and challenges the manufacturers and consultants’ approach, with regards to scheduling and quality of contract deliverables, and suggests corrective measures as required.
• Review and approve contractual submittals for CMMIS data quality and Mean Time to Repair data.
• For outsourced mandates, participates in and supports the tender process (technical reviews of tender, system compliance, etc.)
• In collaboration with the relevant TSSSA manager:
• Lead contractual continuous improvement tasks.
• Participate in all Performance Regime governance sessions (including the Failure Review Board).

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR  

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with a minimum of 15 years of pertinent experience with at least 5 years in a multidisciplinary technical environment.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in the management of technical professional teams.
• Certified member of a Professional Order of Engineers. 
• Demonstrated technical background and proficiency, with hands-on experience in rail vehicle maintenance.
• Demonstrated technical background and proficiency with the use of IT solutions in maintenance management.
• Excellent understanding of the design process and design documentation and how they relate to maintenance aspects.
• Ease and ability in communication with colleagues/specialists in mechanical, electrical, reliability and industrial Engineering.
• Fully competent using Microsoft Office suite software.

Assets:

• Railway or heavy transportation equipment experience.
• Knowledge of Computerized Maintenance Management Information Systems (CMMIS).
• Knowledge of engineering of components and systems, (mechanical & electro-mechanical) analyzing technical problems, developing solutions, implementing technology and preparing specifications in an industrial setting.

Competencies:

• Ability to travel to our suppliers manufacturing site. 
• Ability to work autonomously with minimum supervision.
• Ability to analyze complex situations, negotiate with stakeholders to achieve best solution.
• Strong leadership, communication and writing skills. French and English. 
• Ability to work in a team and to collaborate with others in a matrix organization. 
• Strong organisationnel skills.
• Leadership and communication skills.
• Ability to maintain good relationships with suppliers while holding them accountable.

At VIA Rail, we are proud to be an employment-equity employer and we strive to form teams that reflect the diversity of Canadian society. We aim to remove barriers to employment accessibility and aspire to provide an inclusive and equitable work environment where everyone is valued, regardless of their identity or differences, to enable them to reach their full potential.

If you need assistance in making the recruitment process or the position you are applying for more accessible, please let us know. Alternate arrangements may be offered to individuals who request them at any stage of the recruitment process. All information received in relation to arrangements will be kept confidential.

Note that we will only contact those who are selected for an interview.

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