Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) Engineer

JOB SUMMARY

You are responsible for leading Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) engineering activities across the City of Ottawa’s rail transit systems, including rail vehicles, signaling and train control systems, traction power systems, communications systems, stations and supporting infrastructure. You provide technical and engineering leadership to improve system performance, reduce operational risk, minimize service disruptions, and optimize lifecycle asset value.

You apply specialized engineering analysis, performance monitoring, safety assurance practices, and data-driven decision making to identify risks, investigate failures, improve asset reliability and availability, and provide technical direction for maintenance, renewal, modification, and lifecycle asset strategies. Working collaboratively with engineering, operations, maintenance, project delivery teams, consultants, and contractors, you guide RAMS-related decisions that support the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of rail systems throughout their lifecycle.

You act as the technical lead for RAMS performance matters and provide expert advice, technical recommendations, and engineering direction on operational risk, system performance, asset management, engineering modifications, safety assurance, and long-term asset sustainability.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Completion of a 4 year university degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Systems, Industrial, or related engineering field.

Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible engineering experience in rail systems, reliability engineering, asset management, maintenance engineering, system safety, or related disciplines. Experience leading one or more of the following is required: reliability analyses, safety investigations, risk assessments, lifecycle asset management reviews, and multidisciplinary engineering assessments. Experience providing technical direction or acting as a technical lead in a complex rail or transit environment is considered a strong asset. Experience applying EN 50126 RAMS methodologies in a rail environment is considered an asset.

Training or certification in the following are considered assets:

• Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE)
• Asset Management
• Rail system safety or RAMS-related certifications

CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENCES

KNOWLEDGE

• In-depth knowledge of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) principles, methodologies, performance indicators, and reliability improvement strategies
• Knowledge of reliability engineering methods, including failure analysis, root cause analysis, FMEA, FMECA, fault tree analysis, reliability modelling, statistical techniques, and condition-based maintenance approaches
• Knowledge of rail systems engineering, including rail vehicle systems, signaling and train control systems, traction power systems, communications systems, stations, supporting infrastructure, and railway maintenance operations
• Knowledge of rail safety, hazard identification, risk assessment, safety assurance, safety certification, verification, validation, and independent safety assessment processes
• Knowledge of applicable rail standards, practices, and regulatory frameworks, including EN 50126, EN 50128, EN 50129, AREMA, APTA, Transport Canada requirements, and Canadian rail-related legislation
• Knowledge of lifecycle asset management, ISO 55000 asset management principles, asset renewal planning, obsolescence management, performance governance, and lifecycle cost analysis
• Knowledge of system upgrade processes, configuration management, change management, regression testing, design performance standards, and technical requirements review
• Knowledge of reliability and statistical software, data analysis methods, technical reporting, and decision-support tools
• Principles of project management, including cost containment, schedule awareness, technical coordination, and reporting
• Knowledge of applicable health and safety legislation, including the rights and duties of workers

COMPETENCIES, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Ability to carry out inspections to resolve project on-site problems and review contractors’ work based on contract deliverables
• Ability to perform data analysis, formulate recommendations, and create and maintain reports
• Ability to identify, analyze and recommend solutions to issues and problems pertaining to assigned projects to mitigate loss/project downtime
• Possess organizational skills and flexibility to plan, initiate, organize and prioritize own work, and deal effectively with multiple demands, conflicting priorities, pressures and deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to be able to effectively communicate with staff and client teams within a matrix environment
• Ability to write effective technical reports and deliver presentations
• Ability to manage concurrent projects and bring projects to completion on time and within budget
• Ability to foster trust and cooperation to coordinate activities between technical staff, consultants, contractors
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound engineering judgment in a high-risk operational environment
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Ability to assess technical risks and develop practical mitigation strategies
• Ability to influence technical decisions without direct authority
• Ability to communicate complex technical issues to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Demonstrated leadership in multidisciplinary teams
• Ability to align technical recommendations with operational, safety and business objectives
• Proven capability to produce professional technical reports, engineering assessments and executive briefings

Core Behaviours

Core behaviours define the City’s expectations of the behaviours’ employees should demonstrate in performing their work.  They are reflective of the City’s culture and values and guide all our present and future activities. Every employee is encouraged to learn, embody and demonstrate these core behaviours.

Review the Core Behaviours