Technical Specialist

About Us

A career at Hitachi Rail will help create a legacy. With operations in every corner of the world, our work goes to the cutting-edge of digital transformation and technology. From the multi-cultural strength of our global organisation to the sustainable and innovative ways we work to bring people together, there’s something for everyone to get stuck into. And that’s where you come in.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Hybrid)

The Safety Assurance & Independent Validation department, under the leadership of the Director, Safety Assurance & Independent Validation, is responsible for providing independent assurance to the Safety Authority that Hitachi Signaling and Train Control solutions are safe for deployment. To achieve this, the department must contribute to company culture and practices to ensure all staff clearly understand their safety objectives and responsibilities and employ processes that are compliant with industry standards and best practices for the development of safety-critical systems.

This position will involve the fulfilment of roles that:
- assure the overall Technical Safety strategy is communicated throughout the organization;- verify that comprehensive Safety activities are carried out according to a defined Safety Plan;- assure that all project activities are conducted as per the latest CENELEC Railway RAMS standards;- ensure independent safety assessments are carried out as required;- verify project or product Safety Cases;- perform or coordinate independent Safety audits and assessments for each delivered solution; and- contribute to the investigation and management of safety-related incidents and lessons learned.

Key Accountabilities:
Safety Assurance Technical Specialists are required, as assigned, to act in the capacity of Safety Assurance Manager (SAM) for a given project portfolio.

In the role of a SAM, the Safety Assurance Specialist would be responsible for the following:
- Supporting the implementation of processes that align with industry best practices, international standards, and the expectations of our customers, including development of awareness and training programs;-
- Performing safety audits and independent safety assessments for commercial Projects and Product development;- Identifying issues related to technical safety and applied processes, and ensuring timely escalation and resolution of the issues;- Providing leadership and guidance to assist in safety-related decision-making;- Providing direct support to the Bids and Proposals process such that informed decisions can be made regarding technical and contractual safety issues at the earliest opportunity in a commercial Project’s lifecycle;- Staying current with practices and processes applicable to railway and other safety-critical industries (e.g. aerospace, military, nuclear, modern medical technology

Key Requirements:
- Minimum 10 years’ experience working with safety critical systems.- Education and technical background in electronics, computer science or electrical engineering (minimum B.Eng or equivalent).- Experience performing safety audits and assessments for safety critical systems.- Experience performing incident investigations related to safety critical software or hardware. - Good presentation skills. Excellent command of English, both written and oral, is essential for the role.- Ability to prioritize and work in a fast-paced environment.- Working knowledge of rail signalling principles and train control systems - Communication Based Train Control (CBTC), Solid-State Interlocking (SSI), Computer-Based Interlocking (CBI).-
- Experience in safety methods and techniques: FTA, FMEA/FMECA, HAZOP/HAZID.- Experience with building Safety Cases / Safety Reports and interfacing with Independent Safety Assessors (ISA) and/or Safety Authorities.- Experience with safety related standards EN 50126/128/129/159, IEC 61508, MIL-STD-882/1629, MoD 00-55/56/58, ARP 4761, IEEE 1474 and AREMA.- Fluent in written and spoken English.

Preferred Qualifications:
- Member of Professional Engineer of Ontario (PEO) or Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) would be an asset.


At Hitachi Rail, there is a place for everyone. We welcome and value differences in background, age, gender, sexuality, family status, disability, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and world view. It is our commitment to create an inclusive environment - we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

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