Director, Mechanical (Locomotive & Freight Cars)

Company / Benefits Overview:

Are you ready to build a rewarding career in the railroad industry Join the Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) team part of a legacy that is over 125 years old. With a network of 100 individual freight railroads and 4000 employees across North America we provide transportation and logistics services to more than 2000 customers.

At G&W we live by our Core Values: Safety Service Integrity Respect Transparency Accountability Innovation and Excellence . We offer competitive pay a comprehensive benefits package and paid training to help you succeed. Check out some of our great benefits below:

• Medical Dental Vision & Telehealth
• Life Insurance
• Optional benefit coverages for Accident Critical Illness Hospital ID Theft & Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending & Health Savings account plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• On the Job Training
• Paid Time Off
• Tuition Reimbursement
• And more!

* Benefits are subject to change

Explore your future with G&W today and learn more about the opportunities to grow across our organization!

SUMMARY:
The Director of Mechanical is responsible for the safe reliable efficient and compliant operation and maintenance of locomotive and railcar fleet. This position provides leadership and oversight of mechanical maintenance operations equipment reliability inspections repairs preventive maintenance regulatory compliance mechanical personnel facilities and related programs.

The Director ensures that locomotives freight cars maintenance equipment and associated mechanical assets are maintained in accordance with all applicablefederal state and local regulations Association of American Railroads (AAR) standards manufacturer requirements and company policies.

The successful candidate will be an experienced railroad mechanical leader with a strong understanding of locomotive and car maintenance mechanical inspections regulatory requirements reliability programs workforce management and railroad operations. The targeted salary range for this position is $100000-$135000 depending on qualifications and experience.

Key Responsibilities

Mechanical Operations & Fleet Management

• Direct all mechanical department operations supporting locomotive and railcar availability and reliability.
• Oversee inspection maintenance repair servicing and overhaul of locomotives railcars and other railroad equipment.
• Develop and implement preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Establish fleet reliability and availability objectives and monitor performance against established goals.
• Ensure equipment is properly maintained inspected documented and released for service.
• Coordinate mechanical activities with Transportation Engineering Safety and other operating departments.
• Develop strategies to improve equipment utilization reliability and lifecycle performance.
• Oversee mechanical facilities tools equipment and infrastructure.

Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations governing railroad mechanical operations and equipment.
• Maintain compliance with applicable AAR standards interchange requirements and company mechanical rules.
• Ensure required inspections tests repairs and records are completed accurately and on schedule.
• Prepare the department for regulatory inspections and audits.
• Develop and implement corrective actions for regulatory findings and mechanical deficiencies.
• Monitor regulatory changes and communicate applicable requirements to G&W Mechanical and training department to update accordingly.
• Maintain appropriate documentation and records related to inspections repairs testing and equipment qualification.

Locomotive Management

• Oversee locomotive maintenance programs including scheduled inspections preventive maintenance repairs troubleshooting and major component replacement while being accountable to have all information updated in the companys locomotive records database.
• Monitor locomotive availability failures out-of-service time and repeat defects in the appropriate company database.
• Establish programs to improve locomotive reliability and fuel efficiency.
• Coordinate locomotive maintenance requirements with vendors manufacturers leasing companies and outside repair facilities.
• Monitor major locomotive components including prime movers traction motors electrical systems air systems cooling systems and braking equipment.
• Support locomotive acquisition disposition rebuild modification and capital planning decisions.

Freight Car Maintenance

• Oversee inspection and maintenance programs for railcars and other rolling stock.
• Ensure compliance with applicable railcar inspection brake safety appliance and mechanical requirements.
• Monitor bad-order equipment repair cycles car availability and repeat defects.
• Establish processes for defect identification repair prioritization quality control and return-to-service authorization.
• Coordinate repair programs with AAR-certified repair facilities and outside vendors when appropriate.

Safety & Risk Management

• Make mechanical safety a fundamental priority throughout department operations.
• Identify mechanical hazards and implement effective risk controls.
• Investigate significant mechanical failures equipment incidents and recurring defects.
• Conduct root-cause analysis and implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Partner with the safety & compliance department to address mechanical related safety risks.
• Ensure employees follow company safety procedures rules PPE requirements lockout/tagout procedures and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Promote a strong safety culture and employee involvement in hazard identification and prevention.

Maintenance Planning & Reliability

• Develop annual and long-term mechanical maintenance plans.
• Establish maintenance schedules based on regulatory requirements manufacturer recommendations operating conditions and reliability data.
• Implement reliability-centered maintenance and condition-monitoring practices where appropriate.
• Analyze equipment failure trends and identify opportunities for preventive intervention.
• Develop standardized maintenance procedures and quality-control processes.
• Establish key performance indicators for fleet reliability availability maintenance cost and equipment defects.

Budget & Capital Planning

• Provide insight and manage the mechanical department operating budget.
• Forecast labor materials parts outside services fuel-related requirements and other operating expenses.
• Develop capital plans for locomotives railcars facilities tools technology and major equipment.
• Monitor spending and identify opportunities for cost reduction without compromising safety reliability or regulatory compliance.
• Evaluate repair-versus-replace decisions and long-term fleet lifecycle costs.

Workforce Leadership

• Lead develop and manage mechanical supervisors managers inspectors technicians and support personnel.
• Establish staffing requirements based on operating schedules fleet size workload and maintenance demands.
• Coordinate assistance in developing training and qualification programs for mechanical employees.
• Ensure employees maintain required certifications qualifications and regulatory knowledge.
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability.
• Support succession planning and development of future mechanical leaders.
• Promote effective communication between management mechanical employees labor representatives and other operating departments.
• Work effectively within a unionized environment where applicable.

Vendor & Contractor Management

• Manage relationships with locomotive manufacturers parts suppliers repair facilities contractors and other mechanical vendors.
• Establish appropriate service levels quality standards and performance expectations.
• Evaluate vendor performance cost quality turnaround time and reliability.
• Assist Purchasing with contracts for major mechanical services and equipment.
• Ensure outside contractors comply with applicable railroad safety and mechanical requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering or a related field preferred or relevant railroad experience.
• 8 years of progressive railroad mechanical experience preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing locomotive and railcar maintenance operations.
• Strong knowledge of regulations and railroad equipment requirements.
• Knowledge of AAR standards and interchange requirements.
• Experience managing mechanical personnel in a railroad operating environment.
• Demonstrated understanding of locomotive systems railcar systems air brakes inspections preventive maintenance and mechanical troubleshooting.
• Experience developing and managing maintenance budgets.
• Strong analytical organizational communication and leadership skills.
• Ability to work effectively across Operations Transportation Engineering Safety Finance Human Resources and other departments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Management experience in railroad mechanical roles.
• Experience with both locomotive and railcar maintenance.
• Experience working in a Class I regional or short-line environment.
• Experience with applicable regulatory inspections and mechanical compliance programs.
• Experience implementing predictive maintenance condition monitoring or reliability-centered maintenance programs.
• Experience working with labor organizations and collective bargaining agreements.

Key Performance Indicators

The Director of Mechanical will be accountable for measurable performance in areas including:

• Locomotive availability and reliability
• Freight-car availability and reliability
• Mechanical-caused delays and failures
• Equipment defect and bad-order rates
• Preventive-maintenance compliance
• Regulatory compliance
• Maintenance cost per locomotive/car or operating unit
• Maintenance labor productivity
• Parts and inventory management
• Equipment turnaround time
• Repeat mechanical failures
• Safety performance
• Employee training and qualification compliance
• Capital-project execution

Leadership Expectations

The Director of Mechanical is expected to serve as a visible leader throughout the railroad maintaining a strong presence in mechanical facilities and operating locations. The position requires a balance ofsafety regulatory compliance equipment reliability cost discipline and operational performance.

The Director must be comfortable making time-sensitive decisions responding to equipment failures and operational disruptions and communicating effectively with senior leadership regulators railroad operating personnel mechanical employees labor representatives and external vendors.

Working Conditions

This position requires regular travel between railroad mechanical facilities yards terminals maintenance shops and other operating locations. Work may involve exposure to locomotives railcars machinery noise outdoor weather conditions and industrial environments.

This position is employed by the specific entity set forth in the job posting.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and its subsidiary companies do not discriminate in employment on the basis of race color religion sex (including pregnancy and gender identity) national origin political affiliation sexual orientation marital status disability genetic information age membership in an employee organization retaliation parental status military service or any other protected status under federal state or local l

Required Experience:

Director