Reliability Engineering Manager

Pacific National; Melbourne, Newcastle, Townsville City; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid parental leave

Novated Leasing

Fitness Passport

Purchase leave program

Access to EAP program through Sonder

Job summary

Pacific National, Australia’s largest private rail freight operator, is seeking a Reliability Engineering Manager for the Bulk & Coal team. The role is based with locations in Melbourne, Newcastle or Townsville and focuses on driving reliability strategies, fleet performance and whole-of-life asset optimisation.

You will lead a team of fleet engineers, develop governance frameworks and partner with operations to deliver measurable improvements in availability and cost efficiency.

Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering or equivalent experience.
• Significant experience in reliability engineering, asset performance or maintenance optimisation.
• Experience leading technical or engineering teams.
• Knowledge of RCA, RCM and FMEA methodologies.
• Ability to analyse data and metrics to drive improvements.
• Understanding of asset management and whole-of-life asset optimisation.
• Strong stakeholder engagement across multiple functions.
• Commercial acumen with focus on asset performance and cost control.

Responsibilities

• Lead fleet engineers and build a strong safety and continuous improvement culture.
• Develop and implement locomotive reliability strategies and governance.
• Analyse fleet performance and reliability data to identify improvements.
• Lead root cause analysis and reliability improvement initiatives.
• Partner with maintenance and operations to optimise strategies and extend asset life.
• Collaborate with OEMs and suppliers to resolve issues and implement fleet improvements.
• Provide leadership, reporting and insights for strategic decisions and cost optimisation.
• Drive innovation through data analytics and predictive maintenance.

Skills

Reliability engineering

RCA

RCM

FMEA

Data analytics

Asset management

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership & team development

Education

Engineering degree (Mechanical/Electrical/Mechatronic)

Job description

• Lead the future of locomotive reliability across our Pacific Nationals Locomotive fleet
• Drive engineering excellence, fleet performance and continuous improvement
• Safely Every Day - That’s Our Promise

Join Pacific National – Australia’s largest private rail freight operator

Every day we transport millions of tonnes of critical freight around the country for our customers. We haul coal, intermodal containers, steel, and bulk commodities that keep Australia moving.

An exciting opportunity has become available for a Reliability Engineering Manager to join our Bulk & Coal team, with locations available in Melbourne, Newcastle or Townsville.

What You’ll Do

As a key leader within our locomotive engineering function, you’ll drive reliability strategies and engineering improvements that maximise fleet availability, improve performance and optimise whole-of-life asset costs.

Reporting to the Manager Locomotive Engineering & Maintenance, you will:

• Lead and develop a team of fleet engineers, building technical capability and fostering a strong safety and continuous improvement culture.
• Develop and implement locomotive reliability strategies, engineering standards and governance frameworks to support safe and reliable fleet performance.
• Analyse fleet performance, failure trends and reliability data to identify improvement opportunities and reduce service-affecting failures.
• Lead root cause analysis, defect elimination and reliability improvement initiatives to improve locomotive availability and reduce unplanned downtime.
• Partner with maintenance and operations teams to optimise maintenance strategies, improve asset performance and extend asset life.
• Collaborate with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers and internal stakeholders to resolve technical issues and deliver fleet improvements.
• Provide technical leadership, performance reporting and insights to support strategic decision-making, cost optimisation and asset management objectives.
• Drive innovation through data analytics, predictive maintenance and modern reliability engineering practices.

What You’ll Bring

• A degree in Engineering, preferably Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronic or a related discipline or equivalent experience
• Significant experience in reliability engineering, asset performance or maintenance optimisation within rollingstock, heavy industry, mining, transport or a similar complex operational environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing technical or engineering teams.
• Strong knowledge of reliability engineering methodologies, including root cause analysis (RCA), Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM) and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
• Experience using data analysis and performance metrics to identify trends, solve complex problems and drive measurable improvements.
• An understanding of asset management frameworks, maintenance strategies and whole-of-life asset optimisation.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to collaborate across engineering, maintenance, operations and external partners.
• Commercial acumen and a focus on improving asset performance, controlling costs and delivering sustainable business outcomes.
• A strong commitment to safety, engineering governance and continuous improvement.

Experience with locomotive systems and rollingstock operations will be highly regarded. Chartered Engineer status and relevant asset management or reliability certifications will also be advantageous.

Why join us?

At Pacific National we value the contribution of each team member. Our values underpin our commitment to create an inclusive culture where everyone is accepted.

Some of the benefits we offer are:

• Paid parental leave
• Novated Leasing
• Fitness Passport
• Purchase leave program
• Access to EAP program through Sonder

We live by our Values: Make it Simple, Share More, Kindness, Gratitude, Curiosity, and Own It - helping us build strong connections and do our best work every day.

Ready to deliver what matters?

Pacific National acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work, live and rail. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and recognise the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.