Reliability Engineering Manager

Pacific National; Newcastle; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 230,000; 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, invites you to join our Bulk & Coal team as a Reliability Engineering Manager with locations in Melbourne, Newcastle or Townsville.

Lead a team of locomotive engineers, drive reliability strategies, and partner with OEMs and operations to maximise fleet availability, reduce downtime and optimise whole‑of‑life asset costs.

Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering, preferably Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronic or equivalent experience.
• Significant experience in reliability engineering, asset performance or maintenance optimisation within rolling stock, heavy industry, mining, transport or similar complex operational environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing technical or engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• 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 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.

Skills

Reliability engineering

RCA

RCM

FMEA

Data analysis

Asset management

Stakeholder engagement

Safety & governance

Team leadership

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.