Quality Assurance Specialist, Senior

Hitachi Rail; Toronto; On-site; CAD 76,000 - 97,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company health, dental & vision plans

Retirement savings plan with company-m

3 weeks vacation

Life and accident Insurance, LTD

Worklife programs and training

Job summary

Hitachi Rail Canada seeks an experienced Quality Assurance Specialist - Intermediate to promote a culture of quality across projects, providing leadership to Project Management, Engineering, Industry & Supply Chain, and Services. You will manage project quality as a QAM on low to medium complexity projects, ensuring compliance and guiding the team through risk-driven QA activities.

Responsibilities include conducting root cause analyses, supporting project gates, preparing quality inputs, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering or equivalent.
• 3–5 years hands-on experience in Engineering System/Software development or as a Quality Assurance Specialist/Manager in a technology or manufacturing setting.
• Solid understanding of QA practices and the Quality Management System (QMS).
• Ability to conduct investigations and perform Root Cause Analysis across multiple disciplines (System, Software, Hardware, PMO, etc.).
• Excellent problem-solving, written, verbal, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Assure that customer concerns are captured and handled by the Project team.
• Cascade and manage Quality Assurance requirements.
• Guide the Project team in defining and tailoring the project baseline and validate plans.
• Control and evaluate project execution at milestones and provide Quality input.
• Prepare and deliver Quality Management Reports and participate in safety reviews.

Skills

Problem solving

Communication skills

Root Cause Analysis

Quality mindset

Project collaboration

Education

B.S. in CS/EE/ME or equivalent

Tools

ISO 9001

QA methodologies

Industry standards (CENELEC/AREMA/IEEE)

Job description

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.

Job Description

As a Quality Assurance Specialist - Intermediate, you will help to promote a culture of Quality within the organization, providing leadership and guidance in Quality Assurance issues to Project Management, Engineering, Industry & Supply Chain, and Services. In this role, you will be allocated to manage project Quality, as a Quality Assurance Manager (QAM), on low to medium complexity projects supporting all disciplines and underlying processes. The QAM represents the Quality authority ensuring that the level of quality provides value and satisfaction to customers.

Main responsibilities include:

• Assure that the concerns of customers are appropriately captured, understood, and efficiently and effectively handled by the Project team.
• Cascade and/or manage the Quality Assurance requirements.
• Adjust Quality Assurance activities with a risk-driven mindset, anticipating and mitigating risks, considering the maturity of the Project team, and focusing on core Quality value-added activities.
• Guide the Project team in the definition and tailoring of the project baseline and validate the resulting plans.
• Control the execution of the Project (in relation to the plans): evaluate achievements at key milestones and deliverables and provide visibility through "Quality Advice."

Key Accountabilities:

• Perform compliance assessment with support for contractual Quality Assurance requirements.
• Write and execute Project Quality Assurance and Software Quality Assurance Plans on low to medium complexity projects.
• Support, coach, and train the Project team in applying processes, proactively identifying risks, and resolving problems.
• Participate in and act as one of the pillars of acceptance in Project Gates/milestones review meetings and prepare Quality input and assessment.
• Provide visibility to the management and alert when necessary; raise a veto in case of non-compliance not properly addressed or in case of a critical event/situation generating a major risk for the Project or for the company, ensuring that action plans are implemented in a timely manner.
• Prepare and deliver the Quality Management Report with support to demonstrate the effectiveness of the quality management process as defined in the applicable plans and standards.
• Participate in Safety Case review and Safety Certification Readiness Review.
• Closely monitor customer feedback (positive or negative) with the Customer Satisfaction Lead.
• Perform Quality Assurance approval for various project artifacts as specified in respective processes, checking that deliverables comply with customer requirements and applicable regulations and standards.
• Support project monitoring by preparing monthly reports on project health status through quality metrics to Project Core Team.
• Perform engineering artifact QA assessments. Record and analyze Quality findings to identify trends or issues to address.
• Conduct Root Cause Analyses with support as required in conjunction with other discipline groups (engineering, Safety, PMO, etc.).
• Participate in Lesson Learned and Risk Review meetings, ensure process adherence, and confirm evidence for compliance is available.
• Support Customer audits and perform internal in-process audits (if required by contract); monitor resolution of corrective action plans.

Key Requirements:

• Minimum B.S in Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, or Computer Engineering or equivalent.
• 3 to 5 years of hands‑on experience in Engineering System/Software development or as a Quality Assurance Specialist or Manager in a technology or manufacturing setting.
• Solid understanding of general QA practices and procedures, including the Quality Management System.
• Ability to conduct investigations and perform Root Cause Analysis across multiple disciplines (System, Software, Hardware, PMO, etc.).
• Excellent problem-solving, written, verbal, and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands‑on engineering system/software development or Quality Assurance experience in complex system environments with certification constraints (Transportation, Aerospace, Medical Devices, Nuclear, Cybersecurity).
• Knowledge of Transportation domain / CBTC system is an asset.
• ASQ Certification (CQE, CQA, etc.).
• Technical/Specialized Knowledge:
• Basic knowledge of Industry Standards: CENELEC/AREMA/IEEE standards.
• ISO 9001.
• Project Lifecycle and Deployment.
• Product Lifecycle.
• System/Software/Hardware development lifecycle.
• Process Improvement Training or background (Six Sigma, DMAIC, etc.).

Base Salary :$75,631 - $96,962

Benefits

• Health, Dental and Vision plans - 100% of premiums are company-paid
• Retirement Savings Plan with a company match
• Company paid holidays - 3 weeks of vacation
• Company provided Life and accident Insurance, LTD
• Worklife programs such as Flextime and a variety of Development and Training opportunities

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.