Supervisor, Mechanical and Maintenance

Viarail; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 96,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation and benefits

Excellent pension plan

Annual vacation, parental leave, and个人

Flexible hybrid work schedule options

Telemedicine services

Health and wellness benefits

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Train travel privileges

Career development opportunities

Job summary

VIA Rail in Vancouver, BC, is seeking a Supervisor, Maintenance and Mechanical Operations to lead the Equipment Maintenance teams at the Mission Harbour Centre. You’ll manage trades employees, plan daily maintenance, and drive a continuous improvement culture in a high-safety environment.

Reporting to the senior manager, you will coordinate with planning, industrial engineering, and quality groups to deliver safe, on-time results while managing budgets and fostering teamwork across unionized

Qualifications

• College degree (DEC) or relevant combination of studies/work experience in a related field.
• Minimum of five years of supervisory experience in manufacturing or transportation.
• Experience in a unionized environment is an asset.
• Familiar with Transport Canada Railway regulations (asset).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office/Microsoft Suite.
• Demonstrated ability to work under tight deadlines and multi-task.
• Drive for results with a commitment to Safety and Quality.

Responsibilities

• Directs a team of unionized employees (trades & general workers).
• Demonstrate coaching by being present on the shop floor to support and mobilize the team.
• Foster skill development and cohesive work environments for each member.
• Organize work for employees and monitor progress with the Lead Hand.
• Oversee onboarding and ensure understanding of work environment, practices, tools, and safety rules.
• Identify and coach performance deficiencies and develop required behaviors.
• Provide timely information and share best practices to create transparency and direction.
• Maintain a positive work environment and resolve conflicts promptly and fairly.
• Ensure healthy work climate, employee engagement, and positive labor relations with the union.
• Enforce health and safety rules and foster a safety-driven workplace.
• Improve safety results through observations and feedback.
• Manage environment to prevent losses (safety, overtime, absenteeism, productivity).
• Identify opportunities to improve Health & Safety and efficiency across maintenance centers.
• Maintain relationships with staff, contractors, and internal clients with urgency when issues arise.
• Lead maintenance activities with a proactive planning approach.

Skills

Supervisory experience

Unionized environment

Microsoft Suite

Deadline-driven

Safety & Quality focus

Transport Canada regulations (asset)

Education

College degree (DEC) or relevant experience

Job description

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, CA, V6A 4C7

Reference Number :1452

Status :Permanent - Full-time

Annual Salary / Hourly Rate : $96 000 - $120,000

Number of positions to be filled :1

Application Deadline :09/26/2026

Did you know that VIA Rail is carrying out ambitious projects to modernize its services and infrastructure? From our new ultramodern train fleet to ongoing improvement of our infrastructure, we’re building the future of transportation in Canada. Working for VIA Rail is being a part of a collective effort in sustainable mobility.

Be Part of Something Bigger

At VIA Rail, your work has real impact—you help connect people, strengthen communities, and support a more sustainable future for transportation in Canada. If you're looking for a meaningful career with exceptional benefits and a supportive culture, we invite you to join our team.

Why Work With Us

As a VIA Rail employee, you’ll enjoy a comprehensive range of benefits designed to support your well‑being, growth, and work‑life balance:

• Competitive compensation and benefits package;
• Excellent pension plan with up to 7% employer match under recent agreements;
• Annual vacation, parental leave, and personal leave;
• Flexible hybrid work schedule options (role‑dependent);
• Unlimited access to telemedicine services;
• Comprehensive health and wellness benefits with flexible options (medical, dental, vision);
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP);
• Train travel privileges for you and your family;
• Ongoing career development, training, and advancement opportunities;

POSITION

Our Maintenance Department, responsible for the maintenance and inspection of our trains, is facing an exciting future. With a new fleet on the horizon, changing demographics of our workforce and several projects on the go, our maintenance centers are undergoing a transformation. Reporting to the senior manager, the Supervisor, Maintenance and Mechanical Operations, will be responsible for managing trades employees, general workers and day to day operations of the Equipment Maintenance teams at the Mission Harbour Centre. Act as a frontline leader, the supervisor will be a change agent and lead their team through challenging and exciting changes in a continuous improvement approach and promote a healthy and safe work environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Directs a team of unionized employees (trades & general workers);
• Demonstrate soft skill coaching approach being present on shopfloor to support and for the mobilisation of his team;
• Foster employee skill development and cohesive work environments for each team member;
• Organize work for employees and monitor progress throughout daily maintenance activities in collaboration with the Lead Hand;
• Oversee the onboarding process (or department transition) and ensure employees have a good understanding of the work environment, work practices, tools, and health and safety rules;
• Identify and coach performance deficiencies, as well as take action to develop required behaviors;
• Provide timely information, share best practices, operational concerns and company information in order to create transparency and a clear understanding of company direction, expectations and an engaging environment;
• Accountable for maintaining a positive work environment and effectively managing and resolving conflicts promptly and equitably amongst employees (coaching recognition, reinforcement and feedback);
• Ensure a healthy work climate, culture, employee engagement and positive labor relations with the union and various partners;
• Enforce health and safety rules at all times and foster a health and safety driven workplace;
• Build safety compliance and improve safety results through regular safety observations; provide feedback, reward employee for safe performance and act on non-compliant behaviour;
• Manage and promote a work environment conducive to the prevention of loss (occupational safety and health, overtime, absenteeism, productivity, corporate assets, material waste and environmental compliance);
• Identify opportunities to improve Health and Safety, the environment and strive to gain efficiency in our processes while making recommendations to VIA’s maintenance center;
• Ensure good collaborative relationships are maintained among staff, contractors and internal clients by responding to issues as they arise with a sense of urgency;
• Lead the maintenance activities and team aligned with the pursue of a proactive maintenance approach through planned and scheduled work realization;
• Accountable for the control of the budget of his area (manpower overtime and material)
• Collaborate with various working groups, such as planning, continuous improvement, industrial engineering group, technical services and the quality group to deliver the daily operations safely and within the provided timeframe and budget;
• Ensure that employees follow company policies, that work is carried out according to Maintenance Centre quality standards;

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• College degree (DEC) or any other combination of studies and work experience in a relevantfield;
• Minimum of five (5) years of supervisory experience, relevant experience in manufacturing or the transportation industry;
• Experience working in a unionized environment is an asset;
• Familiar with Transport Canada Railway regulations (asset);
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite;
• Demonstrated ability to work under tight deadlines, multi-task;
• Drive for results with a demonstrated commitment to Safety and Quality;

At VIA Rail, we are proud to be an employment-equity employer and we strive to form teams that reflect the diversity of Canadian society. We aim to remove barriers to employment accessibility and aspire to provide an inclusive and equitable work environment where everyone is valued, regardless of their identity or differences, to enable them to reach their full potential.

If you need assistance in making the recruitment process or the position you are applying for more accessible, please let us know. Alternate arrangements may be offered to individuals who request them at any stage of the recruitment process. All information received in relation to arrangements will be kept confidential.

Note that we will only contact those who are selected for an interview.

Join our 3,000 other employees in helping provide Canadians with a safe, accessible, environmentally sustainable way to travel!