ERTMS Lead Operations Specialist

Freightliner Group Ltd; Basford; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Final-salary pension scheme

Enhanced maternity & paternity pay

Ongoing training and development

Life assurance

Job summary

Heavy Haul Rail, part of Freightliner Group, seeks an experienced ERTMS Lead Operations Specialist to act as the operational authority across the programme lifecycle and to drive ETCS implementation with safety and collaboration at its core.

You will lead and coach a team of Operations Specialists, ensuring operational requirements are embedded into design and testing, while partnering with engineers, safety professionals and industry partners to deliver successful outcomes.

Qualifications

• Significant railway operational experience within freight, passenger or infrastructure environments.
• Detailed knowledge of ERTMS/ETCS principles, operations and deployment.
• Experience developing procedures, competence frameworks and operational standards.
• Strong leadership, coaching and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to analyse complex operational challenges and develop practical, risk‑based solutions.
• Commitment to safety, collaboration, continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Act as the recognised operational authority for all ERTMS/ETCS activities across Heavy Haul Rail.
• Provide leadership and expert operational guidance throughout the full programme lifecycle.
• Ensure operational requirements are embedded into system design, testing, deployment and future operation.
• Lead, coach and develop Operations Specialists, building long-term digital railway capability.
• Drive operational readiness, standards development, competence frameworks and change activities.
• Collaborate with industry partners, programme teams, engineers and safety professionals to deliver successful ETCS implementation.

Skills

Railway operations

ERTMS/ETCS knowledge

Leadership & coaching

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

Job description

Who we are

Previously operating as Freightliner’s Heavy Haul business, we are now an independent company following CMA CGM Group’s acquisition of Freightliner UK’s Intermodal Logistics business in January 2026. Heavy Haul Rail is the UK’s next‑generation rail freight partner built for a sector ready to evolve. We believe it’s time to move differently. Congested roads, rising emissions, fragile supply chains. These aren’t just logistical challenges; they’re environmental and economic wake‑up calls. We’re here to lead the modal shift, helping businesses transition from road to rail with confidence, clarity, and measurable impact. We move 17million tonnes of freight a year for customers in the industrial, energy and construction markets. The company operates 95 locomotives and over 1000 wagons. Heavy Haul Rail’s team of 950 supports customer deliveries to over 100 locations across the UK, running 250 trains per week. Heavy Haul Rail also supports the renewal and maintenance of the rail infrastructure and supports passenger train operators and rolling stock companies, including the provision of drivers and route conducting services. Heavy Haul Rail are also part of Network Rail’s ERTMS Freight Fitment Programme. This programme supports the migration of Britain’s railway from a conventionally signalled network to a digitally signalled one, with close working between industry partners at the heart of this. As one of four initial operators in the UK, Heavy Haul Rail are overseeing Operational, Engineering, and wider business change activities within our business, and also supporting Freightliner in their parallel activities. But none of this happens without us, its people.

ERTMS Lead Operations Specialist

What You’ll Do

Act as the recognised operational authority for all ERTMS/ETCS activities across Heavy Haul Rail. Provide leadership and expert operational guidance throughout the full programme lifecycle. Ensure operational requirements are embedded into system design, testing, deployment and future operation. Lead, coach and develop Operations Specialists, building long-term digital railway capability. Drive operational readiness, standards development, competence frameworks and change activities. Collaborate with industry partners, programme teams, engineers and safety professionals to deliver successful ETCS implementation.

What We’re Looking For

Significant railway operational experience within freight, passenger or infrastructure environments. Detailed knowledge of ERTMS/ETCS principles, operations and deployment. Experience developing procedures, competence frameworks and operational standards. Strong leadership, coaching and stakeholder management skills. Ability to analyse complex operational challenges and develop practical, risk‑based solutions. Commitment to safety, collaboration, continuous improvement and operational excellence.

This post is subject to standard pre‑employment checks including employment references, medical & D&A screening, and successful DBS background checks.

Why Join Us?

Here, you’re not one small part of a big machine. You’re a key contributor with national significance and real‑world impact. We want our colleagues to feel proud of the work they do, connected to our mission and empowered to shape the future of this business.

As part of Heavy Haul Rail, you can expect:

• Purpose that matters. Your work contributes to a cleaner, more efficient freight industry.
• Opportunity to shape what’s next. We’re new, agile and ready to do things differently, your ideas help build our future.
• A team that moves forward together. Collaboration, respect and shared ambition define how we work.
• A commitment to excellence. We deliver with pride, precision and professionalism.
• Room to grow. Your development fuels our momentum.

Our perks and benefits

• Competitive pay
• Fantastic final-salary pension scheme after an initial qualifying period
• Enhanced maternity & paternity pay
• Opportunities for ongoing training and development.
• Access to the company's life assurance scheme
• A range of benefits to make your own so you can get the most of your work and home life which will also help save you money and hassle.
• From reimbursement on health treatments, to savings on new cars.

For queries contact [e-mail]

Shaping tomorrow. Starting today

The future we want to build won’t happen on its own, we have to move it forward, together. Heavy Haul Rail has the purpose, the ambition and the opportunity to reshape how Britain moves. Whatever our roles, we are collaborators, creators and custodians of a better future. This journey starts with what we choose to do today, tomorrow and every day after that.

Our values are:

• Make Every Mile Matter: We act with intention and responsibility, knowing our work shapes a cleaner, stronger future for the UK.
• Build Boldly: We use our entrepreneurial spirit to challenge legacy thinking and design better ways forward, for our customers, our industry and each other.
• We move as one: We collaborate with trust, respect and shared momentum, because progress is a team sport.
• Deliver with certainty: We stand behind our work. We’re reliable, precise and accountable in everything we do.
• Fuelling The Future: We invest in our people and our potential, championing learning, curiosity and continuous improvement.