Lead Support Engineer

Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc.; Doncaster; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

25 days holiday

Annual bonus potential

Pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Personal Accident insurance

Group Income protection

Group Life Insurance

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

Hitachi Rail UK Limited in Doncaster is seeking a senior engineering leader to provide technical leadership for fleet safety, reliability and performance. You will head the local Support Engineering team and deputise for the Engineering Manager when required.

Lead investigations into fleet issues, oversee RCA actions, and drive continuous improvement. Strong people leadership and communication skills are essential.

Qualifications

• HND/HNC, degree or equivalent engineering qualification.
• Experience leading technical teams.
• Sound knowledge of rules and regulations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage and develop the Shift Support Engineers at the TMC.
• Coordinate with Lead Support Engineers at other TMCs to balance resource requirements.
• Represent Hitachi at Periodic Customer Meetings.
• Act as an Engineering lead for TMC engineering activity and support requirements.
• Lead investigations into fleet performance, reliability and safety issues.

Skills

Technical leadership

Team leadership

Root cause analysis

Reliability improvement

Project coordination

Stakeholder communication

Engineering risk management

Education

Engineering qualification

Job description

Location: Doncaster, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Job ID: R0145305

Date Posted: 2026-10-15

Company Name: Hitachi Rail UK Limited

Profession (Job Category): Engineering & Science

Job Schedule: Full time

Remote: No

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

• In this role you will be responsible for providing technical leadership for fleet safety, reliability and performance.
• You will also be leading the local Support Engineering team, coordinate engineering activities, drive investigations and continuous improvement programmes, and deputise for the Engineering Manager when required.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead, manage and develop the Shift Support Engineers at the TMC.
• Co-ordinate with Lead Support Engineers at other TMCs to balance shift engineering resource requirements and workload allocation.
• Represent Hitachi at Periodic Customer Meetings.
• Act as an Engineering lead and focal point for TMC related engineering activity and support requirements.
• Lead technical investigations into fleet performance reliability and safety issues, driving root cause analysis, containment actions and permanent corrective actions.
• Analyse the output of remote condition monitoring systems to identify performance risks to the fleet.
• Ensure SoWs are in place and prioritised accordingly for safety, reliability and performance affecting defects.
• Ensure accurate and consistent root cause data is captured for KPI, availability and penalties.
• Assess, approve and manage concession requests.
• Own and monitor reliability performance & reporting and identify areas to improve reliability through reliability growth modelling.
• Produce and implement engineering fleet checks and engineering changes as required.
• Act as a competent peer reviewer to ensure Engineering change compliance with applicable industry standards.
• Produce technical engineering reports for major faults.
• Maintain engineering documentation – including but not limited to, VMIs, VMPs, FFGs, defect handling guides and modification instructions.
• Identify and support optimisation work streams including opportunities to champion digital solutions and condition-based monitoring tools.
• Act as an SME for allocated system(s).
• Own engineering risk and safety performance – including SRDs and HRDs for allocated system(s).
• Deputise for Engineering Manager.
• Participate in engineering on-call roster and incident response.

About you

• HND/HNC, degree or equivalent engineering qualification.
• Significant rolling stock or complex asset engineering experience (desirable).
• Experience in rolling stock safety management, reliability improvement and technical investigation (desirable).
• Experience leading technical teams.
• Sound knowledge of, and compliance to, rules and regulations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to represent Hitachi in a professional manner at all times.

What we offer

• Competitive salary
• 25 days holiday
• Potential opportunity for annual performance related bonus
• Pension scheme with contributions up to 9%
• Private medical insurance
• Personal Accident insurance
• Group Income protection
• Group Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme

We also offer additional perks for you to choose from within a flexible plan that will meet your specific needs and lifestyle.

Closing date for applications is 1st November 2026.

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.

Hitachi brings together the world’s greatest minds to help breathe life into new possibilities – and drive innovation for a better future.

That’s why we look for individuals who share our pioneering spirit, have imaginative ideas and are fearless when it comes to tackling the world’s biggest challenges.

Our people love technology – and they love making a difference. They have a passion for finding new solutions and working with brilliant colleagues.

Every day they dedicate themselves to a huge range of exciting projects, contributing to the Hitachi vision around the globe.

From engineering new sustainability solutions that conserve water and energy to creating the infrastructure for the smart cities of tomorrow, there’s no challenge too great for our pioneers.

And there’s no shortage of opportunities for you to make a difference. Come and experience the dynamic, collaborative and creative environments where your ideas are welcome and new discoveries are waiting. To help you grow to your full potential, we strive to support our employees in their career aspirations and promote the freedom to explore new horizons.