Lead Assessor – Signalling

DNV; Maharashtra; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

DNV is seeking an experienced Lead Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) Assessor in India. The role provides impartial technical judgement to ensure safety requirements are adequately defined and justified across railway projects.

You will lead ISA activities, review safety cases, hazard logs, and RAMS, coordinating with clients, validators, and regulators. The candidate will have a minimum of 10 years in railways and strong experience with EN standards and complex rail systems, leading multiple

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, systems engineering or safety engineering.
• 10+ years of experience in railways, metros, or trams.
• 5+ years railway safety assurance, independent safety assessment, systems assurance, or safety-critical engineering.
• Experience applying railway safety standards, particularly EN 50126, EN 50128, EN 50129.
• Leading assessment activities for at least 3 complex rail projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead independent safety assessments for railway systems, including signaling, control command, rolling stock, infrastructure, and system integration projects.
• Review and assess safety documentation, including Safety Cases, Hazard Logs, risk assessments, system safety plans, verification and validation evidence, test reports, and assurance arguments.
• Assess compliance with applicable railway safety standards and regulations, including EN 50126, EN 50128 (EN50716), EN 50129 and other project-specific requirements.
• Provide independent technical opinions on the adequacy of safety requirements, risk controls, safety evidence, and residual risk acceptance.
• Plan, manage, and coordinate ISA activities across the project lifecycle, including assessment planning, document review, audits, inspections, test witnessing, findings management, and final reporting.
• Act as the primary technical interface with clients, project teams, validators, certification bodies, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Lead multidisciplinary assessment teams, allocate tasks, review outputs, and ensure independence of assessment conclusions.
• Identify safety-related issues, observations, and non-compliances, and provide clear recommendations to support timely resolution.
• Prepare high-quality ISA plans, interim assessment reports, findings logs, technical notes, and final ISA reports.
• Maintain impartiality and independence from design, delivery, and implementation activities.

Skills

RAMS knowledge

Railway safety

Independent assessment

Stakeholder management

Safety documentation

Technical judgement

Report writing

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

About Us

We are the independent expert in assurance and risk management. Driven by our purpose, to safeguard life, property, and the environment, we empower our customers and their stakeholders with facts and reliable insights so that critical decisions can be made with confidence.

About Us

We are the independent expert in assurance and risk management. Driven by our purpose, to safeguard life, property, and the environment, we empower our customers and their stakeholders with facts and reliable insights so that critical decisions can be made with confidence.

As a trusted voice for many of the world’s most successful organizations, we use our knowledge to advance safety and performance, set industry benchmarks, and inspire and invent solutions to tackle global transformations.

About The Role

Purpose of the Role : The Lead Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) Assessor has the overall authority and responsibility to ensure that all Safety assessment activities under a project are correctly prepared, executed and reported. The role provides impartial technical judgement on whether safety requirements have been adequately defined, implemented, verified, and justified. Assessing whether risks have been demonstrated to have been reduced to an acceptable level.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead independent safety assessments for railway systems, including signaling, control command, rolling stock, infrastructure, and system integration projects.
• Review and assess safety documentation, including Safety Cases, Hazard Logs, risk assessments, system safety plans, verification and validation evidence, test reports, and assurance arguments.
• Assess compliance with applicable railway safety standards and regulations, including EN 50126, EN 50128 (EN50716), EN 50129 and other project-specific requirements.
• Provide independent technical opinions on the adequacy of safety requirements, risk controls, safety evidence, and residual risk acceptance.
• Plan, manage, and coordinate ISA activities across the project lifecycle, including assessment planning, document review, audits, inspections, test witnessing, findings management, and final reporting.
• Act as the primary technical interface with clients, project teams, design authorities, validators, certification bodies, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Lead multidisciplinary assessment teams, allocate tasks, review outputs, and ensure consistency, quality, and independence of assessment conclusions.
• Identify safety-related issues, observations, and non-compliances, and provide clear recommendations to support timely resolution.
• Prepare high-quality ISA plans, interim assessment reports, findings logs, technical notes, and final ISA reports.
• Maintain impartiality and independence from design, delivery, and implementation activities in accordance with applicable accreditation and governance requirements.

What we offer

DNV is an Equal Opportunity Employer and gives consideration for employment to qualified applicants without regard to gender, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, cultural background, social group, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age or political opinion. Diversity is fundamental to our culture and we invite you to be part of this diversity.

About You

Required Qualification and Experience:

• Bachelors degree in engineering, systems engineering or safety engineering discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in railways, metros, or trams.
• Specific experience in developing or assessing complex railway signalling systems.
• Minimum 5 years railway safety assurance, independent safety assessment, systems assurance, certification, verification and validation, or safety‑critical engineering.
• Demonstrable experience applying railway safety standards, particularly CENELEC standards EN 50126, EN 50128 (EN 50716), and EN 50129, including RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety) specifications and demonstrations. Leading assessment activities for at least 3 complex rail projects, including multidisciplinary systems and interfaces.
• Deep understanding of hazard identification, risk analysis, safety integrity levels, safety requirements management, assurance cases, and lifecycle safety processes.
• Experience engaging with clients, suppliers, infrastructure managers, operators, notified bodies, designated bodies, assessment bodies, and national safety authorities.
• Professional registration, chartered engineer status, or recognized safety/assurance certification is desirable.

Key Skills And Competencies

• Strong understanding of the processes and potential defects related to the lifecycle of the railway’s products
• Knowledge and understanding of risk management, systems engineering and human/organizational factors for the subsystems within scope of assessment
• Knowledge and understanding of the interfaces related to interoperability and safe integration
• Understanding of the risk derived or likely to be derived from the integration of the product into the railway system
• Ability to perform sound robust judgement on any deviation of the product under assessment
• Strong technical judgement and the ability to form clear, evidence‑based independent conclusions.
• Excellent written communication skills, with the ability to produce concise, defensible, and audit‑ready assessment reports.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and confidence engaging with senior technical, project, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Ability to lead teams, manage priorities, and deliver assessment outputs within agreed scope, schedule, and budget.
• High attention to detail, analytical thinking, and a structured approach to reviewing complex safety evidence.
• Commitment to professional integrity, impartiality, technical excellence, and continuous improvement.

Security and compliance with statutory requirements in the countries in which we operate is essential for DNV. Background checks will be conducted on all final candidates as part of the offer process, in accordance with applicable country‑specific laws and practices.