Safety Assurance Director - Rail

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons is seeking a Safety Assurance Director – Rail in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to lead the development and governance of the rail safety assurance framework across infrastructure, rolling stock, signaling, and operations. This senior role requires deep experience in safety cases, RAMS, and regulatory liaison.

You will chair executive safety committees, oversee hazard logs, manage change control, and drive continuous improvement in safety performance while aligning with Saudi regulations and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, rail technology, systems engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 20 years of experience in rail safety, systems safety, safety assurance, or related technical fields.
• Extensive experience in railway, metro, mass transit, or similarly complex transportation environments.
• Demonstrated success developing and managing rail safety cases.
• Strong experience establishing safety management systems and assurance frameworks.
• Proven leadership across operational railways, infrastructure projects, rolling stock, signalling, or integrated transport systems.
• Strong knowledge of rail safety legislation and regulatory requirements in Saudi Arabia.
• Sound understanding of recognized international rail safety and systems engineering standards.
• Experience managing hazard logs, safety requirements, technical evidence, and assurance documentation.
• Strong knowledge of lifecycle safety processes from concept through decommissioning.
• Practical experience with safety by design, risk assessment, verification, validation, and change control.
• Demonstrated capability in regulatory liaison, safety certification, licensing, and approval processes.
• Experience coordinating with independent safety assessors, accreditation bodies, and technical reviewers.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary safety and engineering teams.
• Strong background influencing executive leaders, government entities, contractors, operators, and maintainers.
• Track record of managing assurance for complex rail systems and multi‑package programs.
• Experience overseeing incident investigations, safety audits, and corrective‑action programs.
• Excellent analytical, strategic, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
• Strong written and spoken English communication abilities.
• Ability to explain complex safety and engineering matters to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• High standards of integrity, independence, professional judgement, and accountability.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder‑management capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the rail safety assurance strategy, policies, standards, and management systems.
• Align safety assurance arrangements with Saudi Arabian regulations, international standards, and recognized industry practices.
• Define the safety governance framework for rail operations, maintenance, renewals, upgrades, and new developments.
• Chair or participate in executive safety committees, technical assurance panels, and safety review boards.
• Provide regular assurance reports, risk summaries, performance trends, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership.
• Lead the preparation, review, maintenance, and approval of safety cases and supporting evidence.

Skills

Rail safety assurance

Systems safety

Safety case development

Hazard identification

Risk assessment

Verification & validation

Regulatory compliance

Systems engineering

Safety by design

Safety governance

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Job description

Safety Assurance Director – Rail

Safety Assurance Director – Rail in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a senior role for an experienced systems safety leader with extensive rail operations experience. The incumbent will establish, govern, and continuously strengthen the rail safety assurance framework across complex infrastructure, rolling stock, signalling, operations, maintenance, and capital projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the rail safety assurance strategy, policies, standards, and management systems.
• Align safety assurance arrangements with Saudi Arabian regulations, international standards, and recognized industry practices.
• Define the safety governance framework for rail operations, maintenance, renewals, upgrades, and new developments.
• Establish clear assurance responsibilities, approval routes, accountabilities, and escalation procedures.
• Chair or participate in executive safety committees, technical assurance panels, and safety review boards.
• Provide regular assurance reports, risk summaries, performance trends, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership.
• Design and implement hazard identification, risk assessment, safety case, verification, validation, and change‑control processes.
• Ensure safety requirements are captured, allocated, traced, verified, and closed throughout the system lifecycle.
• Lead the preparation, review, maintenance, and approval of safety cases and supporting evidence.
• Oversee safety documentation for infrastructure, rolling stock, signalling, communications, control systems, depots, stations, and supporting assets.
• Ensure appropriate application of systems engineering and systems safety methodologies.
• Monitor compliance with relevant rail safety laws, technical standards, regulatory guidance, and internal policies.
• Act as the principal contact for safety regulators, accreditation bodies, independent assessors, and external assurance stakeholders.
• Coordinate regulatory submissions, certifications, licences, technical dossiers, and formal approvals.
• Lead the preparation and defence of safety cases during regulatory and independent reviews.
• Monitor regulatory and standards changes and assess their effect on operations, projects, systems, and procedures.
• Direct implementation of required changes arising from revised legislation or technical standards.
• Provide assurance that rail operations and maintenance activities follow approved safety controls.
• Oversee safety assessment of timetable changes, route changes, new services, and operational modifications.
• Review assurance arrangements for new or modified rolling stock, signalling systems, infrastructure, and station assets.
• Ensure operational changes undergo proportionate risk assessment, validation, and formal approval.
• Review and approve safety‑related operating procedures, technical rules, instructions, and control measures.
• Provide independent safety assurance for rail projects, major renewals, enhancements, and network expansions.
• Confirm that project safety risks are identified and managed from concept through entry into service.
• Ensure safety requirements are incorporated into design decisions, procurement packages, specifications, and contracts.
• Oversee safety verification and validation throughout design, construction, testing, and commissioning.
• Lead entry‑into‑service readiness reviews and confirm outstanding safety issues are controlled.
• Sponsor independent safety audits, technical reviews, peer assessments, and evaluations of safety‑critical systems.
• Monitor test evidence, assurance records, hazard closure, and certification readiness.
• Oversee investigations into significant incidents, near misses, technical failures, and safety‑related events.
• Ensure root causes, contributing factors, and systemic weaknesses are properly identified.
• Track corrective and preventive actions through verified closure.
• Capture lessons learned and incorporate them into policies, standards, procedures, training, and future designs.
• Establish a risk‑based safety audit and inspection program.
• Monitor audit findings, action owners, due dates, and evidence of completion.
• Drive continuous improvement in safety performance, assurance maturity, technical competence, and organizational culture.
• Promote open reporting, learning, accountability, and a fair approach to safety management.
• Provide leadership to safety assurance managers, systems safety engineers, RAMS specialists, and related professionals.
• Mentor team members and build internal capability in rail safety assurance and systems engineering.
• Influence executives, project leaders, operational teams, maintainers, designers, and contractors to integrate safety into decision‑making.
• Promote proactive risk management and safety leadership across all rail activities.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, rail technology, systems engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 20 years of experience in rail safety, systems safety, safety assurance, or related technical fields.
• Extensive experience in railway, metro, mass transit, or similarly complex transportation environments.
• Demonstrated success developing and managing rail safety cases.
• Strong experience establishing safety management systems and assurance frameworks.
• Proven leadership across operational railways, infrastructure projects, rolling stock, signalling, or integrated transport systems.
• Strong knowledge of rail safety legislation and regulatory requirements in Saudi Arabia.
• Sound understanding of recognized international rail safety and systems engineering standards.
• Experience managing hazard logs, safety requirements, technical evidence, and assurance documentation.
• Strong knowledge of lifecycle safety processes from concept through decommissioning.
• Practical experience with safety by design, risk assessment, verification, validation, and change control.
• Demonstrated capability in regulatory liaison, safety certification, licensing, and approval processes.
• Experience coordinating with independent safety assessors, accreditation bodies, and technical reviewers.
• Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary safety and engineering teams.
• Strong background influencing executive leaders, government entities, contractors, operators, and maintainers.
• Track record of managing assurance for complex rail systems and multi‑package programs.
• Experience overseeing incident investigations, safety audits, and corrective‑action programs.
• Excellent analytical, strategic, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
• Strong written and spoken English communication abilities.
• Ability to explain complex safety and engineering matters to technical and non‑technical audiences.
• High standards of integrity, independence, professional judgement, and accountability.
• Strong leadership, mentoring, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder‑management capabilities.

Key Skills

• Rail safety assurance, systems safety, safety case development, hazard identification, risk assessment, safety requirements management, verification and validation, safety certification, regulatory compliance, systems engineering, RAMS, safety by design, operational and construction safety, maintenance safety, rolling stock assurance, signalling safety, infrastructure assurance, testing and commissioning, entry‑into‑service readiness, independent safety assessment, technical assurance, change control, configuration management, incident investigation, root‑cause analysis, safety audits, safety inspections, regulatory submissions, technical dossiers, safety performance reporting, safety culture, team leadership, stakeholder management, continuous improvement.

About Parsons Corporation

Parsons Corporation is a solutions provider delivering engineering, program management, technical assurance, technology, and infrastructure solutions for complex projects in Saudi Arabia and internationally.