Locomotive Maintenance Technical Advisor – Minneapolis, MN

Wabtec•Minneapolis, MN

4d•$62,100 - $85,300•Onsite

About The Position

As a member of Field Services Americas, you will be responsible for helping our customer (BNSF) maintain their fleet of GE/Wabtec locomotives through advising, informing, researching, and assisting their mechanical employees. You will be part of a team made up of Wabtec technical and materials experts, all working to ensure our customer’s fleet is running at optimal levels. The Locomotive Maintenance Materials Technical Advisor (MTA) is a hybrid position that combines the best of both worlds, between our technical advisory and materials management areas of expertise. Whether it’s advising on complex repairs or managing critical inventory, this position provides a full suite of service to our customers – the largest railroad operators in the United States. Multiple levels of training and certification are available to our Locomotive Maintenance Technical Advisors, which provides them with multiple career opportunities within the company as their careers progress. With over 27,000+ global employees, Wabtec provides rich career development and growth opportunities for our employees. Our Locomotive Maintenance Materials Technical advisors work inside locomotive diesel repair shops located on our customer’s property, and work side by side with our customer, including their management teams. This role serves as an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Technical Advisor, responsible for advising railroad employees and management on how/when/if to make specific repairs on GE/Wabtec locomotives rather than completing actual locomotive repairs yourself. This is a unique aspect to this role in that you are essentially always in front of the customer, which requires a heightened since of awareness and customer centric focus, but also enables you to see the immediate impact of your contributions on a daily basis. This position is part of a team covering 24/7 schedule coverage . Shifts are twelve (12) hours in length, with the normal rotation of 4 days on and 3 days off each week. A level of flexibility in scheduling is required (either in days or hours covered) to accommodate for scheduling changes, however, added incentives are available when covering shifts outside of your regular schedule. While one day can widely differ from the next depending on a number of factors, a general outline of an average day would include: Shift Start: Conduct turnover with off going shift, including individual locomotive rundown and status updates, review material needs, discuss bad actor locomotives, meet with customer on shop flow and expectations of the oncoming shift Throughout Each Day: Actively walking the shop, touching base with railroad employees on locomotive statuses, delivering material within the shop for repairs, helping troubleshoot issues, workorder maintenance, along with other regularly reoccurring tasks. Note: During the first 12-18 months in the role, or until you obtain your Level 1 Certification, a significant amount of your time and focus will likely be on reviewing and completing certification materials as a requirement of the position.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree (Or a 2-year degree with 2 years of professional work experience, Or a High School Diploma / GED with a minimum of 4 years of Operations or Military leadership experience)
Willingness and ability to work various shifts, various days, and work in a shop environment
A high degree of mechanical and/or electrical aptitude and problem-solving ability and/or experience
Ability to complete Wabtec Level 1 Technical Training within prescribed time (normally 18 months from hire date)
Proficiency in MS office applications
Strong oral and written communication skills
Strong interpersonal and leadership skills
Validated analytical and quality improvement ability
Ability to interface at all levels of the organization, both internally and externally
The ability to maintain reliable and predictable attendance
A high level of dependability, a great attitude, and an ability to work well with a team towards achieving a common goal

Responsibilities

Provide clear communication and technical guidance to railroad employees and management to include troubleshooting, material assistance, tooling and / or locomotive status, safety procedures, productivity and process improvements, and contract requirement clarification.
Coordinate and provide instruction on key programs and procedures related to locomotive maintenance and modifications.
Provide technical mentorship to teams, including troubleshooting, material handling, tooling, safety procedures, and contract requirement clarification
Provide clear communication to employees, customer management, and Wabtec management on work to be performed, equipment status, efficiency, and process improvements.
Partner with teams to promote, maintain, and drive continuous improvement in safe work practices while supervising productivity, quality assurance, and adherence to contract requirements
Abide by all governmental regulations, OSHA work practices, and industry / site specific work rules
Work with employees and management on establishing production plans for labor, material, and logistics
Work with various software systems to run material, labor plans, and other systemic requirements
Order material across multiple sites at full lead-time to match associated schedules
Monitor on hand active and upcoming material to ensure material is available
Assist in monitoring constrained or critically allocated material including daily monitoring of extremely low on hand material and attending regular calls to obtain parts needed for locomotives
Engage supply chain on critical needs and communicate potential upcoming problem parts
Process customer sales orders and resolve system errors so orders will generate in system correctly
Work with all levels of personnel internally in resolving issues, tracking material availability, and advising on material usage. This includes analyzing duplicate usage, lost shipments, overages, missing material, troubleshooting oracle errors, helping track material discrepancy, and other items as needed and required.
Coordinate with Ryder and Services Logistics Team on active projects to ensure data accuracy and process compliance
Complete indirect purchasing for special projects
Work with 3rd party shops to ensure inventory accuracy and core accuracy, as needed
Communicate with suppliers regarding order status and changes in delivery dates or quantities
Provide overall support on any material issue to find solutions to a wide array of complex problems
All other job duties as assigned and required