System Safety Engineer

Metra•Chicago, IL

22h•Hybrid

About The Position

Metra is one of the largest and most complex commuter rail systems in North America, serving six counties in Northeastern Illinois. The agency is responsible for linking communities by providing safe, reliable, and efficient commuter service. The Safety and Environmental Compliance Department implements, oversees, and coordinates passenger and employee safety programs, rail safety education, outreach programs, and emergency evacuation training. The department also handles railroad incident and accident data reporting to federal and state regulatory agencies, as well as environmental compliance, including inspection and testing for environmental safety at Metra-controlled facilities, environmental mitigation, employee training, and hazardous waste disposal. The System Safety Engineer, reporting to the Director, Safety, will define, plan, and coordinate regulatory safety activities, training, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement of safety performance through program development and implementation with interdepartmental cooperation. This role will utilize methodologies and strategies that promote safe operations and accident prevention, focusing on system safety, increasing safety awareness, and compliance throughout Metra's service area. The engineer will serve as a subject matter expert for safety training, railroad safety, and hazard analyses, acting as a liaison between management, staff, and external stakeholders. Responsibilities include identifying, investigating, and reporting safety defects and hazardous conditions, performing root cause analyses, and developing proactive risk mitigation plans. The role involves conducting observations, inspections, audits, and assessments of facilities, equipment, and employee activities to ensure compliance with regulations and operating rules. The engineer will respond to and investigate incidents, accidents, and safety events, providing documentation for internal reports and government notifications, and representing the agency in legal proceedings. Additionally, the position involves participating in outside safety events, preparing and conducting presentations for public outreach, and coordinating team activities, assigning tasks, and monitoring performance without direct supervision. The role is responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable safety rules and regulations and works under various environmental conditions, potentially exposed to heat, cold, rain, snow, and high noise levels. This position is subject to random drug and/or alcohol testing. Metra is a railroad employer subject to the Railroad Retirement Tax Act.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in safety and occupational health, safety engineering or a related field or in lieu of specified degree, any combination of education and experience may be substituted for the required degree that equals four (4) years of experience in the administration of safety regulations or occupational health.
Five (5) years of professional occupational health or safety management related experience applying applicable safety standards and best practices.
Willingness to travel throughout Metra's six-county service area as per project requirements.
Knowledge of OSHA, FRA, and FTA regulations as well as safety rules and practices related to contracted operations, maintenance, and capital work.
Working knowledge of safety management systems, methods, and techniques of investigating safety related accidents and injuries.
Demonstrated knowledge of system and subsystem hazard and environmental analyses, safety and risk management practices, operations, facilities, and vehicles rules and procedures.
Functional knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Word, Excel, Power Point and Access.
Clear and concise written and verbal communications skills.
Strong interpersonal skills in dealing with all levels of management, employees, external groups and/or outside organizations.
Excellent problem solving skills.
Ability to perform job safety analysis and incident investigations to determine probable cause and provide recommendations to resolve railroad safety issues based on root cause analysis.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships in the course of work and the general public.
Ability to respond to incidents and to perform assignments after regular business hours during various District work shifts.
Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects in a demanding environment.
Ability to maintain strict confidentiality when working with sensitive information.
Ability to interpret and apply federal regulations.
Ability to observe operations to actively identify hazardous condition, address, and mitigate immediately.
Ability to lead and direct incident investigations and coordinate activities over cross-functional work groups.
Ability to work independently or as a member of a team.
Must pass the Roadway Worker Protection Safety Officers Rules Exam and become qualified on assigned district within 90 days of hire date.
General Code of Operations Rule (GCOR) qualified within 90 days of hire date.
Must obtain the OSHA 30 certification within 6 months of hire date.
Must obtain a Certified Safety Profession (CSP) certification by the Board of Certified Safety Professional or a Certified Safety and Security Director (CSSD) certification accredited through the World Safety Organization (WSO) within 1 year of hire date.
Able to obtain a Transit Safety and Security Program Certificate (TSSP) through the Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) within 2 years of date of hire conditioned on budgetary requirements.
Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license.
Ability to stand, walk, and/or sit, for extended periods of time.
Hearing/Visual acuity, far/near, depth perception, field of vision, color vision.
Ability to lift and move up to 30 pounds.
Must be able to operate a vehicle.
Must be available on-call 24-hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year, including weekends and holidays.
Must be able to work rotating weekends.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of the International Code Council (ICC), FTA regulations, root cause analysis techniques, and functional work areas such as Signal, Mechanical, Operations Engineering and Transportation/Operations is highly desirable.
OSHA 40 HAZWOPER training certification.
Safety Industry certifications are desired.

Responsibilities

Defining, planning, and coordinating regulatory safety activities, training, and regulatory compliance.
Implementing continuous improvement of safety performance through the development and implementation of various programs and procedures with interdepartmental cooperation.
Utilizing methodologies and strategies that promote safe operations and accident prevention, with emphasis on system safety, increasing safety awareness, and compliance.
Serving as subject matter expert for safety training programs and classes, railroad safety, and hazard analyses.
Acting as a liaison between management, staff, and external stakeholders.
Identifying, investigating, and reporting on safety defects and unsafe/hazardous conditions utilizing the hazard identification and resolution procedure, including performing root cause analyses, contributing factor determinations, and corrective action recommendations.
Identifying trends to create proactive risk mitigation plans.
Performing comprehensive observations, on-site inspections, audits, and assessments of facilities, equipment, work stations, locations, and employees' activities, including hazardous chemicals/substances, to ensure compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations as well as the agency's operating rules.
Responding to and investigating all reported incidents, accidents, and significant safety events, including injuries, fatalities, and equipment failures.
Providing detailed written documentation for use in internal reports and notifications submitted to the appropriate government agencies.
Responding to requests for information and representing the agency for motions to depose or other legal proceedings.
Serving as the agency's representative when participating in outside safety events.
Preparing and conducting presentations for public outreach programs.
Coordinating team’s day-to-day activities, assigning tasks/projects and monitoring performance, and providing guidance and training.
Ensuring compliance with applicable safety rules and regulations.
Performing other related duties as assigned to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.