Locomotive Maintenance Materials/Technical Advisor (MTA)

Job description

Who will you be working with? 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. How will you make a difference?

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 managing critical inventory or advising on complex repairs, 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. What do we want to know about you? 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) Experience, willingness, and ability to work in shop environment and to work various shifts on various days as required, including having a flexible work schedule to perform auditing and training on various shifts.

• 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
• Ability to complete Wabtec Level 1 Technical Training within prescribed time (normally 18 months from hire date) A high level of dependability, a great attitude, and an ability to work well with a team towards achieving a common goal Successful completion of eRail Safe eligibility, which is required in order to work on customer property, along with continued eligibility throughout your employment and/or need to work onsite at a railroad customer facility that requires eRail Safe verification.

What will your typical day look like? Our 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 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 role supports 24/7 schedule coverage. Shifts are normally 12 hours in length.

Routine tasks include daily duties such as Materials Management:

• 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 Technical Advisor (Locomotive Maintenance)
• 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
• Ensure compliance with 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 What about the physical demands of the job?

Operating various forklifts throughout the facility Physically stocking material in the warehouse Standing for long periods of time Walking throughout the day Walking up and down stairs Climbing on/off of locomotives Observing small writing and labels Wearing all required personal protective gear (hardhat, steel toe boots, ear plugs, eye protection) throughout the day Speaking and hearing Typing and operating a computer Working overnight shifts and multiple days in a row, as required You may also be asked to perform other duties outside of your function or trade, for which adequate training will be provided if necessary.