Department: Charlotte Area Transit System Department

Salary: $126,009.00 - $181,137.64 Commensurate with Experience

SUMMARY
The Assistant Director of Rail Maintenance provides senior leadership for CATS' rail maintenance function and is responsible for the safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable maintenance of rail vehicles, track, signals, traction power, overhead contact system, and other rail infrastructure and support assets. Reporting to the Director of Rail Operations, this role oversees both Rail Car Maintenance and Maintenance of Way and ensures that maintenance activities, asset stewardship, workforce capability, and operational coordination support daily rail service and long-term system performance.

This position translates Rail Operations strategy and executive direction into effective maintenance practices, performance expectations, resource plans, and organizational priorities across the rail maintenance function. The Assistant Director is accountable for maintenance-related operating results, including asset reliability, equipment availability, inspection and maintenance program effectiveness, safety and regulatory compliance, workforce performance, and coordination with transportation operations and capital activities. The role works through subordinate managers to align vehicle and infrastructure maintenance functions into a coordinated maintenance organization supporting current service needs and future system growth.

The Assistant Director also serves as a key cross-functional leader, coordinating closely with rail transportation, engineering, asset management, safety, quality, procurement, and training to ensure rail assets are maintained in a manner that is operationally sound, fiscally responsible, and aligned with agency priorities. This position requires strong technical judgment, leadership presence, and the ability to balance long-term asset stewardship with the immediate needs of a safety-sensitive operating environment.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

The following duties are standard for this position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the classification.

Rail Maintenance Leadership and Strategic Direction

• Provide leadership and direction for CATS' rail maintenance function, including Rail Car Maintenance, Rail Inventory and Maintenance of Way.
• Establish maintenance priorities, performance expectations, and operating standards that support safe, reliable, and efficient rail service.
• Translate agency and Rail Operations priorities into practical maintenance strategies, resource plans, and management expectations.
• Ensure rail maintenance activities are aligned with service delivery needs, asset condition priorities, approved budgets, safety objectives, and long-term operational goals.
• Support an integrated maintenance model that connects fleet maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, asset stewardship, safety, and continuous improvement into one coordinated function.

Maintenance Programs and Asset Performance

• Oversee preventive, corrective, inspection, testing, and reliability-centered maintenance programs for rail vehicles and rail infrastructure.
• Ensure maintenance programs support equipment availability, system reliability, safe operations, and state-of-good-repair objectives.
• Monitor maintenance performance using measures such as asset condition, equipment availability, reliability trends, backlog, inspection completion, and other key indicators.
• Direct follow-up on recurring failures, maintenance bottlenecks, or performance gaps and ensure appropriate corrective action is taken.
• Promote disciplined maintenance planning, documentation, standardization, and follow-through across vehicle and infrastructure maintenance functions.

Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure rail maintenance activities are carried out in accordance with applicable safety requirements, agency rules, maintenance procedures, and regulatory expectations.
• Support strong compliance with safety management, quality management, inspection, testing, and documentation requirements affecting rail maintenance functions.
• Partner with Safety, Quality, Compliance, and other internal groups on audits, inspections, investigations, corrective actions, and process improvement initiatives.
• Monitor maintenance-related safety and quality trends and direct action to reduce risk, improve consistency, and strengthen work execution.
• Help ensure maintenance records, procedures, and practices support regulatory reviews, internal accountability, and operational readiness.

Workforce Leadership and Organizational Development

• Lead the rail maintenance organization through subordinate managers responsible for Rail Car Maintenance, Rail Inventory and Maintenance of Way.
• Establish clear expectations for leadership performance, workforce accountability, technical discipline, and management follow-through.
• Oversee workforce planning, staffing support, technical training coordination, succession planning, and leadership development across rail maintenance functions.
• Promote a culture of safety, accountability, craftsmanship, professionalism, and continuous improvement within the maintenance organization.
• Support organizational development efforts that strengthen supervisory effectiveness, technical capability, and long-term bench strength.

Budget, Resources, and Maintenance Support

• Support development and administration of rail maintenance budgets, staffing plans, material needs, and resource allocations.
• Monitor labor, overtime, materials, contract services, and other cost drivers affecting the rail maintenance function.
• Help balance service requirements, asset conditions, maintenance needs, and fiscal constraints in maintenance decision-making.
• Coordinate with procurement, supply chain, and related support functions to help ensure parts availability, materials planning, and effective support for maintenance operations.
• Provide analysis and recommendations to the Director of Rail Operations regarding maintenance risks, resource needs, investment priorities, and organizational support requirements.

Cross-Functional and Capital Coordination

• Coordinate closely with rail transportation, engineering, asset management, planning, training, and capital project teams whose work affects rail asset condition and service readiness.
• Represent maintenance operational and technical needs in discussions involving capital projects, renewals, testing, turnover, service impacts, and transition-to-operations activities.
• Ensure new or renewed assets are maintainable, supportable, and aligned with agency standards and operational needs.
• Support coordination of maintenance activities during planned outages, service changes, major inspections, special events, and other conditions affecting rail service.
• Serve as a key internal liaison on matters involving fleet condition, infrastructure readiness, maintenance risks, and asset support strategy.

Performance Management and Continuous Improvement

• Establish and oversee management routines, reporting structures, and performance expectations that support accountability within the rail maintenance organization.
• Use maintenance, reliability, inspection, and safety data to identify trends, root causes, and opportunities for improvement.
• Support process improvements, standardization efforts, and operational discipline initiatives intended to strengthen maintenance effectiveness and consistency.
• Promote a management culture in which results are reviewed systematically and follow-through is expected.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Core Competencies:

The position requires demonstrated competency in the following areas:

Rail Maintenance Leadership - Ability to lead a complex rail maintenance function across vehicle and infrastructure disciplines; set direction; and ensure maintenance supports safe, reliable, and sustainable rail service.

• Aligns vehicle and infrastructure maintenance activities around shared organizational outcomes.
• Sets clear expectations for maintenance performance, discipline, and accountability.
• Maintains focus on both current service needs and long-term asset conditions.

Asset Performance and Maintenance Strategy - Ability to oversee maintenance programs, interpret performance information, and direct action that improves reliability, availability, and asset stewardship.

• Uses maintenance and reliability information to identify priorities and risks.
• Supports disciplined planning and follow-through across all maintenance programs.
• Connects day-to-day maintenance decisions with longer-term asset performance goals.

Safety, Quality, and Compliance Leadership - Ability to reinforce safe work practices, procedural compliance, and quality expectations within a technically complex maintenance environment.

• Promotes strong adherence to maintenance procedures and safety requirements.
• Supports consistent execution, documentation, and follow-up.
• Addresses trends, gaps, and risks through corrective action and continuous improvement.

Leadership Through Others - Ability to lead through subordinate managers, strengthen organizational capability, and build a high-performing maintenance leadership team.

• Creates clarity around leadership expectations, priorities, and accountability.
• Supports development of managers and technical leaders.
• Builds organizational strength through coaching, succession planning, and follow-through.

Cross-Functional Coordination - Ability to work effectively with operations, engineering, asset management, supply chain, safety, and capital teams whose decisions affect rail maintenance readiness and performance.

• Builds effective working relationships across technical and operational functions.
• Clearly represents comprehensive maintenance needs in cross-functional settings.
• Supports coordinated decision-making involving service readiness and asset support.

Operational and Fiscal Stewardship - Ability to manage resources responsibly while balancing service delivery needs, workforce capacity, maintenance demand, and long-term investment priorities.

• Uses sound judgment in allocating resources and setting priorities.
• Monitors major cost drivers and operational impacts.
• Supports fiscally responsible decisions without losing focus on safety and reliability.

Supervision Given to:

• Manager of Rail Car Maintenance
• Manager of Maintenance of Way
• Manager of Rail Inventory

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, transportation management, business administration, operations management, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible experience.
• Eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in rail vehicle maintenance, rail infrastructure maintenance, transit maintenance, railroad maintenance, or another closely related maintenance environment.
• Three (3) years of leadership experience with responsibility for supervising managers, supervisors, or multiple work groups in a safety-sensitive or technically complex maintenance environment.
• Experience overseeing preventive, corrective, inspection, or reliability-centered maintenance programs for fleet, fixed assets, or infrastructure systems.
• Experience using maintenance, reliability, safety, or budget information to guide decision-making and improve operational results.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a rail transit, light rail, commuter rail, or fixed-guideway maintenance environment.
• Experience leading both vehicle maintenance and infrastructure or Maintenance of Way functions within the same organizational structure.
• Experience in a unionized maintenance environment involving workforce management, technical accountability, and operational support of active service.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Rail vehicle and fixed-guideway infrastructure systems, including propulsion, braking, HVAC, traction power, track structure, signals, communications, and overhead contact systems, and how these systems interact to support safe rail operations.
• Preventive, predictive, corrective, and reliability-centered maintenance practices applicable to fleet and infrastructure in a complex transit or r