Locomotive Field Technician

at  Canadian National Railway

At CN, everyday brings new and exciting challenges. You can expect an interesting environment where you’re part of making sure our business is running optimally and safely―helping keep the economy on track. We provide the kind of paid training and opportunities that long-term careers are built on and we recognize hard workers who strive to make a difference. You will be able to thrive in our close-knit, safety-focused culture working together as ONE TEAM. The careers we offer are meaningful because the work we do matters. Join us!

JOB SUMMARY

Reporting to the Regional Locomotive Quality Manager, the Locomotive Field Technician is responsible for proactively supporting shop supervision and hourly employees with mechanical, electrical and onboard technology troubleshooting and repairs, and ensuring the completed work is carried out per the specified maintenance program.
The incumbent will be the primary technical subject expert to support accurate troubleshooting, guidance and expertise. The Locomotive Field Technician will work jointly with shop leadership by providing guidance on repairing locomotives and the decision-making process for shop releases based on safety, quality and reliability. This includes reviewing all inbound locomotives planned for shopping events and identifying whether those locomotives should continue operating without coming into a shop.
The incumbent will be responsible for driving key metrics, such as, but not limited to, better mean time to failure, repair plans for repeat failure locomotives as well as assisting with diagnosis for locomotive components and onboard technology.

REQUIREMENTS

Experience

Railway operations

• Minimum 2 years of railway operations experience, and/or working with heavy rail equipment

o Experience with Wabtec I-ETMS
o Experience with locomotive electrical systems and/or industrial automation equipment
o Experience with networks, radio communication and cellular communications
o Experience developing modifications to locomotive electrical, pneumatic, and electrical systems and producing comprehensive instructions

Education/Certification/Designation

• High School Diploma or General Educational Development (GED)
• Post-secondary education in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering degree, Mechanical or Electronics Technician diploma*
• Valid Driver’s Licence
• Valid passport and ability to legally enter US and Canada
• Any designation for these above would be considered as an asset

General Skills and Competencies

• Follows safety procedures, information security instructions and ESC principles to lead by example
• Project and time management
• Collaboration (ONE TEAM): build and maintains an internal network to support a better overall work experience
• Make informed and timely decisions to succeed
• Apply analytical thinking to make recommendations that pursue sustainable performance
• Must demonstrate logistical thinking, critical thinking and multitasking

Technical Skills/Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of computer systems, both mainframe and PC
• Extensive knowledge of locomotive trucks and their components as demonstrated by prior employment position/roles/training
• Demonstrable knowledge on locomotive air brake and mechanical systems
• Strong computer skills and an understanding of SAP, the Microsoft Suite (including Office, Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and UNIX operating systems
• Ability to perform analysis on logs from various sub systems such as: I-ETMS, Locotrol, LCS/RCL, CCA/SDIS, FIRE/EM2000, and correlating to event recorder and PTC logs when performing root cause analysis
• Provide expertise on locomotive mechanical, electrical and technology systems
• Basic understanding on locomotive operating systems, i.e. OEM EMD and GE Control Systems, both 26L, and EAB type airbrake systems, Locotrol, Trip Optimizer, etc.
• Basic programming skills using Python, SQL, Java, PHP, C++ and HTML

Provide Operational Support for Locomotive Shops

• Identify and correct locomotive reliability issues through data analysis and troubleshooting, focusing on issues that hourly technicians are struggling to complete
• Establish system maintenance policies and procedures that improve reliability and availability
• Provide technical support for the locomotive shop personnel during all shifts as required
• Perform quality inspections of the work performed by hourly employees to ensure it meets all CN and regulatory standards
• Develop and issue instructions on modification programs to improve performance
• Perform investigations of locomotives and train failures as well as delays to determine root causes and recommend solutions to reduce locomotive dwell
• Coach employees on how to install, maintain, and troubleshoot mechanical, electrical and onboard technology systems on locomotives
• Act as the main mechanical technical resource for the locomotive shops covering mechanical, electrical and onboard technology
• Be proficient on Transport Canada and FRA equipment regulations
• Interact with various suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) on product specifications, product changes, technical issues, warranties and modification programs
• Act as CN Motive Power Liaison on component teardowns

Onboard Technology Support

• Provide technical support for all locomotive onboard technology repairs and/or issues
• Coach hourly installers during onboard technology pilot/prototype installations
• Guide hourly employees on how to install, maintain and troubleshoot onboard technologies including Positive Train Control
• Perform lab integration end to end testing (LIFE), field integration testing (FT), field qualification testing (FTQ) in both lab and field environment
• Own mean time to failure for scheduled and unscheduled work, and support shop operations to reduce potential misses on root causes for loco failures

Improve Locomotive Fleet Performance

• Perform root cause analysis for major delay events
• Develop proper work scopes to repair components that cause repeat issues for same or different symptoms, and work with OEM’s to support the shops
• Own mean time to failure for scheduled and unscheduled work, and support shop operations to reduce potential misses on root causes for loco failures
• Perform triage process for inbound line up to reduce dwell for both scheduled and unscheduled work by using remote diagnostic tools such as Wi-tronix, EOA and Uptime
• Deploy to other shop locations and regions (on call) as directed to help troubleshoot and reduce dwell
• Conduct supplier and OEM audits
• Perform train ride audits to monitor and improve performance of locomotives

Working Conditions
Must be available to travel to locations needing assistance. This will be one of the critical duties, especially during periods of unacceptable operational fluidity (13% defective), for teardowns, overload assistance, training or coaching. Weekend, afternoon and/or night shifts are all possible.