Assistant Director of Rail Maintenance

Department: Charlotte Area Transit System Department

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

Thank you for your interest in joining the team that keeps Charlotte moving, at a very exciting time for our organization. At the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), we’re committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative transit services for our growing community, and we value employees who bring professionalism, passion, and a commitment to public service.

 

This position is currently employed by CATS, a department of the City of Charlotte. With the passage of the PAVE Act and last year’s sales tax referendum, CATS is preparing to transition from a City department to the newly created Metropolitan Public Transit Authority (MPTA). The MPTA was established to strengthen regional transit governance, improve accountability, and support long‑term investment in mobility. It’s an important and exciting step forward for transit in our region.

 

Employees hired into this role will remain City employees through December 31, 2026, and will transition to MPTA employment on January 1, 2027. Benefits and compensation will follow City provisions through 2026 and shift to MPTA provisions in 2027, with clear information shared in advance. Your core duties, reporting structure, and daily responsibilities will remain consistent, with no break in service. If anything delays the transition, your City employment, including compensation and benefits, will remain in place until the move to the MPTA occurs.

 

The creation of the MPTA positions us for a more modern, sustainable, and efficient transit system, one that can better support the Charlotte region for decades to come. We’re excited about what’s ahead and appreciate your interest in being part of it.

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 rail environment.

• Asset management principles, lifecycle planning, state-of-good-repair strategies, and long-term capital renewal considerations for rail systems.

• Safety management systems, quality management practices, regulatory compliance requirements, and audit processes applicable to rail maintenance (e.g., FTA, SSO, SMS frameworks).

• Budget development, financial management, procurement processes, materials planning, and contract administration as applied to maintenance organizations.

• Workforce management practices, including supervision of managers, organizational development, training strategy, and performance management in a safety-sensitive environment.

• Principles of cross-functional coordination between operations, engineering, asset management, capital programs, and support functions affecting maintenance performance.

Skill in:

• Leading complex, multidisciplinary maintenance organizations across vehicle and infrastructure functions through subordinate managers.

• Translating strategic priorities into actionable maintenance programs, performance expectations, and resource plans.

• Analyzing maintenance, reliability, safety, and financial data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.

• Developing and managing operating and capital-related maintenance budgets, including labor, materials, contracts, and lifecycle investments.

• Evaluating technical issues, system performance, and maintenance practices and directing effective corrective or improvement actions.

• Building alignment across departments and coordinating with operations, engineering, safety, procurement, and capital delivery teams.

• Communicating complex technical and operational information clearly to executive leadership, internal stakeholders, and external partners.

• Establishing performance management routines, reporting structures, and accountability systems that drive results.

Ability to:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for a large, safety-sensitive rail maintenance function while maintaining focus on both immediate service needs and long-term asset performance.

• Lead through subordinate managers by setting clear expectations, reinforcing accountability, and developing leadership capability across the organization.

• Balance competing priorities, including safety, service reliability, workforce capacity, asset condition, and fiscal constraints.

• Apply sound judgment in high-impact technical, operational, and personnel decisions.

• Foster a culture of safety, craftsmanship, continuous improvement, and disciplined execution across maintenance functions.

• Anticipate maintenance risks, resource needs, and system challenges and proactively develop mitigation strategies.

• Support integration of maintenance activities with capital programs, system expansions, and transition-to-operations efforts.

• Build strong working relationships and influence decision-making across a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

Working Environment

• Works in a combination of office, shop, yard, track, systems, and field environments, including rail maintenance facilities and active rail infrastructure locations.

• Works in safety-sensitive environment requiring sound judgment, technical awareness, and effective coordination across both routine maintenance activities and urgent operational conditions.

• May be required to work varying hours, including nights, weekends, holidays, extended hours, or emergency response situations in support of rail service and maintenance needs.

• Involves extended periods of sitting, standing, walking, attending meetings, using computers and communications equipment, and traveling between maintenance and operational locations.

• May be exposed to varying weather conditions, noise levels, energized systems, shop environments, active rail right-of-way, and other physical conditions associated with rail maintenance and field oversight.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The City’s Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check.

Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate’s written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports.

Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.

The City of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or on the basis of actual or perceived gender as expressed through dress, appearance, or behavior.

Our culture is to serve the community honorably.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply online.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby, where self-service application kiosks are available. They are located in our office at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. We are open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.

For questions about your application or the hiring process, please email [email protected]

The City of Charlotte is committed to making our services and programs accessible to all. Upon request, auxiliary aids, written materials in alternate formats, language access, and other reasonable accommodations or modifications will be provided. To make a request, please fill out the Innovation & Technology ADA request form or call 704.336.4120.

BENEFITS

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees.

Click here to learn more about the City of Charlotte’s benefits.

The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.