Reliability Engineer

While the role supports root-cause investigations, it is not primarily a bench-level failure-analysis position. Instead, the Reliability Engineer leads and coordinates investigations, ensures the appropriate technical expertise is engaged, and uses statistical evidence to measure and validate the effectiveness of corrective actions.

The role also owns SMNA’s monthly reliability reporting and prepares the primary reliability data, trends, and analysis reviewed during the monthly Failure Review Board hosted by the Quality Manager with management.

This position reports to the Quality Manager and is a full-time, in-office position at our Repair and Overhaul Center in Oceanside, NY.

Responsibilities

Reliability Measurement & Contract Compliance

• Establish and maintain defined workflows to capture, classify, reconcile, and trend failure data across applicable product lines and projects.
• Own calculation, analysis, and reporting of MDBF, MTBF, and other contract-defined reliability KPIs.
• Monitor compliance with contractual reliability requirements, including failure-trend triggers and fleet-defect thresholds.
• Identify components or failure modes approaching contractual or internally defined thresholds and proactively escalate risk.
• Maintain readiness to respond to customer reliability concerns or fleet-defect allegations with accurate, traceable, and statistically supported data.
• Monitor overall reliability performance and identify emerging risks before they develop into contractual or customer issues.

Failure Data Alignment & Integrity

• Serve as the primary owner of reliability and failure-data integrity within SMNA.
• Reconcile SMNA failure records with customer and end-customer records to ensure consistent event populations, classifications, operating exposure, and reliability calculations.
• Investigate and resolve discrepancies involving failure counts, dates, serial numbers, classifications, duplicate events, no-fault-found events, removals, corrective actions, or other reliability inputs.
• Coordinate with Field Service, RMA, Quality, Project Management, Engineering, customers, and end customers to maintain a common reliability data set.
• Ensure that management and customer discussions are based on aligned facts and clearly understood assumptions.

FRACAS, FAR & Failure Trend Management

• Maintain and continuously improve the electronic FRACAS process and associated reliability records.
• Ensure FRACAS data includes required failure-rate calculations, classifications, status, and early-warning indicators.
• Identify recurring failure modes and statistically significant trends.
• Coordinate FAR activity and ensure findings, root causes, corrective actions, and validation results are properly incorporated into the reliability process.
• Strengthen deficiencies identified through prior FRACAS, RMA, FAR, customer, or internal audits.
• Escalate reliability risks through clear, concise, and data-driven summaries.

Monthly Reliability Reporting & Failure Review Board

• Own preparation and issuance of the monthly SMNA reliability report.
• Maintain recurring trend analysis covering contractual KPIs, MDBF/MTBF performance, significant failure modes, corrective actions, and overall compliance outlook.
• Prepare the primary reliability analysis and supporting inputs for the monthly Failure Review Board hosted by the Quality Manager with SMNA management.
• Clearly identify:
• Current contractual reliability performance
• Rolling and 90-day failure trends
• Components approaching fleet-defect thresholds
• Significant open FAR / FRACAS investigations
• Corrective-action status
• Post-corrective-action performance
• Projected compliance recovery
• Emerging reliability risks requiring management attention
• Provide leadership with a clear, fact-based understanding of current reliability risk and performance trajectory.
• Support the Quality Manager in ensuring the Failure Review Board drives clear prioritization, ownership, and follow-through on significant reliability issues and corrective actions.

Root Cause & Corrective Action Leadership

• Lead and coordinate root-cause investigations when failure trends or contractual thresholds trigger action.
• Engage appropriate internal technical resources, including electrical, mechanical, systems, software, manufacturing, or field-service expertise, as required.
• Coordinate with global design and engineering teams and independent technical specialists when specialized analysis is necessary.
• Ensure investigations are appropriately scoped and linked to measurable reliability outcomes.
• Apply structured problem-solving methodologies, including a DMAIC mindset.
• Establish a clear performance baseline before corrective actions are implemented.
• Quantify expected reliability improvement from corrective actions, modifications, or FMIs where practical.
• Monitor post-implementation performance and statistically validate whether corrective actions have produced the intended improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant rail-industry experience may be considered., * 5+ years of experience in reliability engineering, RAM/RAMS, FRACAS management, statistical quality analysis, or a related engineering discipline.
• Experience in rolling stock, rail systems, transportation, or another contract-driven reliability environment strongly preferred.
• Experience working with OEM customers, transit authorities, or complex fleet equipment preferred.
• Experience coordinating technical investigations and corrective-action programs.

Skills

• Strong statistical-analysis capability, including failure-rate analysis, trend analysis, Weibull methods, and reliability modeling.
• Working knowledge of FRACAS, FAR, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action processes.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to reconcile data from multiple sources and identify discrepancies.
• Ability to translate complex reliability information into clear management and customer reporting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to coordinate effectively across Quality, Engineering, Field Service, RMA, Project Management, and customer organizations.
• High attention to detail with a strong commitment to data integrity and traceability.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and related data-analysis and reporting tools.
• Ability to travel, by own means, to customer sites, rail yards, or other locations as required.

• Competitive salary ($110,000-$120,000)
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
• DCFSA and company funded HSA
• 401(k) with company match on day one
• Paid time off, family leave and holidays

Pay: $110,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year, * 401(k)

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance