As the Director - Brakes Engineering at Wabtec Transit India, you will lead the strategic, technical, and organizational development of brake systems for Indian Railways, Metro, and global transit applications. This role demands visionary leadership to drive innovation, new product development, and customer-centric engineering excellence. You will be responsible for building a high-performing team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and ensuring delivery of reliable, cost-effective, and compliant, braking solutions.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Technical Leadership
- Define and execute the vision for Brakes Engineering aligned with Wabtec s global transit strategy.
- Lead innovation in braking technologies, including modular platforms and predictive analytics.
- Drive standardization and digitization (PLM, Oracle) to reduce engineering lead time and rework.
- Promote sustainability through eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient designs.
New Product Development Innovation
- Design and develop advanced braking systems for rail and metro applications.
- Collaborate with global CoEs and validation teams to accelerate product development cycles.
- Establish product reliability through accelerated life testing and RAMS methodologies.
- Continuously improve existing products to reduce Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ).
Customer Relations Program Management
- Engage directly with customers, inspection agencies (eg, RDSO), and field teams to gather feedback and drive product improvements.
- Actively participate in customer complaint review forums and implement corrective actions.
- Ensure compliance with Fire Smoke regulations and other statutory norms.
- Represent Brakes Engineering in executive reviews and customer engagements.
Organizational Development Leadership
- Build, mentor, and retain a skilled team of brake system engineers and specialists.
- Identify and implement training programs to enhance team competencies and product leadership.
- Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and performance-driven culture.
- Support resource planning for manpower, tools, and test facilities.
- Operational Excellence
- Guide materials engineering for value-based substitutions and cost optimization.
- Ensure adherence to ISO 9000 / 14000 and other relevant standards applicable to the industry and 7S principles.
- Lead documentation efforts including product catalogues and maintenance manuals.
- Monitor engineering performance metrics and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
Leadership Impact
- Visionary Thinking: Defined and implemented a long-term strategy for brake systems aligned with global transit needs, resulting in the launch of new products, expanding market coverage.
- Strategic Influence: Spearheaded cross-functional collaboration across engineering, manufacturing, and service teams, leading to reduction in engineering cycle time and increase in first-time-right designs.
- People Leadership: Built and mentored large Engineering Teams and specialists, with expertise in the Brake Systems for Transit applications.
- Execution Excellence: Delivered brake system programs ahead of schedule and under budget, achieving on-time delivery
- Change Leadership: Led the digitization of engineering workflows to improve efficiency and reducing errors
- Collaborative Mindset: Established strong partnerships with key customer stakeholders such as RDSO and customer engineering teams, reducing approval timelines and improving customer satisfaction scores
- Resilience Agility: Successfully navigated regulatory and field challenges during product trials, achieving 100% compliance and certification for all new products within planned timelines.
Qualifications / Requirements
- Bachelor s or masters degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
- 15+ years of engineering experience, with at least 7 years in leadership roles.
- Proven expertise in brake systems design, validation, and lifecycle management.
- Experience in transit, rail, automotive, or aerospace domains.
- Strong strategic thinking, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
- Familiarity with PLM systems, digital workflows, and global compliance standards.
Preferred Skills Experience
- Experience in leading Centers of Excellence or similar engineering organizations.
- Knowledge of Six Sigma, Lean, or other process improvement methodologies.
- Exposure to global transit standards and regulatory frameworks.
- Demonstrated success in customer engagement and field performance improvement.
Our Commitment to Embrace Diversity:
Wabtec is a global company that invests not just in our products, but also our people by embracing diversity and inclusion. We care about our relationships with our employees and take pride in celebrating the variety of experiences, expertise, and backgrounds that bring us together. At Wabtec, we aspire to create a place where we all belong and where diversity is welcomed and appreciated.
To fulfill that commitment, we'rely on a culture of leadership, diversity, and inclusion. We aim to employ the world s brightest minds to help us create a limitless source of ideas and opportunities. We have created a space where everyone is given the opportunity to contribute based on their individual experiences and perspectives and recognize that these differences and diverse perspectives make us better.
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