Senior Engineer, Geotechnical - Canadian National Railway Company

Job Summary

The Senior Engineer, Geotechnical is responsible for providing geotechnical engineering expertise for planning, inspection, and design of construction and railway maintenance projects. The incumbent implements and documents CN’s grade and slope stabilization program and identifies ground hazards, monitors the status of ground hazard locations, and develops mitigation plans to reduce the potential for grade and slope failure. In addition, the position provides technically sound and economical solutions to geotechnical problems in all phases of the organization’s activities as well as geotechnical support for emergency response to service interruption linked with geohazards. The position coordinates service with internal departments and external engineering consultants as well as financial budgetary control.

Main Responsibilities

Railway Ground Hazards

·       Develop and direct the implementation of technically sound and economical solutions to geotechnical problems in all phases of company activities, excluding bridge and building foundations

·       Oversee CN’s grade and slope stabilization program

·       Identify ground hazards, inspect, and monitor the status of ground hazard locations, and develop mitigation plans to reduce the potential for grade and slope failure

·       Collaborate with Design and Construction (D&C), and at times direct and control the activities of construction contractors engaged in stabilization work for CN

·       Select and hire contractors, establishing terms and conditions of work, suitable budget, payment approval, and implementation coordination

Urgent and Emergency Response

·       Provide urgent and rapid emergency response and support for ground hazard incidents (e.g., track foundation failures, embankment failures, rockslides, washouts)

Manage Engineering Consultants

·       Direct and control the activities of consulting engineers engaged in geotechnical engineering

·       Select and hire geotechnical consultants for projects of a more complex nature

·       Establish terms and conditions of work, determine suitable budget for consultants’ work, approve payment, review findings, and coordinate implementation

Research, Development and Training

·       Keep abreast of research and technological developments through technical literature, conferences, and seminars

·       Maintain personal contact with scientists and engineers, communicate with peers, suppliers, and manufacturers on new materials and methods, instruct on nature and behaviour of soil and rock

·       Provide, develop, and deliver training courses and geotechnical guidelines for employees

·       Provide oversight and support of CN granular material, rip rap, ballast specification, and quality

Working Conditions

The role is performed in a combination of office and outdoor environment in various types of weather conditions with a regular workweek from Monday to Friday and may include weekends. The role is subject to calls at any time to respond to critical incidences, including inspecting and evaluating landslides, rock falls, washouts, flooding, and disruption of train operations, often in isolated areas. The role requires regular travel (up to 60%) on the CN US rail network to inspect sites and maintenance programs, steep rock slopes, and slippery soil slopes, as well as exploration of terrain conditions in remote regions and mountain areas by helicopter. The incumbent must be able to walk and drive significantly, inspect tunnels, and potentially hazardous work sites. Due to the nature of the role, the incumbent must be able to meet tight deadlines, handle pressure, and stress.

Requirements

Experience

Geotechnical Engineering

·       Minimum 10 years of experience in Geotechnical Engineering

·       Railway experience*

·       Experience in natural hazards risk management, rock slope and embarkment slope stabilization, retaining wall design, geotechnical drilling and instrumentation

*Any experience for these above would be considered as an asset

Education/Certification/Designation

·       Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Science, Civil or Geological Engineering

·       Master’s Degree in Geotechnical Engineering, depending on the level of experience*

·       Eligible for registration as a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE)

*Any designation for these above would be considered as an asset

Competencies

·       Identifies potential safety and security risks

·       Demonstrates agility and drives change

·       Communicates with impact

·       Solves problems to create value

·       Applies critical thinking

·       Sets direction and inspires others

·       Collaborates with others and shares information

·       Demonstrates active listening

Technical Skills/Knowledge

·       Knowledge of engineering principles and standards, geotechnical engineering, including soil and rock mechanics, slope stabilization, ground water, retaining structure design, hydrology, and drainage, quarrying, and crushing of ballast, and pavement systems as well as bridges and building engineering

·       Knowledge of railway track, culvert hydraulics, grade design and construction

·       Knowledge of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) (InSAR), and change detection methodologies

·       Knowledge of geotechnical slope stability modeling such as Slope and Finite Element Method (FEM)

·       Knowledge of Geographical Information System (GIS) and database management

·       Strong drafting skills and manipulation of supplied designs

About CN 

CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canada’s Eastern and Western coasts with the Southern tip of the U.S. through a 19,500 mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship. At CN, we work as ONE TEAM, focused on safety, sustainability and our customers, providing operational and supply chain excellence to deliver results.