No two days are quite the same. You could be working nights alongside maintenance teams, carrying out planned, reactive or advanced inspections of high speed track assets and gathering condition data from across the infrastructure. On other days, you may be reviewing inspection findings, monitoring outputs and maintenance records to identify deterioration, repeat defects and emerging risks.

You will also contribute to engineering investigations, the development and application of standards, and improvements in how asset information is captured and analysed. It is a varied role that combines practical site experience with technical analysis, helping to support risk based maintenance as well as renewal and intervention decisions across the high speed network.

A Little Bit About The Team...

The Head of Track Engineering team provides engineering governance, technical assurance and support for the safe and compliant management of high speed track infrastructure. The team works closely with maintenance, asset management, project teams and other engineering disciplines to make sure that asset condition, technical risks and inspection findings are properly understood and acted upon.

As the team expands, you will have the opportunity to contribute to new inspection methods, digital tools and data led approaches that improve the way high speed track assets are inspected, maintained and renewed.

Next Steps

CV shortlisting will take place after the advert closes.

Early applications are encouraged, as we may close the advert early due to high application volumes.

Should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please add a note to your application.

We encourage you to review our Safety Vision, as safety is an important part of the culture at Network Rail

All external offers of employment are conditional upon satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks

Your Experience And Skills

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for a motivated and proactive individual who can use their own initiative while working effectively as part of a wider engineering team. You should have a good foundation in track engineering, including an understanding of permanent way components, track geometry, switches and crossings, rail defects and common asset degradation mechanisms.

Experience of track inspection, maintenance or asset management would be valuable, ideally within a high speed railway environment. However, just as important is a willingness to learn, develop your technical knowledge and embrace new inspection, monitoring and data-analysis methods.

You should be comfortable working both on site and with technical information, communicating findings clearly. Knowledge of high speed switches and crossings, data analysis or programming techniques would be an advantage.

Essential Criteria

• Experience of track engineering, inspection, maintenance or asset management in a railway environment, preferably including high speed infrastructure.
• Good understanding of permanent way assets, track geometry, switches and crossings, rail defects, track components, asset degradation mechanisms and maintenance intervention requirements.
• Experience of undertaking site inspections, recording defects, assessing asset condition and making technically sound recommendations based on standards and evidence.
• Ability to analyse and interpret asset data, inspection records, monitoring outputs and defect trends to support risk-based maintenance and renewal decisions.
• Knowledge of relevant railway engineering standards, legislation, safety management arrangements and quality assurance requirements applicable to track assets.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce clear inspection reports, technical summaries and data-led recommendations.
• Relevant track safety competence appropriate to the role and site access requirements.

Desirable

• Rail Safety Leader (RSL).
• Incorporated status or equivalent.
• Knowledge of High-Speed S&C assets.
• Data analysis and programming techniques.