Head of Hardware Engineering

As Hitachi Rail Singapore, we are advancing rail signalling and safety solutions to ensure safe and efficient railway operations worldwide.

Our technologies help to bring billions of people reliably to their destinations by rail every year – making sustainable mobility a reality.

Head of Hardware Engineering (Ref.No. R1012579)

at our location in Singapore

The Head of Hardware Engineering is responsible for leading the hardware engineering function covering Hitachi Rail projects. This role combines people leadership with hands‑on technical accountability, ensuring that hardware designs are safe, compliant, high quality, and delivered on time and within budget.

The role acts as the technical authority for signalling hardware, while building and developing a strong engineering team capable of delivering complex, safety‑critical systems.

In this role, the Head of Hardware Engineering is to work closely with the overseas product centres and support bids and projects in the APAC region.

The hardware team managed by the Head of Hardware Engineer, consists of electrical, mechanical, BIM and signalling design engineers.

The Head of Hardware Engineer is a member of the Engineering team, and reports to the Hitachi Rail Singapore Head of Engineering.

The Head of Hardware Engineer collaborates with their peers including Project Design Authority, Project Managers, Procurement, Supply Chain, Installation and T&C Engineers.

Head of Hardware Engineer are expected to manage the team and technical deliverables (Bookwiring, Room Layouts, Rack Designs, etc.) for Transportation projects (Mainline, MRT, LRT) that involve multiple international entities. They are expected to collaborate with the various departments onshore and offshore, to ensure the designs are safe, implementable and within budget.

You will enjoy having these responsibilities:

• Prepare, update, and review interface schematics, wiring diagrams, mechanical drawings, block diagrams, I/O bitmaps, track scheme plans, cable routing designs, bill of materials, and other analysis required for design of signalling systems
• Support interface with other system wide contractors (e.g., Platform Screen Doors, Civil, Trackworks, Comms, power, etc.) and write Interface Control Documents
• Prepare and review test procedures and support investigation of systems/sub-system issues raised during testing or during revenue service.
• Ensure safety is built into the design at each step.
• Supported by the Project Design Authority, deliver technical presentations to internal and external engineering/management groups in clear, complete, concise and non-ambiguous terms.
• Support technical proposals based on knowledge of past projects, customer requirements and signalling design principles.
• Support site activities such as surveys and investigations if the need for experts arises.
• Opportunity exists to support and learn about other hardware design domains within Hitachi Rail including trainborne, mechanical, networking, and power.
• Understand Customer needs: operation, safety and maintenance
• Advise and support other Signalling Design Engineers on all Hardware maters
• Deliver project on time and within budget

Engineering Leadership & Management

• Lead, manage, and develop the hardware engineering team, including capability building, performance management, recruitment, and succession planning
• Apply engineering processes, standards, and best practices aligned with company and industry requirements
• Provide direction, prioritisation, and resource planning across multiple programmes and projects
• Foster a strong safety, quality, and compliance culture within the hardware engineering team

Technical Authority & Deliverables

• Own the end‑to‑end hardware engineering lifecycle for railway signalling systems
• Translate Customer requirements into conceptual designs and prepare associated documentation by performing operational analyses, simulations and technical trade-off studies identifying alternative design configurations and functional features.
• Act as the technical authority for signalling hardware designs, ensuring compliance with applicable standards and regulations
• Review and approve technical documentation, including schematics, design descriptions, BOMs, interface specifications, and test artefacts
• Ensure designs meet reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety (RAMS) targets
• Support safety assurance activities, including hazard analysis and safety cases, working closely with systems and safety engineering functions

Standards, Safety & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with relevant railway and safety standards (e.g. EN 50126 / 50128 / 50129, IEC, CENELEC, SIL requirements)
• Interface with internal safety assessors, customers, and regulatory bodies as required
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering quality, design robustness, and lifecycle cost

Stakeholder & Project Engagement

• Work closely with systems engineering, software, verification & validation, manufacturing, and project management teams
• Provide technical input to bids, tenders, and customer proposals
• Support project execution by addressing complex technical issues, risks, and trade‑offs

You have:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical, Electronic, or related Engineering discipline
• 15+ years working experience in hardware engineering for railway signalling or other safety‑critical systems
  • Experience in Electrical circuit design, signalling design or hardware application design
  • Experience with drafting tools such as Auto CAD, Micro station and Solid works
• Proven experience leading and managing engineering teams
• Strong knowledge of safety‑critical design principles and lifecycle standards (e.g. EN 5012x, SIL)
• Excellent technical judgement and ability to balance safety, performance, cost, and schedule
• Good interpersonal skills, writing and verbal skills, people supervision skills
• Ability to work within an international environment with different time zone
• Ability to travel and contribute to delivery of CBTC projects in Asia (e.g., Malaysia)

Our Talent Acquisition Team is looking forward to hearing from you

We look forward to receiving your application in just a few clicks via our career portal.

For further information about Hitachi Rail as an employer visit us on www.hitachirail.com/careers

About us

Our motivation is the mobility turnaround. To achieve this, our teams find innovative products and solutions that ensure the operation and reliability of the entire rail network and increase capacities on the rails.

Our projects are diverse. To make our teams even stronger, we are looking for your support. In return, we offer you an attractive overall package with the following benefits:

• Stronger together: Networking through internal networks and working in international teams
• Our drive: Together, we are laying the foundations for the digitization of the rail around the world, to get people safely to their destinations and to their loved ones!
• Attractive conditions: A secure and permanent job with a global company

Notes

Equal opportunities and self-determined participation of severely disabled persons and persons of equal status as well as respectful cooperation are firmly anchored principles within Hitachi Rail and its subsidiaries. We also aim to offer all our equal opportunities to start a career and to receive training and further education in our company. We consciously promote diversity and togetherness in our teams.