Head of Fleet Technical
Job Introduction
Are you looking for a career where you can make a real difference in people’s day.
We are seeking a Head of Fleet Technical to join our team based from London 4More.
2025 is the 200th anniversary of the first-ever passenger rail journey, so we’re celebrating our proud history and our bright future.
Can you move people? Apply now.
In this role, you will provide visionary leadership to the Fleet Technical function, shaping and delivering engineering strategies that ensure the safe, reliable, and high-performing operation of South Eastern Railway’s fleet. You’ll be the designated Professional Head of Engineering, driving innovation in fleet maintenance and asset management to meet our contractual commitments and support long-term performance improvement.
You are a trusted partner to senior leaders, setting technical standards and policies that align with legal, industry, and company requirements. You’ll lead a high-performing team, delivering against safety, performance, and budget targets, while supporting transformation as we move towards Great British Railways.
What you’ll do
- Lead the Fleet Technical team with strategic vision, aligning engineering and maintenance to deliver safe, reliable, and high-performing fleet operations.
- Set and maintain safety and technical standards, ensuring compliance with our Railway Safety Certificate and internal policies.
- Build strong relationships with industry bodies to shape coordinated fleet strategies and support availability and reliability.
- Review and approve engineering policies and processes, working closely with Safety, Operations, and Fleet Commercial to ensure alignment and compliance.
- Oversee risk management for all rolling stock changes, ensuring robust assessment and appropriate mitigation measures are put in place.
The experience you’ll need
To be considered for this role we recommend you demonstrate the below in your application;
- You dare to lead - your inspirational leadership drives technical excellence and high performance across your team.
- Chartered Engineer status - demonstrating professional competence and commitment to engineering excellence.
- Deep expertise in Traction & Rolling Stock (T&RS) engineering - you know the systems, the challenges, and how to optimise performance.
- Risk-aware - you assess engineering change with confidence, ensuring safety and compliance every step of the way.
- Safety-first mindset - you understand approvals, certification, and risk management inside out.
- A natural communicator - you build strong relationships across the business and industry, influencing at all levels.
- A team builder - you coach, support, and develop others to reach their full potential.
- You bring integrity, drive, and professionalism - consistently role-modelling our values and delivering with resilience and accountability.
As proud members of the Armed Forces Covenant and Disability Confident Scheme, we will offer you an interview if you apply under these schemes and meet the minimum criteria for the role. Find out more here.
Other things to know
- This vacancy may close early if we receive a large number of applications. So, make sure you get yours in early.
- All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references, a right to work verification, a basic criminal record check, and a pre-employment medical assessment. Work visa sponsorship isn’t available for this role.
- If you applied but weren’t successful in getting a similar role at Southeastern, please wait six months before applying again.
Find out more about our recruitment process and get tips to help you apply.
What you’ll get in return
Along with your salary, the rewards you’ll get include:
- a final salary pension
- 25 days annual leave allowance (plus bank holidays)
- free rail travel across our networks.
Meaning you can feel secure in your career as well as fulfilled by your work. Click here to see our full range of amazing benefits.
A bit about Southeastern
We’re one of Britain's busiest train operators, serving London, Kent and parts of East Sussex. We run over 1,700 trains a day, carrying more than 500,000 passengers and serving 180 stations.
However, working on our railway is more than getting passengers from A to B. It’s about all the little moments that make a difference to their journey.
It’s also about making our railway a great place to work. With a team that represents the communities we serve. This is a journey we’re fully committed to and we’re proud to have been named a ‘Great Place to Work’ at the 2023 National Rail Awards and endorsed as a WORK180 Employer for Women.
Our ways of working are what we expect of everyone at Southeastern. They are powerful. Tiny moments, every day, from every one of us, add up to massive, positive change. Improving how it feels to work here and how it feels to travel with us.
At the heart of everything we do, our Safeguarding Team works to keep our customers, colleagues, and the public safe by improving safeguarding measures and knowledge making sure everyone gets home safe, every day.
SE Trains Limited
