Release Train Engineer

You like being involved in the technology and business part of your product, but at the same time you keep a close eye on the stability & planning of the releases, changes & deployments? Then becoming our Release Train Engineer and Technical Product Manager (TPDM) might be your thing!

As NMBS- SNCB’s IT company, YPTO is part of the Belgian Railway family making sure that the Belgian railways continue to move forward and that train passengers can travel in a modern and sustainable way.

The recently approved NMBS-SNCB « Rail Vision 2040 » has the ambitious goal to make sure that more people, companies & organisations choose the train as their preferred mobility tool. Not to forget, after all, rail being the most climate-friendly mode of public transport compared to other modes of public transport today.

Next to that, in a world of modern and sustainable mobility, new services and applications using digital technology are being implemented. Leading to increased and better information and communication to rail passengers and rail crew. Setting up diverse channels for purchasing tickets, a better monitoring of assets and further increase automating operational processes. Ultimately improving efficiency and service offering.

An ambitious goal that we’re building and realising: further digitalising SNCB – NMBS, offering innovative solutions and enabling flexible services with a key focus on the end user.

As Release Train Engineer / Technical Product Manager, you will work within the SPS department, which stands for Sales, Passengers and Security Information.

You will be assigned to the Business Area Passenger Information, which is the IT partner of the NMBS-SNCB Directorate alike. This Business Area manages all information for passengers, from the data gathering until the data presentation to various channels, going through the manufacturing and publication of the information as products for passengers of NMBS-SNCB, both in Project as in RUN mode.

We’re talking journey planner, screens and audio in train stations and in trains, intermodal information (bike on train, services for disabled people, etc.), train map… basically all information that is useful to give passengers the sense of control on their journey.

You will report to the Business Area Lead (BAL) of Passenger Information.

Your Role & Responsibilities

The position is a mixed role and requires both Release Train Engineer and Technical Product Manager skills.

With your Release Train Engineer hat:

• You coordinate and manage the Release Train for the Passenger Information area (around 35 people on IT side and 20 on business side), working closely with development, testing, and deployment teams to ensure the quality of releases.
• You plan and organize product development activities from conception to delivery, with an emphasis on achieving business goals, including the preparation and facilitation of the programme increment planning.
• You collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to identify user needs and ensure products meet customer requirements.
• You ensure coordination and communication between different teams in the company, ensuring all members are informed about project and release statuses.
• You optimize the methodology used in the organization through the right use of tools and continuous improvement thanks to inspect and adapt sessions.

With your Technical Product Manager hat:

• You understand customer needs, develop strategies on the products to meet customer demands, work with the necessary departments to implement the right technology (supported and following standards), and monitor progress
• You collaborate with a wide range of people to identify and define business needs, understand the solution context and develop the vision, roadmap and features required to meet these needs.
• You collaborate with business: the business Product Manager answers the “why” and “what” – including NFRs (Non Functional Requirements), whereas the Technical Product Manager answers the “how”.
• You manage the full lifecycle of the assigned applications/components from the ideation phase until they are in production as well as to take them out of production when replaced by new technology or obsolete:
  • collect financial information to support the BAL
  • this covers follow-up of support activities, new features, enhancements
  • application, infrastructure and network performance
  • quality control on both functional & technical aspects
• You act as an escalation point for incidents, problems and service requests within your application portfolio.
• You monitor and analyse market trends, watch other railway companies’ services and products
• You explore new ways of improving existing services and products
• You work with technical stakeholders so that product requirements are understood and met
• You ensure the product release cycle (Build and Run) is coordinated with Business, including intake, analysis and follow-up of enhancements​ & new features​
  • You act as bridge between requestor (Business) & Safe/Agile development teams​
  • You own the component/application backlog
• You answer product related inquiries
• You reach out to relevant teams within the organization (architects, CISO, …)​
• You own the technical backlog and defend it to the Change Control Board
• You set up technical migration strategy guidelines when relevant, including cross-projects (coordination with the business and the project managers)
• You focus on MVPs

Your hard skills:

• Experience in DevOps & Agile Methodologies, especially SAFe
• Experience in Public Transport Sector is a big plus.
• 2-6 years of previous release and/or project management experience, (Solid understanding of project management principles preferred)
• You have a technical background allowing you to manage the technology lifecycle of your product.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional work teams toward task completion
• Demonstrated effective leadership and analytical skills
• Innovation driven – pro-active look in to the market what technologies are available, what the competition is doing etc..
• Roadmap: Create/maintain a Strategic roadmap for each of the to you assigned components.
• Ability to create/propose a product road map based on business strategy.

Your human skills

• Pro-active and energizer
• Negotiating skills
• Strong Organiser
• Strong listening & communication skills
• Adaptable and flexible in ways of thinking & acting
• Pragmatic & hands-on
• Ability to make decisions, take ownership & accept responsibility
• Can-do attitude
• You’re a team-player and you like working with others
• You are fluent in French or Dutch and English

Our offer

Within our open corporate culture, you contribute to the digital transformation of SNCB. You will have a job with social impact and ample opportunity to make your own contribution. In addition to a good work-life balance and a competitive salary, you will receive the following benefits:

• the possibility to work remotely for up to three days per week + flexible working hours;
• 35 days of leave;
• a company car + a public transport season ticket;
• a target bonus;
• a comprehensive insurance package (affiliation without own contribution, excl. outpatient costs for family members);
  • hospitalisation and dental care for the whole family;
  • outpatient costs (= medical costs separate from hospitalisation);
  • group insurance: supplementary pension, work disability and death (cafeteria plan);
  • accidents at work (extralegal);
• meal vouchers and eco-vouchers;
• net allowances for remote working and carwash + internet budget.