Quality Assurance Senior Associate (Safety)

Marketing Statement:

Join a team that sits at the center of regulatory oversight and real operational impact.

As a Senior Associate within the Regulatory Compliance team, you will play a critical role in shaping how the organization responds to regulatory expectations and drive meaningful change. This is not a tracking role. It is a problem-solving, influence-driven position focused on translating complex findings into actionable solutions and ensuring those solutions deliver lasting results.

You can expect to work directly with oversight bodies and senior stakeholders across the organization, guiding decision-making and driving solutions that move existing findings toward resolution. You will help guide the Regulatory Compliance Team's strategy and process improvements, improving and modernizing Metro's compliance and actionable solution development workflows. You will lead efforts to analyze findings, develop corrective actions, and think critically to ensure issues are resolved at their root cause. Your work will directly impact safety, reliability, and the organization’s ability to meet and sustain compliance.

This role is ideal for candidates who are analytical, detail-oriented, and confident operating in high-visibility environments where expectations are high and the work matters. Success in this position requires strong judgment, the ability to navigate complex systems, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Job Description:

The QA Senior Associate executes complex quality activities and applies project management principles to develop and sustain quality programs. Conducts process assessments, tests systems, identifies issues, and tracks corrective and preventive actions (ICAPAs). Ensures compliance with WMATA’s Quality Management System standards and department review plans. Provides guidance to junior staff, supports document control, and ensures alignment of quality programs with safety, reliability, and operational goals. Promotes continuous improvement through effective issue analysis, resolution, and adherence to established review schedules and documentation standards.

Principal Job Duties

• Plans and executes scheduled internal reviews that utilize data collected during field assessments, documenting/recording reviews and interviews into draft reports that fully detail findings in a factual and collaborative way to garner support for improvement of key WMATA Engineering & Maintenance, Service Delivery, Capital Program Management, and Safety & Security functions organization wide.
• Reviews and interprets complex documents such as, engineering documents, policies, standard operating procedures, processes, contracts, and work instructions to determine accuracy in accordance with Quality Procedures, internal directives and regulatory requirements.
• Produces complex documents such as, internal review reports, follow-up assessment reports, findings, corrective and preventive action plans, internal review scopes-of-work, policies, standard operating procedures, processes flow charts, and work instructions, to effectively communicate instructions to internal and external stakeholders.
• Researches and evaluates data using analytical and logical reasoning to gather, review and form a finding or conclusions that support an issue requiring correction or highlighting areas of interest for further investigation.
• Performs problem solving techniques to identify root causes of faults or problems. Utilizes available data, as well as deductive reasoning to understand, explain and address the root cause of issues, which can lead to correction and prevention of reoccurrence.
• Uses information from quality activities and develops solutions to optimize systematic organizational processes. Develops an understanding of organizational functions and operations to provide guidance recommendations for solutions to address and prevent hazards while reducing risk.
• Supports development of internal corrective and preventive action (ICAPA) plans backed by evidential findings and follows-up on implementation of iCAPAs to ensure issues identified within the organization are remediated.

Other Duties

• Maintains and promotes awareness and accountability with safety policies and procedures while
• performing job functions. Promotes a positive safety culture and encourages reporting of safety
• concerns consistent with our Agency Safety Plan, other regulatory requirements within the Safety
• Management System and just culture principles.
• Maintains and promotes awareness and accountability with safety policies and procedures while performing job functions. Promotes a positive safety culture and encourages reporting of safety concerns consistent with our Agency Safety Plan, other regulatory requirements within the Safety Management System and just culture principles.

The functions listed are not intended to limit specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Nor is it intended to limit in any way the right of managers and supervisors to assign, direct and control the work of employees under their supervision.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of public transit service delivery operations, technical systems, assemblies, materials, operation systems and procedures for the following Asset Categories:
  • Vehicles (Rail vehicles and fixed guideway non-revenue vehicles, buses, and paratransit),
  • Facilities and Stations (Rail vehicle maintenance facilities, rubber tire vehicle maintenance facilities, service facilities and stations, police and training facilities),
  • Guideway Elements (Tracks, bridges, tunnels and ancillary structures), and
  • Systems (Security, traction power electrification, signals/automated train control, communications/ monitoring/SCADA, and revenue collection).
• Knowledge of principals of engineering, information systems and data analytics.
• Strong knowledge of automated data processing systems and Personal Computer (PC) applications (Microsoft (MS) Office Suite, MS Project, MS Visio, and MS SharePoint).
• Knowledge of engineering design, construction, contract management and quality management system for a large transit operation with emphasis on safety and quality management.
• Knowledge of Quality Assurance processes, ISO 9001, Certified Quality Auditor (CQA requirements.

Skills

• Skilled at understanding and implementing quality inspection, review/assessment, analysis and continual quality improvement.
• Skilled at verbal and written communication, concisely and accurately conveying messages that take into consideration audience and criticality of content being delivered.
• Skilled problem solver, able to identify when processes don't conform with applicable standards and propose alternative solutions
• Skilled at using and interpreting engineering drawings, schematics, and associated documents to include operations and maintenance documents.
• Skilled at communicating effectively both orally and in writing to varying levels of management within the organization by clearly articulating the findings, concerns or issues identified in an internal review of the quality assurance process.

Abilities

• Ability to work variable hours/shifts/days/locations.
• Ability to organize and lead a team in the performance of reviews/assessments

Machine, Tools, Equipment, Software, Hardware Required

• Automated data processing systems and Personal Computer (PC) applications (Microsoft (MS) Office Suite, MS Project, MS Visio, and MS SharePoint)

Supervisory Responsibility

Minimum Education

• Bachelor's degree in Quality, Engineering, Business Administration or Information Systems and Data Analytics, or a related field
  • In lieu of a bachelor’s degree, a high school diploma or GED and four (4) years of progressive responsibility experience in the field of quality and audit (in addition to the minimum experience requirement below).

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of four (4) years of progressive responsibility and experience in the field of quality and audit.

Minimum Certification/Licensure

• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 Lead Auditor Certification or an equivalent certification such as the American Society for Quality, Certified Quality Auditor Certification (CQA) within 3 years of start date.

Preferred Qualifications

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), known as Metro, is the region’s leading public transportation provider. Serving a 2,054-square-mile jurisdiction, Metro operates six rail lines, 98 stations, 126 bus routes, and Metro Access, a shared-ride paratransit service. As one of the nation’s busiest transit systems, Metro connects communities, supports economic growth, and provides safe, reliable transportation.

Evaluation Criteria

Consideration will be given to applicants whose resumes demonstrate the required education and experience. Applicants should include all relevant education and work experience.

Evaluation criteria may include one or more of the following:

• Skills and/or behavioral assessment
• Personal interview
• Verification of education and experience (including certifications and licenses)
• Criminal Background Check (a criminal conviction is not an automatic bar to employment)
• Medical examination including a drug and alcohol screening (for safety sensitive positions)
• Review of a current motor vehicle report

Closing

WMATA is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, status as a protected veteran, or any other status protected by applicable federal law.

This posting is an announcement of a vacant position under recruitment. It is not intended to replace the official job description. Job descriptions are available upon confirmation of an interview.