Systems Engineering Lead

Wenco International Mining Systems ), a subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM), provides industry leading, innovative technologies to customers in the mining and material movement sectors, enabling sustainable and safe operations.Wenco has R&D offices located in Vancouver, Canada and Brisbane, Australia. This role is based in Brisbane.Reporting to the Senior Software Engineering Manager the Support Systems Engineering Manager will lead a specialized team serving as the critical bridge between Wenco's Support organization and Development teams. This role is pivotal in ensuring operational excellence of our Open Autonomy platform and Fleet Management System (FMS) by establishing best practices for high-availability support, driving continuous improvement, and maintaining the highest standards of system reliability.Key ResponsibilitiesTeam Leadership & Cross-Functional CollaborationLead and develop a specialized systems engineering team that serves as the technical liaison between Support and Development organizationsFoster strong collaborative relationships across departments to ensure seamless issue resolution and knowledge transfer for the Open Autonomy platform and FMSBuild and mentor a high-performing team capable of handling complex technical challenges in autonomous mining systemsCoordinate with development teams and internal stakeholdersIncident Management & Technical ExcellenceDevelop and implement comprehensive best practices for incident management, ensuring rapid response and resolution for high-availability systemsOversee 24/7 technical support operations by managing on-call schedules, escalation procedures, and critical incident response during non-business hoursEstablish robust root cause analysis (RCA) methodologies and lead implementation of RCA best practices within the R&D organizationCreate and maintain knowledge management systems, including technical documentation and knowledge articlesDrive systematic problem-solving approaches across the organizationSupport a 'build quality in' mindset and culture within the teamPerformance Monitoring & Metrics ManagementDesign and implement comprehensive monitoring systems for support effectiveness metrics including: First Time Fix Rate (FTFR), Time to Resolution/Containment Action, Time to Root Cause identification, Product quality metrics (defect escape rates), Onboarding effectiveness measurementsExtend monitoring capabilities beyond direct team to ensure organization-wide support efficiencyEstablish SLA compliance tracking and reporting mechanisms for Open Autonomy and FMS deploymentsQuality Analysis & Continuous ImprovementBe relentless in pursuit of continuous improvementAnalyze and report on product quality trends and support effectiveness to senior leadershipDrive continuous improvement initiatives within both Development and Support organizationsLead change management projects to optimize support processes and toolsIdentify and quantify risks within the development and support processes and implement appropriate controlsProcess Development & OptimizationDefine standards and ways of working to enable growth of a high capability systems engineering teamDesign, document, and implement scalable support processes for high-availability autonomous systemsEstablish feedback loops between Support, Development, and QA teamsOptimize escalation procedures and technical handoff processesDevelop playbooks for critical incident response specific to autonomous mining operationsProduct Development SupportInterface with product management/owners and developers to define and improve requirements and test casesProvide strategic feedback on product testing methodologies based on field support insightsSupport product testing initiatives by leveraging team's operational expertiseCollaborate with the Simulation group to employ simulation capabilities for better customer outcomesEnsure test scenarios reflect real-world operational challenges in mining environmentsSupport the product and delivery teams in deriving testable specifications from requirementsStandard Engineering Management ResponsibilitiesManage team budget, resource allocation, and capacity planningConduct performance reviews and career development planningParticipate in technical architecture reviews and design decisionsContribute to product roadmap discussions based on support insightsEnsure compliance with engineering standards and best practicesWork with Product Owners and/or stakeholders to help set direction for the teamQualifications & SkillsMust Have:Bachelor's Degree in Software, Mechatronics, Systems Engineering or equivalent5+ years' experience working on complex systems comprised of edge and cloud computing elements, sensing and sensor processing communicating using fixed and wireless networks2+ years of people management experience in a technical environmentStrong software development background, preferably in Python and C++Proven experience with high-availability systems and autonomous or robotics platformsExperience with incident management frameworks (ITIL, SRE practices)Experience with monitoring and observability toolsDemonstrated ability to work effectively across organizational boundariesExcellent analytical and problem-solving skills with focus on root cause analysisStrong written and verbal communication skillsExperience leveraging automation and simulation frameworks for product verificationNice to Have:Prior experience with the mining industry and/or mining operational systems such as Fleet Management or Autonomous EquipmentExperience working with cloud environments such as AWS or AzureKnowledge of Open Autonomy frameworks and autonomous vehicle systemsExperience with data analytics and visualization toolsSix Sigma, Lean, or other process improvement certificationsExperience managing distributed or remote teamsTrack record of successful change management initiativesExperience working in the autonomous vehicle or robotics industryEligibility & TravelMust be eligible to work in AustraliaThis role may require some international and domestic travel to customers sites or Wenco offices (