Date: 3 Jul 2026
Job Posting End Date:
Job Country:
Australia
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Job State/Province: Western Australia
Job Location/Region: Pilbara
At BHP we support our people to grow, learn, develop their skills and reach their potential. With a global portfolio of operations, we offer a diverse and inclusive environment with extraordinary career opportunities. Our strategy is to focus on creating a safe work environment where our employees feel strongly connected to our values and objectives, and where the capability of our people is key to our success.
Come and be a part of this success.
The Rail Safety Management Systems (RSMS) team is seeking an experienced and collaborative Principal to support the ongoing development, assurance and continuous improvement of safeworking and rail safety management systems across the network.
Reporting to the Manager Rail Safety Management Systems, this role works closely with operational leaders, technical specialists and regulatory stakeholders to strengthen safeworking capability, promote consistent standards and support safe, reliable rail operations. The successful candidate will play a key role in maintaining compliance with the Rail Safety National Law (RSNL), enhancing system assurance, and fostering a culture where safety, learning and operational excellence are embedded in everyday practice.
This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the future direction of rail safety while building strong partnerships across the business and supporting meaningful outcomes for both our workforce and regulators.
This opportunity is available on either a residential 5:2 roster for candidates currently living in Port Hedland or a FIFO 5:2/4:3 roster from Perth.
Key Accountabilities:
- Support the governance and continuous improvement of safeworking and rail safety management systems
- Partner with operational and functional teams to maintain compliance with rail safety legislation, standards and regulatory obligations
- Provide technical guidance and coaching to specialist teams, promoting capability development and knowledge sharing
- Monitor system effectiveness and assurance activities to support safe and reliable rail operations
- Identify, assess and support the management of operational and systemic risk
- Build trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including regulators and contractor partners
- Contribute to integrated planning activities and the successful delivery of strategic safety initiatives
- Champion a customer-focused and operationally connected approach to rail safety outcomes
Skills and Experience:
- Extensive experience supporting safety-critical operations, preferably within rail, resources, infrastructure or other complex operational environments
- Demonstrated experience working within large-scale rail operations or infrastructure projects, with heavy haul experience highly regarded
- Strong understanding of above and below rail safeworking systems, including worksite protection principles
- Experience applying and supporting compliance with the Rail Safety National Law (RSNL) and associated regulations
- Well-developed understanding of rail operations, signalling systems and operational interfaces
- Experience contributing to complex programs or initiatives aligned to strategic business priorities
- Ability to build productive relationships across diverse stakeholder groups and contractor partnerships
- Experience supporting contractor governance and collaborative delivery models
- Strong systems thinking, with experience in performance monitoring, risk assessment and assurance activities.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate technical information into practical outcomes
You will:
- Build trusted relationships and foster collaboration across operational, technical and leadership teams
- Support alignment and shared ownership of rail safety outcomes across the business
- Be recognised as a credible and approachable rail safety professional
- Provide thoughtful guidance on the application of RSNL requirements and regulatory expectations
- Bring experience in communications-based train signalling systems
- Demonstrate curiosity, sound judgement and a commitment to continuous improvement
- Create an environment where people feel supported, included and empowered to contribute
- Balance strategic thinking with practical operational understanding to deliver sustainable outcomes
At BHP, we are committed to employing individuals who align with the BHP Charter Values and meet the requirements of the role. As part of the recruitment process, there are a number of checks which may be conducted to demonstrate applicants suitability for a role including police / criminal background checks, medical, drug and alcohol testing, due diligence checks, right to work checks, and/or reference checks.
If you are already employed directly by BHP, please log in using your BHP email address or apply via our internal jobs portal.
The size, stability and magnitude of our business not only provides significant opportunity for professional development, but also attractive salary packages with performance-based bonuses and a best-in-class employee share program. We know there are many aspects of our employees' lives that are important, and work is only one of these, so we offer benefits to enable your work to fit with your life. These benefits include flexible working options, a generous paid parental leave policy, other extended leave entitlements and parent rooms.
At BHP, we know that we are strengthened by diversity. We are an Equal Opportunity employer that is committed to making BHP a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive and be at their best every day. We are focused on creating a workforce that’s more diverse and represents the communities where we work and live. providing a work environment in which everyone is included, treated fairly and with respect. We are an Equal Opportunity employer and recognise that true diversity includes gender, age, race, disability status, sexual orientation, religion, neurodiversity, education levels, and many more aspects of your identity.
BHP is committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible for all. If you have a disability, we know that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. If you would like to reach out to someone about your situation and our recruitment process, please email us at [email protected].
