Senior Rail Engineer

Description

Senior Rail Engineer

Role Description: Huitt-Zollars, Inc. is seeking a Senior Rail Engineer with 10+ years of engineering experience, including at least 5 years of direct railroad track design experience.

This position will be based in Dallas or Fort Worth, Texas, and will support regional and nationwide transit and rail projects.

The ideal candidate has strong technical experience in railway engineering design, can lead design tasks and coordinate multidisciplinary teams, and is familiar with freight rail, industrial rail, commuter rail, and light rail projects. Experience in applying AREMA standards and UPRR/BNSF design guidelines is required. The position may also support proposals and client coordination as needed.

Location: Dallas or Fort Worth, Texas

Employment Type: Full-time 

Reports to: Vice President or Associate Vice President

Compensation Type: Salary

Registration(s): Professional Engineer (PE) licensed in Texas, or ability to obtain Texas licensure in the first six months of employment

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering (BSCE) or related engineering discipline

Duties: 

Railway Engineering & Technical Leadership  

• Lead and perform engineering design for freight rail, industrial rail, commuter rail, and light rail infrastructure projects.
• Lead track design tasks, including horizontal and vertical alignment, track geometry, turnouts, rail crossings, grading, and related civil improvements, as applicable to project scope.
• Prepare and review engineering calculations, design drawings, technical specifications, quantities, and construction cost estimates.
• Apply applicable AREMA, FRA, railroad owner (including UPRR/BNSF), transit agency, and local design criteria.
• Coordinate track design with civil, drainage, structural, signals, communications, utilities, and other disciplines.
• Provide technical direction and quality control reviews for engineering deliverables and support resolution of design issues.

 Project Delivery & Coordination  

• Serve as rail discipline lead or rail engineer on multidisciplinary projects; support the Project Manager in meeting scope, schedule, budget, and quality objectives.
• Assist or lead in the development of the level-of-effort estimates, task schedules, and technical deliverable requirements.
• Coordinate technical matters with clients, railroads, transit agencies, subconsultants, and other stakeholders.
• Support permitting, railroad review and approval processes, construction-phase services, responses to RFIs, and review of submittals as assigned.
• Follow Huitt-Zollars’ project management procedures and Quality Management System (QMS).

 Business Development Support  

• Provide technical input for statements of qualifications, proposals, scopes of work, fee estimates, and interviews.
• Support client relationships and identification of rail and transit opportunities through technical expertise and responsive project delivery.  

Leadership & Mentoring  

• Mentor junior engineers and designers and provide technical guidance and design reviews.
• Collaborate with project managers and discipline leads to assign and coordinate design work.
• Maintain current knowledge of rail design practices, standards, and industry developments. 

Qualifications:  

• Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering or a related engineering discipline
• 10+ years of engineering experience, including at least 5 years of direct railroad track design experience.
• Texas PE registration or ability to obtain within the first six months of employment 
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead rail engineering tasks and coordinate multidisciplinary design deliverables.
• Working knowledge of AREMA standards and applicable freight railroad or transit agency design requirements.
• Proficiency with rail and civil engineering design software, including MicroStation, Bentley OpenRail/OpenRoads Designer, or AutoCAD Civil 3D
• Experience with Class I railroads, particularly Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR)
• Strong written and verbal communication, technical problem-solving, and mentoring skills.
• Experience with rail design software such as MicroStation/OpenRail or comparable CAD and rail alignment tools is preferred.
• Experience supporting railroad design reviews, construction coordination, and proposal development is preferred.
• Construction inspection or construction management experience is a plus.
• TxDOT Pre-certifications in rail categories are preferred. 

Task Manager Role Annual Performance Goals & Expectations:

• Having a deep understanding of how your work and contributions as a co-owner add to Huitt-Zollars’ mission and core values.
• Assists PM in achieving target Effective Labor Multiplier (ELM) of all associated tasks.
• Understands, follows, and enforces Huitt-Zollars' business process.
• Understands duties and responsibilities, possesses necessary job knowledge and technical skills, maintains job knowledge.
• Effectively leads, creates, plans, executes project tasks on a project.
• Takes on more responsibilities and actively seeks out opportunities to grow/learn beyond their typical key responsibilities that add value to the quality, efficiency, and/or profitability of a project(s), a team(s), or the Company’s performance.

This position is also required to adhere to Huitt-Zollars’ Core Value Competencies

About Huitt-Zollars:

• Huitt-Zollars, Inc. is a privately held, 100% employee-owned leading Architectural and Engineering (A/E) firm since being established in 1975. Since then, our firm has been providing innovative planning, engineering, architectural and interior design, construction and program management, and design-build services to our clients. 
• Located in more than 20 locations throughout 10 different US states, Huitt-Zollars holds a vision to improve the environment in which we live, work, and play. Employees/co-owners can expect to collaborate with their team, listen to client and community needs, and deliver world-class professional services. Learn more about a career with #teamHZ by viewing our LinkedIN Life page.

Benefits & Perks:

• Health insurance (BCBS TX BlueChoice PPO)
• Dental insurance (BCBS TX BlueChoice PPO)
• Vision insurance (BCBS TX BlueChoice PPO)
• MDLive Telehealth
• Employer-Paid Short- & Long-Term disability
• 8 Paid Holidays
• Employee Morale/Teambuilding events and activities
• Paid Vacation/Annual Leave 
• Paid Sick Leave
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Commuter Benefits
• Professional Societies and Registrations Fee Reimbursements
• Term Life / AD&D insurance
• Cancer and Specified Disease insurance
• Two retirement plans: 401(k) and an ESOP
• Work for an Employee-Owned firm

This position will office out of our Dallas, TX location in a 'Class A' office space including a state-of-the-art gym (no cost), covered parking, food court, and more. 

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds at times
• The employee must be able to concentrate on details, work under deadline pressures, apply sound logic and judgment, and prioritize tasks and responsibilities

Applicants must be legally authorized to work for Huitt-Zollars in the U.S. without employer sponsorship. Currently, Huitt-Zollars does not sponsor H1-B or any other work visa petitions.

Huitt-Zollars does not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters without a previously signed third-party agreement. Any unsolicited third-party resumes forwarded by recruiters to any Huitt-Zollars hiring manager or employee will be considered public information, may be treated as a direct application from the person identified in the resume, and will not be eligible for placement fee payment to the agency submitting the unsolicited resume. Huitt-Zollars will not pay a fee to a third-party recruiter or agency that has not coordinated their recruiting activity with the appropriate member of the Human Resources team and without an active, fully executed service agreement.  

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. Huitt-Zollars is a federal contractor and subcontractor and abides by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a), which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on protected veteran status or disability and require affirmative action to employ and advance qualified protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.