Interface Manager - Rail and Transit

Job Description:

Parsons is looking for an amazingly talented Package Interface Manager - Rail and Transit to join our team! In this role, you'll work on a large Rail and Transit projects in the Northeast. We are looking for someone with strong Systems/Installation/Design experience with Rail Systems. Mechanical, Fire/Life-Safety, Rail Systems, and Rail Interface experience. Systems Integration with Rail Systems.

Program background

The Gateway Program is the most urgent infrastructure program in the country – a comprehensive set of rail investments that will improve commuter and intercity services, add needed resiliency and, in its later stages, create new capacity between Newark, New Jersey and New York City, the busiest section of the Northeast Corridor (NEC). The first phase of the Gateway Program includes the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP), which includes the construction of a new two-track tunnel under the Hudson River connecting to Penn Station New York as well as the full rehabilitation of the existing 110-year-old North River Tunnel. The Gateway Development Commission (GDC), established through bi-state legislation, is responsible for the financing and development of the Hudson Tunnel Project.

Program: Major Rail Infrastructure Program

Location: New York / New Jersey Metropolitan Area

Position Summary:

We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Senior Interface Manager to lead the systems integration and interface management activities for a multi-billion-dollar passenger rail infrastructure program. This critical leadership role is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the comprehensive framework that ensures all physical, functional, and contractual interfaces between dozens of design packages, construction contractors, and external stakeholders are proactively identified, controlled, and resolved.

The successful candidate will be a seasoned professional with a deep understanding of both the technical and commercial complexities of delivering megaprojects in a dense, urban environment. This individual will be accountable for mitigating the significant risks associated with project interfaces and will play a central role in ensuring that all individual project components are successfully integrated into a safe, reliable, and fully functional railroad system.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the Interface Management Plan (IMP): Serve as the author and ultimate authority for the program's governing Interface Management Plan, ensuring the framework aligns with industry best practices and contractual requirements.

• Lead the Interface Management Team: Manage and mentor a team of Package Interface Managers and Coordinators, providing strategic direction and ensuring consistent application of the IMP across all project contracts.

• Govern the Interface Management Process: Oversee the entire interface lifecycle, from early identification in the design phase through formal verification and closeout during testing and commissioning.

• Chair Key Governance Meetings: Chair the program-level Interface Management Working Group (IMWG), the highest forum for adjudicating and resolving critical, escalated interface disputes between contractors and stakeholders.

• Manage the Master Interface Register (MIR): Maintain the program's single source of truth for all identified interfaces, ensuring the data is accurate, current, and provides clear visibility into the status of the entire interface ecosystem.

• Oversee Technical Documentation: Manage the development and baselining of all critical Interface Control Documents (ICDs), ensuring that the technical requirements at all shared boundaries are clearly and unambiguously defined.

• Drive Proactive Risk Mitigation: Work closely with the project's Risk Management team to ensure that interface-related risks are identified early, assessed for their potential impact, and have robust mitigation plans in place.

• Integrate with Core Project Controls: Ensure the seamless integration of the interface management process with schedule management (linking interface deliverables to the master schedule), change management (controlling changes to baselined interfaces), and systems engineering.

Required Qualifications & Experience:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems), Construction Management, or a related field is required. A Master's degree or professional engineering (PE) license is highly preferred.

• Experience: A minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in project management, systems engineering, or construction management on large-scale, complex infrastructure projects. A minimum of 7-10 years of direct experience in a dedicated interface management role on a megaproject (>$1B) is essential.

• Technical Expertise:

• Demonstrated experience with major rail and transit projects, including tunnels, stations, and surface alignments.

• Deep understanding of the technical interfaces between major railroad systems, including track, signaling, traction power, communications, and rolling stock.

• Proven experience managing interfaces across multiple contract delivery models, including Design-Bid-Build (DBB) and Design-Build (DB).

• Prior experience with formal Interface Management process, procedures and protocols.

• Expert-level proficiency with dedicated Interface Management software (e.g., Coreworx, PIMS, or similar).

• Strong leadership skills with a proven ability to manage and mentor teams.

• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills, with the ability to facilitate agreements between sophisticated and often competing commercial and technical stakeholders.

• Expert understanding of integrated project controls, including scheduling, cost management, risk management, and change control.

Security Clearance Requirement:

Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer to https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/.