Senior Project Manager, Rail Engineering - Chicago Transit Authority

• PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Serves as Senior Project Manager and coordinates with engineers on various Rail new equipment purchase projects.
• Supervises the development of projects and plans related to the purchase of new rail vehicles.
• Establishes project schedules, workflow, and budgets for new vehicle purchases and overhauls and tracks progress to ensure deliverables are on schedule and within budget.
• Reviews contract drawings and correspondence from the car builder, apprises the Chief Engineer of issues or concerns, and drafts responses.
• Chairs meetings with project stakeholders, management, and vendors, maintains meeting minutes, and prepares status reports.
• Monitors the fleet for new and overhauled rail cars to ensure reliability.  Identify any problematic trends and draft correspondence to car builders regarding related warranty and reliability issues.
• Requires collaboration with Rail Engineering and Rail Maintenance Management to develop and maintain best practices that will provide exceptional warranty recovery rates, timely processing of warranty repair orders and responsible management of warranty receivable schedules.
• Monitors the processing of all warranty paperwork to ensure proper documentation and verifying criteria required by vendors.
• Responsible for training and managing staff for the warranty administration.
• Perform daily audits on Rail Maintenance work orders to ensure work performed meets the Authority’s requirements for warranty processing to prevent future chargebacks from the manufacturer.
• Oversee and maintain the Authority’s warranty appeals process.
• Manages the continued maintenance plans and replacement plans of new parts and vehicles.
• Collects and maintains parts information, oversees the assignment of Authority specific identification numbers to parts, and coordinates the input of parts data into the Oracle database.
• Tracks the progress of new vehicle repair training for CTA personnel and makes adjustments as necessary to maintain schedules.
• Assigns work to engineers, monitors manpower needs and schedules, identifies areas of deficiencies, and recommends changes to accomplish project deliverables.
• Drafts project work plans, specifications, and estimates for labor, material, and equipment costs for projects. o Develops performance metrics, analyzes data and summarizes outcomes.
• Coordinates, schedules, and conducts inspections and testing of new and overhauled vehicles and parts.
• Inspects and tests for defects, performance, and compliance with specifications.
• Implements resolutions to ensure all problems are resolved.
• May travel to vehicle or sub-system manufacturing plants to inspect for compliance with specifications.
• Initiates, tracks, and expedites purchase requisitions for vehicles and services received.
• Performs related duties assigned.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to this position are the following jobs:

Job Title

• May be assigned to oversee following positions:
• Engineer I – IV, Electrical
• Engineer I – IV, Mechanical
• Engineer I – IV, Product
• Equipment Technician I
• Equipment Technician II
• Equipment Technician III
• Warranty Technician

CHALLENGES

• Managing multiple priorities while keeping projects on schedule and within budget.
• Adhering to project guidelines and schedules.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering plus five (5) years of experience managing large-scale vehicle procurement, maintenance, and overhaul projects or an equivalent combination of education and experience related to the position.
• Must be able to obtain Rail Safety Training certification.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Requires remaining in a stationary position for extended periods of time and constantly operating a computer and other office productivity machinery.
• Service Area Requirement: Exempt (Non-Union) employees must live within the boundaries of the CTA Statutory Service Area either at the time of employment or within 6 months of beginning employment at CTA.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Detailed knowledge of mechanical and electrical engineering principles, methods, and techniques as they apply to transit vehicle design and maintenance.
• Detailed knowledge of materials, techniques, and components of transit vehicles.
• Detailed knowledge of vehicle costing and procurement processes.
• Detailed knowledge of industry quality control practices.
• Strong critical thinking skills to assess how one change can affect the entire project.
• Intermediate skill using personal computer, engineering applications, and data management software.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Good organizational and project management skills.
• Good negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
• Good computer skills with knowledge of Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Ability to apply engineering knowledge to complex mechanical and electrical engineering problems with versatility, judgment, and perception.
• Ability to manage complex vehicle engineering design projects.
• Ability to develop workflow diagrams.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• General office environment.
• Subject to manufacturing or assembly plant, maintenance or repair facility, and laboratory environments.
• Domestic and international travel may be required.
• Occasionally exposed to 600 volt third rails and energized equipment.
• May be required to work various extended or irregular hours (including afternoons, nights, or weekend shifts) in order to respond to CTA issues or emergencies.
• Must be available to respond to calls or email inquiries outside regular work hours.
• Subject to exposure to usual vehicle maintenance shop and rail terminal hazards and conditions, e.g. vehicular noise, dust, grease, moving vehicles, electrified apparatus, machinery, etc.
• Subject to all weather and right of way conditions.

EQUIPMENT, TOOLS, AND MATERIALS UTILIZED

• Personal computer and related software (Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel), Project management software.
• Personal protective equipment (e.g. shoes, glasses, gloves).

Employees and/or union members will be given priority consideration in the hiring process, per the applicable labor contracts.

Final salary will be determined in part by the qualifications of the selected candidate and may be higher or lower than target.

Applicants, if hired,must comply with CTA's residency ordinance.

CTA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

No employee or applicant for employment will be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, age, unfavorable military discharge, disability or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws; except where a bona fide occupational qualification exists We are committed to providing an inclusive environment for our workforce and supporting the communities we serve. CTA will make reasonable accommodations for the known disabilities of otherwise qualified applicants for employment as well as its employees, unless undue hardship would result. If you require an accommodation in the application or hiring process, please contact prior to the submission of your application or upon notification of your actual test date. CTA will work with you to determine if an accommodation can be provided.

During the hiring process, CTA’s Human Resources department will contact candidates with next steps . Failure to respond to these correspondences in a timely fashion may result in your application being closed out for non-responsiveness.

Please click link below to review the benefits offered at the CTA.