Construction Project Controls Lead - Transit & Rail

GFT. • New York, NY

1d • $180,000 - $220,000

About The Position

GFT is seeking a Senior Construction Project Controls Lead to support a major transit and rail project as an Owner’s Representative in New York. The role represents the client’s interests in coordination with project stakeholders and the Design-Builder/General Contractor, particularly when construction affects railroad right-of-way, railroad operations, track outages, Force Account resources, temporary works, schedule, and constructability.

The successful candidate will combine railroad construction knowledge, Primavera P6 scheduling expertise, and field-oriented constructability judgment to independently assess contractor plans and their potential schedule and operational impacts. The work emphasizes catenary/OCS, signals, track, substations, testing and commissioning, and temporary works within active railroad right-of-way, as well as interfaces with railroad operations and station construction.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
• 15+ years of construction/project controls experience on major rail or transit infrastructure programs.
• Advanced knowledge of Primavera P6, CPM scheduling, schedule analysis, construction sequencing, recovery planning, and progress validation.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with general contractors/design-builders in an owner, PMCM, or construction-management capacity.
• Strong understanding of active railroad construction, ROW access, track outages, Force Account coordination, and constructability.
• Experience reviewing TIAs, fragnets, changes, and schedule impacts.
• Strong communication and negotiation skills, including the ability to challenge contractor assumptions while maintaining productive stakeholder relationships.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with track, signals, catenary/OCS/traction power, substations, and testing/commissioning.
• Previous Amtrak, MTA, Metro-North, LIRR, NYCT, NJ Transit, or comparable railroad experience.

Responsibilities

• Represent the client’s interests as an owner-side project controls and construction interface in discussions with stakeholders and the Design-Builder/General Contractor.
• Review contractor construction plans, sequencing, schedules, look-aheads, work packages, and proposed mitigation strategies for constructability and operational feasibility.
• Evaluate construction activities affecting active railroad right-of-way, including temporary works, track access, outages, and railroad operating constraints.
• Assess sequencing for catenary/OCS, signals, track, substations, utilities, testing, and commissioning, including interfaces between disciplines.
• Review proposed track outages and Force Account requirements, assessing whether requested durations and resources are supported by the planned work, schedule logic, and construction approach.
• Identify opportunities to reduce outage duration, Force Account demand, and operational impacts through alternative sequencing, staging, work packaging, or other practical mitigation.
• Perform independent Primavera P6/CPM analysis, including analysis of critical and near-critical paths, logic, float, milestones, constraints, schedule movement, and recovery plans.
• Reconcile the contractor’s CPM schedule and short-term look-aheads with field conditions and construction progress.
• Evaluate schedule impacts associated with design changes, temporary works, access constraints, RFIs, PCOs, fragnets, and Time Impact Analyses (TIAs).
• Identify contractor means, methods, or sequencing that may create additional schedule exposure or require extended track outages or Force Account commitments.
• Develop owner-side positions that identify the issue, operational impact, schedule impact, responsible party, mitigation options, and required decision.
• Coordinate with project Operations, Engineering, Construction, Project Controls, and commercial staff, other stakeholders, and contractor representatives.
• Provide management reporting on critical-path movement, outages, Force Account demand, constraints, recovery actions, and emerging schedule or operational risks.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package including wellness programs, parental leave, and pet insurance, in addition to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Tax-deferred 401(k) savings plan.
• Competitive paid-time-off (PTO) accrual.
• Tuition reimbursement for continued education.
• Professional development, access to internal and external training programs, and support of active participation in professional organizations.
• Incentive compensation for eligible positions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior