Technical Director-Train Control/ATS

Parsons Corporation•USA PA (Virtual Office), PA

10d•$157,500 - $283,500

About The Position

Parsons is hiring a Technical Director to lead projects and teams in North America focused on Automatic Train Supervision (ATS), Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC), and related rail systems for large transit agencies. The role provides technical oversight of ATS, evaluates system upgrades, and coordinates with clients, stakeholders, and vendors on critical improvements and issue resolution. The position works in a multidisciplinary environment reviewing, evaluating, approving, and accepting vendor work products for ongoing ATS enhancements. The Technical Director leads technical working groups and staff, evaluates proposed upgrades and new technology platforms, and helps align technical, operational, maintenance, and owner stakeholders on approaches that support system performance and minimize downtime. The role also contributes to operational concepts and requirements and supports project delivery and opportunity pursuits.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, communications, mathematics, data science, or a related technical field.
20 or more years of related work experience.
10 or more years of experience implementing software-based rail systems.
Strong understanding of Centralized Traffic Control Systems, vital and non-vital Signal Interlocking Control Systems, and CBTC systems.
Strong experience in software development and product life-cycle development for ATS, SCADA, and other centralized supervision systems and interfaces.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to build consensus and lead technical working-group discussions.
Ability to work effectively in a client-facing environment with service and delivery managers, department heads, program managers, and construction managers.
Familiarity with typical transit operating rules for CBTC and non-CBTC trains in revenue and non-revenue service.
Knowledge of control-center operational strategies, field-control capabilities, and operational and maintenance roles of NYCT departments.
In-depth knowledge of ATS capabilities in large rapid transit networks, including schedule and timetable management, route management, trip management, train regulation, and train reporting.
Experience with real-time, mission-critical server-client architectures and models.
Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices, communications networking, systems engineering and integration, and software development principles.
Ability to lead technical and project staff for project delivery and opportunity pursuits involving Train Control, ATS, and CBTC systems.
Ability to manage or perform technical feasibility studies, requirements management, operational workforce development, and CONOPS development.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or an engineering discipline.
Certified Project Management credentials or CSEP credentials.

Responsibilities

Chair technical working groups and lead technical meetings with clients and CBTC/ATS suppliers.
Support discussions about system design, installation and implementation, enhanced features, operational impacts, and performance and reliability improvements.
Manage teams assessing the feasibility of proposed upgrades and new technology and product platforms.
Contribute to developing operational concepts and requirements.
Align technical, operational, maintenance, and owner stakeholders on strategies that minimize downtime and support system performance.
Lead direct teams and technical/project staff in project delivery and opportunity pursuits for Train Control, ATS, and CBTC systems.
Communicate and coordinate with clients, project teams, department leaders, vendor representatives, and stakeholder and user communities.
Manage or perform technical feasibility studies, requirements management, operational workforce development, and CONOPS development.
Collaborate with client and project stakeholders and user communities to define business and operational needs.
Provide technical oversight of ATS systems, evaluate system upgrades, and coordinate critical ATS improvements and issue resolution.