Career Opportunity

Senior Signaling Engineer - Transit Division - SF Municipal Transportation Agency (1374)

Recruitment: RTF0162611-01159021

Published: December 17, 2025

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

The Train Control Upgrade Project (TCUP) is an SFMTA capital project which invests in the Muni Metro rail system by replacing the nearly 30-year-old Automatic Train Control System (ATCS) in the subway with a new Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system. The project also expands CBTC managed territory outside of the subways to the surface portions of Muni Metro, where signals and switches are currently independently operated in a first come, first serve configuration. Under CBTC, Muni’s entire rail network can be managed centrally with a single, modernized system. Replacing the ATCS with a state-of-the-art CBTC system will maintain the excellent safety record of the current system, while also increasing the subway’s efficiency and reliability.

With a $700 million capital budget, the Train Control Upgrade Project represents a bold step forward for SFMTA and the Muni Metro system. Through a phased implementation plan, an integrated team approach, and flexible contract structures, TCUP is designed to overcome challenges and set a new standard for urban transit infrastructure projects. With a targeted completion date of 2032, the project promises lasting benefits for San Francisco’s public transit system and its riders. Join this exciting team at the cutting edge of urban rail technology!

Role description

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Exempt - Full Time not to exceed three (3) years – This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

Application Opening: December 17, 2025

Application Filing Deadline: January 2, 2025 

Salary: $163,332 to $198,484/annually

Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:30AM - 5:30PM

Vacancies: 1

Please Note: A cover letter and resume must be attached to the online application.

Under the general direction of the Train Control Upgrade Project Lead Engineer, the Senior Signaling Engineer leads the signaling design section of the SFMTA owner’s engineering team. The Senior Signaling Engineer assists the Train Control Upgrade Project Lead Engineer with oversight duties related to project design and scheduling to facilitate the procurement, development, and maintenance of the future train control system. Additionally, this position is responsible to the Train Control Upgrade Project Manager and Lead Engineer for reviewing technical submissions from the Train Control Supplier, Hitachi Rail, to ensure that the submitted design meets the SFMTA’s objectives for the project, conforms to all applicable SFMTA, state, local, and federal technical regulations, and complies with the technical standards identified in the Train Control Supplier Contract.

The Train Control Upgrade Project will be delivered through a series of contracts with the technology supplier (Hitachi Rail) and other firms providing installation, construction support, technical expertise, and professional services. The Senior Signaling Engineer will act as a senior reviewer of technical documentation from the project contractors, perform technical coordination between the department and Supplier, and produce technical documentation on behalf of SFMTA in response to Supplier RFI’s and inquiries.

In addition, the Senior Signaling Engineer will liaise with SFMTA Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to obtain their input, and using engineering judgment, develop requirements or evaluation criteria that ensure that the needs expressed by SFMTA SMEs are met. The Senior Signaling Engineer will supervise junior SFMTA engineers and consultants on the team in order to meet these objectives.

As a senior SFMTA technical representative, the Senior Signaling Engineer will have a strong understanding of the project contract requirements and be able to identify key project staff and agency stakeholders for review when evaluating submittals and project deliverables.

Examples of Important and Essential Duties:

• Supervises assistant and associate engineers as the senior member of the SFMTA signal engineering team;
• Participates in project design reviews, evaluates the CBTC System Supplier’s technical designs and installation materials, and prepares technical comments on behalf of the SFMTA;
• Contributes to technical discussions between the SFMTA, CBTC System Supplier and other project contractors;
• Communicates with the CBTC System Supplier and other project contractors via formal correspondence and informally, reviews technical correspondence received and prepares responses to technical RFIs from contractors;
• With the CBTC Supplier, SFMTA Resident Engineer, SFMTA stakeholders and consultants, assists in developing the migration and installation plans for the central and wayside train control system equipment;
• Works with the Technical Program Manager and Technology Department engineers on communications infrastructure design and technical coordination between the Supplier and supportive infrastructure installers;
• Works with Real Estate department, Maintenance of Way staff, facilities project team and engineers on ensuring SFMTA facilities are prepared for train control equipment installation;
• Supports engineering surveys in preparation for train control project design; directs and supervises supporting work by SFMTA and other City departments as well as contractors to prepare field surveys of railway and communications infrastructure relevant to the project;
• Participates in train control system testing and assists the project QA team in assessing the quality of installed components;
• Tracks completion of technical requirements and evaluates the system and individual subsystems and components for acceptance;
• Communicates with the CBTC System Supplier and/or Installers for technical support as needed to address system issues under warranty;
• Works with the CBTC System Supplier, SFMTA operations and maintenance staff to ensure both the designed and finished onboard train control system meets operations and maintenance needs and works within their stated constraints;
• Participates in the selection, training, monitoring, evaluating, and counseling of project engineering staff;
• Analyzes related project schedules and budgets;
• Reviews and manages workload assignment to consultants, junior staff and interns as required;
• Performs other duties as required.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications

• Five (5) years’ experience working on train control or rail signaling projects, including a minimum of two (2) years’ experience supervising engineers on train control or rail signaling projects; AND
• Possession of a baccalaureate, master’s or Ph.D. degree in Engineering.

Substitution:

A Master's Degree in Engineering may substitute for one year of the overall work experience listed above. A Ph. D. in Engineering may substitute for two years of the overall work experience.  The two (2) years of supervisory experience are required and cannot be substituted.

Notes:

Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications by the final filing date unless otherwise noted. One year of full-time experience is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week.) Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time experience.

Desirable Qualifications

• Leadership experience and/or experience managing a team of engineers on a project;
• Additional years of train control or train signaling systems supervisory, engineering or technical experience beyond those stated in the minimum qualifications;
• Experience with computer systems, computer networks, and communications/network systems;
• Experience with and/or an understanding of packet-based networks, human-machine interfaces, and number systems;
• Experience with high-level control system programming;
• Experience developing or manipulating computer software to parse and process low-level data;
• Experience with field engineering, testing, or other hands-on engineering work;
• Experience working as a contractor for public transit agencies or as an employee of a public transit agency;
• Technical writing and editing experience; experience writing technical specifications and/or manuals;
• Experience with CAD software or other computer-aided design tools;
• Experience with P6 Primavera, Microsoft Project, or other project management software applications;
• Experience with Microsoft Office products such as Excel, Outlook, and Word;
• Experience interpreting and analyzing telematics data, using Python, SQL, Tableau or other tools to perform calculations and visualize data;

Ability to work well with a multi-disciplinary, diverse workforce, including operations staff, maintenance technicians, technical professionals, contractors, executives and elected officials, and stakeholder groups.

What else should I know?

Verification:
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found at: https://sfdhr.org/information-about-hiring-process#verification. Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

Selection Process:
Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be used to determine candidates' qualifications.  Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs of the Agency will be invited to move forward in the selection process.

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

This recruitment may be utilized to fill similar positions in this classification at SFMTA.

For questions or inquiries, please contact: Ruel Cantos, Senior Human Resources Analyst at ruel.cantos@sfmta.com.  

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.