Career Opportunity

Associate Engineer (Electrical), Transit Division, SFMTA (5207)

Recruitment: RTF0146979-01156382

Published: December 03, 2024

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About:

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is a department of the City and County of San Francisco responsible for the management of all ground transportation in the City. The SFMTA has oversight over the Municipal Railway (Muni) public transit, as well as bicycling, paratransit, parking, traffic, walking, and taxis.

The Transit Division is currently in the process of developing and procuring a new Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system. The Transit Program Delivery unit within the Transit Division was created in 2018 to oversee capital program and project budgets, manage vehicle and onboard equipment projects, and testing and acceptance of rolling stock and technology projects that will deliver high-quality, cost-effective solutions which improve safety and the Agency’s ability to deliver quality transit service. Within the Transit Program Delivery unit, the Transit Technology Group handles the procurement, delivery, acceptance, and management of technology systems which are critical to transit operations.

The Train Control Upgrade Project is a 9-year, multimillion dollar project with the goal of replacing the existing Automatic Train Control System in Muni’s subways with a modern CBTC and expanding the supervision and limited control aspects of the Communications-Based Train Control System to the entire Muni light rail system. The Train Control Upgrade Project will be delivered through a series of contracts with the CBTC vendor (“Supplier”) and other firms providing installation, construction support, technical expertise, and professional services.

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.

Deadline to Apply: Posted until Filled

Salary: $142,220 to $172,874 yearly

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

Vacancies: 2

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

Under the general direction of the Train Control Upgrade Engineering Manager and Train Control Upgrade Project Lead Engineer, the Associate Engineer performs system engineering work on the Train Control Upgrade Project. During the project design phases, the Associate Engineer will support the project by reviewing engineering designs and documents submitted by the CBTC Supplier. The Associate Engineer will work on systems integration between the train control system and various wayside components such as switch machines, vehicle detection systems, and interlockings. The Associate Engineer will also assist a dedicated team working on software integration between the CBTC system and other technology systems such as CAD/AVL, asset management systems, SCADA systems, and databases. The Associate Engineer will contribute to the civil engineering design for any enabling works, including developing electrical drawings, schematics and plans for any cable, conduit, or other connection infrastructure to accommodate the train control system. The Associate Engineer will participate in design reviews, activities, and technical coordination meetings between the Supplier and the equipment installers.

During the construction and testing phases, the Associate Engineer will assist in monitoring the progress of construction and compare field conditions to the design drawings. The Associate Engineer will participate in and monitor train control system testing from the control center, along the wayside, and in the vehicles to ensure that the testing, safety certification, and commissioning of onboard train control equipment is completed according to the project specifications. The Associate Engineer will participate in the development of installation and testing plans to facilitate this process.

Examples of Important and Essential Duties:

• Provides engineering support to the Train Control Upgrade Project delivering communication- based train control (CBTC) technology to Muni’s rail system.
• Assists in the development of functional requirements for a new CBTC system, based on engineering judgment and interpretation of business and contractual requirements.
• Reviews submissions of plans, documents, and reports from contractors to support SFMTA design reviews at key milestones.
• Works with vendors and consultants to design integration plans between CBTC system and other systems.
• Reviews SFMTA as-built drawings to communicate condition of assets and facilities to train control vendor.
• Witnesses post-installation tests and other tests necessary to commission the train control system; performs QA/QC tasks
• Monitors performance of train control system for compliance with contractually required performance specifications
• Evaluates the delivered system for compliance with SFMTA requirements; identifies defects and bugs and communicates to project staff and contractor
• Conducts periodic field visits to wayside equipment rooms, control centers, and rail yards to research and document issues with various components of the train control system; conducts preliminary field studies and surveys and collects data relative to the preparation of designs and drawings; reviews and analyzes field data and results of office research to determine necessary corrective measures.
• Conducts routine field inspections of train control upgrade projects in progress to ensure conformance with plans, specifications, and codes, checks and records work progress at various construction sites and monitors system testing.
• May exercise limited supervision over junior or assistant engineers, student engineering trainees, and related personnel.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Three (3) years verifiable professional engineering (civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, environmental, sanitary, or transportation (traffic)) work experience, which includes two (2) years experience equivalent to or higher than a 5204 Assistant Civil Engineer, 5222 Assistant Water Purification Engineer, 5228 Assistant Transportation Engineer, 5236 Assistant Electrical Engineer, or 5252 Assistant Mechanical Engineer;

AND

2. Possession of a Certificate of Registration as a Professional Engineer in the State of California in one of the following disciplines: civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical (environmental, sanitary) or traffic (transportation).

Substitutions:

A Master's Degree in Chemical, Sanitary, Transportation (Traffic), or Environmental Engineering disciplines only or a Grade Four Certificate in Water/Wastewater Treatment Operation (CA) may substitute for one year work experience in the chemical, environmental or transportation specialties.

Desirable Qualifications:

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify candidates advancing to the interview process and/or to identify job finalist(s) at the end of the selection process when referred for hiring.

• Technical expertise and knowledge of the principles, practices, purposes, scope and techniques of train control and/or signaling systems;
• Additional engineering experience working on train control, train signaling systems, transit or communications infrastructure projects beyond the minimum required experience;
• Leadership experience and/or experience supervising engineering staff on a project;
• Experience with relay-based and solid state low-voltage control system designs;
• 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 railway wayside equipment and systems, and designing electrical interfaces for those systems;
• 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 engineering accounting and preparing engineer’s cost estimates;
• Experience with reading engineering schematics and using AutoCAD to prepare designs, drawings, sketches, and plans;
• 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: Silvia Yuan, Human Resources Analyst at Silvia.Yuan@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.