Career Opportunity

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

Recruitment: RTF0146925-01156379

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 system (CBTC). 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.

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: Open until Filled

Salary: $142,220 to $172,874 yearly

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 Lead Train Control Vehicle Engineer, the Associate Engineer will support the integration of the new CBTC system with the Siemens LRV4 vehicles, historic streetcars, and non-revenue (hy-railer) vehicles. The Associate Engineer will support the successful design, fitment, and testing of all onboard equipment necessary to fully install the system on the vehicles as well as any safety recertification of the vehicles necessary to implement the new CBTC system and satisfy CPUC and FTA requirements and will support project engineering reviews related to onboard equipment installation.

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. The Associate Engineer will participate in design activities with the Supplier and other contractors related to onboard vehicle equipment. The Associate Engineer will review consultant designs for the onboard train control electrical and communications systems and plans for integrating the train control system with the light rail vehicles.

The Associate Engineer will also work with the vehicle manufacturer and the train control supplier to ensure quality integration between carborne train control equipment and the light rail vehicles. The Associate Engineer will assist in the development of an installation plan to effect the deployment of the Supplier’s CBTC system equipment onboard SFMTA vehicles, and monitor execution of this plan.

In this capacity, the Associate Engineer will perform systems engineering including failure analysis, project planning, testing, diagnostics, and performance analysis.

Examples of Important and Essential Duties:

• Participates in activities supporting of the train control system with the Siemens LRV4s, historic streetcars and non-revenue vehicles, including design, fitment, and testing;
• Works with the CBTC System Supplier, with the LRV manufacturer (Siemens), and vehicle onboard equipment installers to support installation and vehicle integration;
• Evaluates the CBTC System Supplier’s technical designs and installation materials for the historic streetcars and non-revenue vehicles.
• Contributes to technical reviews between the CBTC System Supplier, the LRV manufacturer, and onboard equipment installers;
• Responds to technical RFIs related to vehicle onboard integration and equipment, drafts responses and clarifications to project contractors;
• Reviews and comments on vehicle-related technical documents and correspondence from the CBTC System Supplier, the LRV manufacturer, and other project contractors;
• Assists in the development of the migration and installation plan for equipping the entire LRV4 fleet with train control system equipment;
• Assists in the development of the migration and installation plan for equipping the historic streetcars and non-revenue vehicles with train control system equipment;
• Works with Rail Maintenance and SFMTA staff at the transit yards to coordinate and schedule work activities in coordination with the onboard equipment installer(s) for fitting of equipment on the vehicles;
• Witnesses testing of train control system equipment on the vehicles 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;
• Analyzes and solves electrical and vehicle sub-systems problems, such as power, EMI connectivity, and fitment for onboard train control system components;
• Communicates with the CBTC System Supplier for technical support as needed to address system issues under warranty;
• 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:

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 qualifications;
• Experience designing and engineering rail vehicle onboard electronic communication systems, such as train control systems;
• Experience supervising other engineers;
• Experience fitting transit vehicles with onboard electronic equipment;
• An understanding of electric propulsion and braking methods and design;
• 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 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: 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.