Project Manager, Overhead Contact System (OCS)

The role

The Project Manager supports the delivery of 25kV AC railway electrification infrastructure on the California High-Speed Rail Program. This role manages scope, schedule, budget, and risk for OCS work packages from design through operational handover.

What you will do

• Support the delivery of OCS systems throughout design, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, energization, and operational handover
• Maintain accountability for project scope, schedule, budget, risk management, contractor performance, and delivery milestones
• Coordinate delivery activities between traction power, signaling, communications, track, structures, stations, maintenance facilities, operations, and maintenance teams
• Support delivery of catenary systems, contact and messenger wire systems, cantilever assemblies, registration equipment, and auto-tensioning systems
• Support delivery of sectioning and paralleling facilities, switching infrastructure, neutral sections, overlap zones, grounding and bonding systems, traction return systems, and OCS monitoring systems
• Provide leadership for railway electrical safety, outage planning, energization readiness, and operational readiness programs
• Coordinate with utility providers, railroad operators, local jurisdictions, regulators, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction
• Support approval processes associated with energization, railway operations, and electrification infrastructure
• Coordinate responses to technical reviews, stakeholder comments, and system acceptance requirements
• Support technical oversight of contractor installation activities and system implementation

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Railway Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related engineering discipline, or demonstrable on-the-job work experience
• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience delivering railway electrification or OCS infrastructure projects
• Minimum of ten (10) years of project management experience on transportation, railway, utility, or infrastructure programs
• Demonstrated experience delivering 25kV AC OCS systems from design through commissioning and operational service
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, contractors, suppliers, and consultants
• Strong working knowledge of railway electrification systems, OCS interfaces, grounding and bonding, traction return systems, and railway operations
• Experience coordinating OCS delivery with traction power, signaling, track, structures, and rolling stock disciplines
• Experience leading outage planning, energization readiness, and railway electrical safety programs
• Experience managing approvals with utility providers, railroad operators, regulators, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction
• Experience leading Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, integrated testing, and energization programs
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Availability for travel of 25 to 50 percent along the alignment

Nice to have

• Experience on high-speed rail projects operating above 125 mph (200 km/h)
• Experience delivering high-speed catenary systems and electrification infrastructure
• Experience with EN 50119, AREMA, FRA, and railway electrification standards
• Experience supporting dynamic testing and pantograph-catenary interaction testing
• Experience supporting entry into revenue service on an electrified passenger railway
• Experience overseeing contracts exceeding $250 million
• PE, PMP, CEng, APM, or equivalent professional certification
• Experience with OCS monitoring systems and electrification asset condition management

About the company

Burns Engineering provides professional engineering design and project management services for transportation, facilities, and infrastructure projects. They are an ENR Top 500 Firm and an MEP Giant.