Field Engineer, Communications

The role

The Field Engineer, Communications serves as a field representative for the installation, testing, commissioning, and acceptance of railway telecommunications and operational communications systems. This person monitors construction quality, provides oversight of fiber installation and testing, and supports various system acceptance activities for the California High-Speed Rail Program.

What you will do

• Monitor installation of fiber optic backbone networks, outside plant fiber infrastructure, fiber distribution panels, and fiber splice enclosures
• Monitor installation of IP/MPLS network infrastructure, data center infrastructure, and network operations center equipment
• Monitor installation of mobile radio systems, LTE and private cellular systems, and FRMCS systems
• Monitor installation of CCTV systems, passenger information systems, public address systems, and operational telephone systems
• Verify construction quality and compliance with approved standards, designs, and Program schedules
• Provide oversight of fiber cable installation, fiber pulling operations, fiber splicing, and fiber termination
• Provide oversight of OTDR testing, end-to-end attenuation testing, fiber characterization testing, acceptance testing, and network cutovers
• Review fiber test reports and acceptance documentation, and validate backbone network performance against requirements
• Support and witness Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, and network commissioning
• Support and witness radio coverage testing, network failover testing, and cybersecurity validation

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Telecommunications Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Network Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field or demonstrable on-the-job work experien
• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in railway, transportation, telecommunications, or mission-critical communications systems
• Demonstrated experience supporting communications systems through design, installation, testing, commissioning, and final acceptance
• Extensive experience with fiber optic installation, fusion splicing, fiber termination, OTDR testing, attenuation testing, and network commissioning
• Demonstrated experience with fiber optic infrastructure, operational communications systems, and IP network environments
• Experience with IP/MPLS networks and railway telecommunications systems
• Experience with radio systems including FRMCS, LTE, GSM-R, or equivalent
• Experience with CCTV and public address systems
• Experience reviewing communications engineering deliverables, network designs, fiber layouts, telecommunications drawings, radio coverage studies, and testing procedures
• Experience supporting Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, network integration testing, and operational readiness programs
• Strong working knowledge of communications system integration and operational railway requirements
• Availability for domestic and international travel of up to 50 percent

Nice to have

• Experience with railway fiber optic backbone networks
• Experience with IP/MPLS networks and mission-critical telecommunications systems
• Experience with LTE, private cellular, GSM-R, FRMCS, and railway radio systems
• High-speed rail or digital rail systems project experience
• Experience supporting passenger information systems, CCTV, public address systems, and operational telephone systems
• Familiarity with FRA requirements, cybersecurity standards, and rail communications regulations
• Experience supporting integrated testing between communications, train control, SCADA, and control center systems
• Experience supporting network migration, cutover, and commissioning activities

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.