Senior Signals and Communications Engineering Specialist- RR&T

About the Position

Burns Engineering, Inc. is currently seeking a licensed Senior Signals and Communications Engineering Specialist to join our Signals, Communications & Train Control team in Philadelphia, PA.

About Burns

Burns Engineering provides professional engineering design and project management services for transportation, facilities, and infrastructure projects. We help our clients attain their strategic goals and initiatives through successful large-scale infrastructure projects. Burns' full-service capabilities include mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, transportation, and energy consulting engineering.

Responsibilities

• Lead systems engineering activities for complex rail train control and signaling projects, including requirements development, system design, system verification, and integration.
• Develop and manage system requirements throughout the project lifecycle, including traceability, change control, and stakeholder alignment.
• Develop system architecture and define functional allocations to support implementation of train control solutions.
• Author technical papers to document potential system functionality enhancements, balancing railroad operational objectives with safety-critical requirements.
• Lead interface identification, definition, and coordination across subsystems, disciplines, and internal/external stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain interface control documentation and lead collaboration efforts to resolve interface issues throughout the project lifecycle.
• Coordinate system integration activities with internal teams, contractors, suppliers, and clients to ensure system components function as an integrated solution.
• Support development of verification and validation plans, procedures, and reports to demonstrate compliance with requirements and safety-critical design principles.
• Provide technical leadership on assigned projects, determine discipline work tasks and flow, and delegate design elements to less senior Engineers and Designers while retaining most complex, high-value tasks as appropriate.
• Serve as the primary subject matter expert and technical resource for clients and external partners, including participation in technical workshops, design reviews, and coordination meetings.
• Support Project Managers by providing technical input to project planning, resource allocation, and risk management.
• Support system safety efforts by evaluating designs against fail-safe and safety-critical principles, assisting with hazard identification and resolution related to system requirements, design, interfaces, and integration.
• Mentor early and mid-career employees through on-the-job training. When requested, partner with a Learning & Development Lead to create and deliver training content.
• Perform all tasks in compliance with Burns (and, when applicable, a client's) standards, policies, procedures, and engineering codes.
• Perform all tasks efficiently, accurately, within the allotted project hours, and complete tasks on or before the due date.

Requirements

• Bachelor's (B.S.) Engineering degree.
• A minimum of 10 years of progressive discipline-specific engineering experience in the railroad industry, with at least 6 of those years in the field of systems engineering.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Positive Train Control (PTC) systems, including Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) and/or Interoperable Electronic Train Management System (I-ETMS).
• Experience with modern train control systems, such as Automatic Train Control (ATC) and/or Communications Based Train Control (CBTC).
• Experience working on large-scale train control projects, especially those within the Northeast Corridor (NEC).
• Experience testing and commissioning complex large-scale systems.
• Proficient with systems engineering software and requirements management tools such as DevOps or DOORS.
• Proficient knowledge of railroad operations and maintenance practices.
• Proficient knowledge of federal regulations related to train control systems.
• Experience developing and maintaining client relationships, especially those within the rail industry.
• Experience providing technical guidance, training, and feedback to early career employees.

We Offer

• Competitive salary
• Opportunity to work with a leading engineering firm
• Collaborative and innovative work environment
• Professional development opportunities

About the Company

Burns Engineering provides professional engineering design and project management services for transportation, facilities, and infrastructure projects. We help our clients attain their strategic goals and initiatives through successful large-scale infrastructure projects. Burns' full-service capabilities include mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, transportation, and energy consulting engineering.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities: This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.

California Privacy Notice: If you are a California resident, please review our California Applicant Privacy Notice to learn how we collect, use, and disclose personal information during the recruiting process: click here