Senior Electrical Engineer - Rail & Transit, Right of Way & Facilities

About the role

Burns Engineering provides professional engineering design and project management services for transportation, facilities, and infrastructure projects. The firm is an ENR Top 500 Firm, an MEP Giant, and a Hot Firm, recently voted a Top Workplace by Philly.com. They are seeking a licensed Senior Electrical Engineer to join the Rail & Transit, Right of Way & Facilities Team in Philadelphia, PA; New York, NY; Boston, MA; or Washington, D.C. The Sr. Engineer makes independent decisions on engineering problems, uses advanced techniques, modifies and extends theories and practices, provides supervision and guidance, develops solutions for large, highly complex projects, supervises and reviews work of junior engineers, mentors staff, and ensures on‑time, on‑budget delivery with high technical quality and client satisfaction.

Responsibilities

• Ensure company technical policies and procedures are followed on projects.
• Take lead in developing design approaches and concepts; seek assistance from senior technical staff when needed.
• Perform specific engineering studies and design analyses; assist project manager in establishing budgets, cost estimates, and schedules.
• Review shop drawings, record changes, and communicate directly with suppliers, contractors, and client representatives.
• Conduct on‑site inspections during construction; coordinate design requirements with contractors and equipment suppliers.
• Develop innovative technical solutions and engineering methods to enhance efficiency, quality, and production.
• Make and/or supervise scoping, implementation, and design of plans; plan other consultation services.
• Maintain highest quality of design and review.
• Assist project managers in coordinating designs with other disciplines; attend project meetings.
• Assist in proposal writing and client presentations for future work.
• Provide feedback to project managers on technical staff performance for mid‑ and end‑of‑year reviews.
• Develop a specialized niche in the company's target markets.
• Maintain overall group schedule of project deliverable milestones, billing objectives, and activity codes.
• Act as recognized expert technical resource for clients.
• Participate in professional organizations and/or client groups to enhance the firm's technical reputation.
• Assume other duties as directed by the President, Project Manager, or Chief Engineer.
• Set technical direction for the discipline on projects; determine work tasks and flow; delegate design elements to engineers, designers, and retain most complex, high‑value tasks.
• Mentor junior staff.
• Provide informal task supervision of CAD operators, designers, junior associates, associates, engineers, and Engineer IIs at the direction of the project manager.

Requirements

• Professionally licensed Engineer with a Bachelor's (B.S.) in Engineering and at least 10 years of related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination.
• Minimum of 6 years of electrical design experience.
• Professional Engineering License required.

Qualifications

• Progressive engineering experience on high‑complexity tasks across various project scales.
• Experience producing electrical engineering deliverables: design drawings, specifications, basis of design reports, calculations, site assessment reports.
• Proficiency in performing electrical studies and calculations (short circuit, selective coordination, arc flash, load flow, voltage drop, photometric lighting, ground grid, etc.).
• Proficiency with industry‑standard engineering software such as AutoCAD or Revit, and other specialized design tools as required.
• Proficiency in ETAP, SKM, or Easy Power.
• Knowledge of NEC, NESC, ANSI, IEEE codes and standards.
• Broad understanding of other engineering disciplines.
• Ability to research and interpret engineering codes and standards for non‑routine, complex tasks.
• Proficient knowledge of local, state, and federal regulations related to the discipline.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for interfacing with clients and team members.
• Demonstrated leadership skills with strong ability to coordinate and collaborate with internal, cross‑disciplinary, and external teams.
• Ability to develop and maintain client relationships.
• Experience providing technical guidance, training, and feedback to early‑career employees.
• Strong critical thinking skills with proven ability to independently solve moderately complex problems with minimal supervision.