Sr. Rail Manager

About the Role

The Senior Rail Manager will lead the development and execution of the company's rail transportation strategy, helping to expand and optimize a growing network of rail-served facilities. This role focuses on strategy, network development, commercial planning, railroad relationships, logistics, capital projects, and transportation technology, rather than day-to-day rail operations. The successful candidate will partner closely with leadership and cross-functional teams to identify opportunities, improve transportation efficiency, and support future growth initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute rail transportation strategies that support business growth.
• Evaluate rail-served facilities, infrastructure needs, capacity requirements, and future expansion opportunities.
• Support site selection, terminal development, acquisitions, and network growth initiatives.
• Identify transportation, capacity, and infrastructure constraints and recommend solutions.
• Evaluate rail and logistics investments, business cases, and capital projects.
• Partner with commercial teams to align customer demand, transportation capacity, and network capabilities.
• Assess transportation costs, railroad service impacts, and profitability considerations.
• Build and maintain relationships with Class I railroads, short-line operators, terminal operators, and other logistics partners.
• Serve as the company's subject matter expert on strategic rail matters.
• Support negotiations, service planning, and long-term railroad partnerships.
• Improve coordination across transportation, logistics, commercial, operations, engineering, and finance teams.
• Identify opportunities to enhance efficiency, service reliability, and asset utilization.
• Support development of scalable transportation and supply chain processes.
• Participate in the evaluation and implementation of transportation management and logistics systems.
• Provide rail and logistics expertise for terminal expansions, rail infrastructure projects, and capital investments.
• Support planning and development of new rail-served facilities.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in freight rail, transportation, logistics, industrial development, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of railroad operations, commercial structures, infrastructure, and transportation economics.
• Experience supporting rail-served facilities, terminal operations, network development, or logistics initiatives.
• Proven ability to work cross-functionally and influence stakeholders across multiple functions.
• Strong analytical, communication, and business acumen.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and industry experience.
• Periodic travel to company terminals, development sites, railroad partners, and other strategic locations as business needs require.

Preferred Experience

• Class I railroad, short-line, rail terminal, or industrial logistics experience.
• Experience with Union Pacific, BNSF, or other major freight rail carriers.
• Cement, aggregates, mining, bulk commodities, or industrial materials experience.
• Transportation Management Systems (TMS) implementation or evaluation experience.
• Exposure to capital projects, site development, or rail-served facility expansion.

Location: Houston, TX
Industry: Rail & Railroad Transportation | Cement | Building Materials | Industrial Logistics