Systems Engineer - Traction Electrification

Salary Range

Sound Transit offers a salary range of $81K to $155K with a midpoint of $108K. New hires typically receive between minimum and midpoint, but may go slightly higher based on experience, internal equity, and market.

About the Role

This is a technical role as an engineer responsible for traction electrification systems. Traction electrification includes incoming AC utility feeds and medium voltage AC power distribution, DC traction power substations, overhead contact systems (OCS), and related automated monitoring and control systems.

Essential Functions

• Develops and maintains agency design criteria and standards for systems and assets in assigned engineering discipline.
• Reviews and provides input to formal contract deliverables and submittals to ensure project compliance with established agency technical criteria, policies, and procedures for design development, systems interface coordination and integration, construction, and testing and commissioning.
• Reviews and makes recommendations on changes and deviations from established agency standards and criteria.
• Supports senior staff in working closely with city code and fire department officials to ensure code requirements and operational best practices are incorporated into design projects.
• Develops designs for follow-on and service delivery projects from beginning to end, including coordination of schedule, scope, and budget of assigned projects.
• Provides engineering economic analysis in determining total cost of ownership.
• Supports the department/division and others on matters as directed; serves as staff on a variety of committees as assigned; prepares and presents reports and presentations; attends and participates in professional group meetings.
• Supports Agency Sustainability efforts to develop efficient designs and evaluate new technologies intended to improve efficiencies and reduce impact.
• Collaborates with staff across the agency to ensure continuous improvement and best practice is applied to engineering criteria, policies, and procedures.
• Champions and models Sound Transit's core values and demonstrates values-based behaviors in everyday interactions across the agency.
• Contributes to a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion in alignment with Sound Transit’s Equity & Inclusion Policy.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or closely related field and four years of mechanical systems engineering experience in design, construction or operations and maintenance of complex industrial mechanical systems; OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Required Knowledge and Skills:
• Industrial power distribution systems and rail transit traction electrification.
• Operational characteristics, services, and activities of traction power and/or overhead contact systems engineering projects and programs.
• Application of principles and practices of electrical and traction power systems engineering, design, and construction.
• Oversight and monitoring the integration and design of traction electrification systems within a transit system.
• Federal, state, and local codes, OSHA requirements, and related regulations.
• Principles of business letter writing and basic report preparation.
• Troubleshooting, diagnostics, and root cause analysis - ability to systematically investigate equipment failures, determine the root cause, and recommend corrective action.
• Time management - ability to control a large workload, prioritize effort, and manage commitments.
• Collaboration - ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other agency staff, consultants, contractors, authorities having jurisdiction, and other stakeholder groups.
• Communication - ability to communicate clear and accurate technical information to technical and non-technical audiences in verbal and written form.
• Meeting management - ability to plan, conduct, and record effective meetings.
• Systems thinking - ability to understand the whole problem, seek different perspectives, understand interdependencies, and decompose complex problems into solvable elements.

Physical Demands / Work Environment

Positions working in field may occasionally be exposed to dangerous machinery, extreme weather conditions, physical harm, hazardous chemicals, and/or extreme noise. This position will be expected to work three days per week in the office. Position is responsible for field inspections. May be subject to standing and walking. Position includes 24-hour on-call program and weekend/night shifts; position is responsible for providing field inspections that need to be performed at night and weekends. The Agency promotes a safe and healthy work environment and provides appropriate safety and equipment training for all personnel as required.