Lead Operation and Maintenance - Metro Systems

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 35,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Corporation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia seeks a Lead Operation and Maintenance specialist for metro systems. You will oversee operability and maintainability from design through commissioning, ensuring signaling, rolling stock, track, and associated systems meet contractual and international railway standards.

Extensive international project experience is required. The role entails reviewing contractor submissions, coordinating with OCC and design teams, and delivering weekly progress

Qualifications

• Degree or diploma in a relevant engineering, railway, transportation, operations, or technical discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of professional experience in metro Operation and Maintenance.
• Experience across automatic metro line projects and across multiple countries.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical reviews of Operation and Maintenance documentation submitted by contractors.
• Prepare structured review reports in accordance with project schedules, quality procedures, and contractual requirements.
• Assess contractor designs for operability, maintainability, and railway system requirements.
• Report non-compliance, technical deviations, unresolved issues, and submission risks during design progress meetings.
• Escalate significant concerns to the Package Manager, System Manager, and Design Manager.
• Prepare weekly progress reports covering Operation and Maintenance activities, risks, and required actions.
• Organize technical workshops with contractors to identify gaps and establish corrective actions.
• Monitor contractor response times and ensure revised submissions are provided within schedules.
• Act as the Engineer's Operation and Maintenance specialist advising the Employer on metro system matters.
• Review operability and maintainability requirements for subsystems and interfaces.
• Translate railway operating requirements into design criteria for subsystems.
• Provide operational constraints and maintenance requirements to system designers.
• Confirm subsystem designs remain compatible with overall metro concepts.
• Verify traceability between requirements, design, verification, and compliance.
• Define technical actions where requirements are unclear or incomplete.
• Prepare technical requests and monitor closeout.

Skills

Metro Operation and Maintenance

Automatic metro systems

Railway operations

Operations Control Centre

OCC operations

Metro line operations

Operability assessment

Maintainability assessment

System assurance

Requirements management

Requirements traceability

Design review

Design change management

Rolling stock

Railway signaling

Track systems

Electromechanical systems

Civil infrastructure interfaces

Factory Acceptance Testing

Operational Scenario Testing

OST

Testing and commissioning

Train operations during construction

Operational readiness

Maintenance readiness

Education

Degree or diploma in relevant engineering/railway/transportation/operations/technical discipline

Job description

Lead Operation and Maintenance - Metro Systems Job Snapshot Role: Lead Operation and Maintenance - Metro Systems Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Industry: Transportation-Trucking-Railroad Function: Facilities Management-Maintenance Experience: Minimum 15 years Job Type: Full-time

Position Overview Lead Operation and Maintenance - Metro Systems in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a senior Transportation-Trucking-Railroad opportunity for an experienced metro operations specialist with extensive knowledge of automatic railway systems, operability, maintainability, OCC operations, testing, commissioning, and system assurance. The role will oversee Operation and Maintenance requirements across metro subsystems and verify that contractor designs, procedures, equipment, and operational documentation comply with contractual requirements and international railway standards.

Job Details Country: Saudi Arabia City: Riyadh Industry: Transportation-Trucking-Railroad Function: Facilities Management-Maintenance Salary: 35000-55000 Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer. Gender: Any Candidate Nationality: Any Job Type: Full-time

Role Context

The Lead Operation and Maintenance specialist acts as the principal technical authority for metro operability and maintainability throughout design, construction, testing, commissioning, trial operations, and early service phases. The position ensures that signaling, rolling stock, track, communications, electromechanical systems, civil interfaces, and operational control functions can be safely operated and efficiently maintained once the railway enters service. By challenging contractor submissions and translating operational requirements into measurable design criteria, the role reduces lifecycle risk and strengthens long-term metro reliability.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead technical reviews of Operation and Maintenance documentation submitted by contractors.
• Prepare structured review reports in accordance with project schedules, quality procedures, and contractual requirements.
• Assess contractor designs for compliance with operability, maintainability, and railway system requirements.
• Report non-compliance, technical deviations, unresolved issues, and submission risks during design progress meetings.
• Escalate significant concerns to the Package Manager, System Manager, and Design Manager.
• Prepare weekly progress reports covering Operation and Maintenance activities, outstanding submissions, risks, and required actions.
• Organize technical workshops with contractors to identify gaps, challenge proposed solutions, and establish corrective actions.
• Monitor contractor response times and ensure revised submissions are provided within agreed schedules.
• Act as the Engineer 's Operation and Maintenance specialist when advising the Employer on metro system matters. Provide specialist operational input across the full transportation system.
• Review operability and maintainability requirements for electromechanical systems, signaling, track, civil works, rolling stock, communications, and associated infrastructure.
• Evaluate interfaces between metro subsystems to ensure operational consistency.
• Translate railway operating requirements into clear design criteria for individual subsystems.
• Provide operational constraints and maintenance requirements to system designers.
• Confirm that subsystem designs remain compatible with overall metro operating concepts.
• Verify that operational requirements are correctly allocated to appropriate systems and equipment.
• Check traceability between requirements, design development, verification evidence, and final compliance.
• Define technical actions where requirements are incomplete, unclear, or inadequately addressed.
• Prepare technical requests and monitor responses through formal closeout.

Design change management will be a significant part of the position.

• Review proposed design modifications from an Operation and Maintenance perspective.
• Assess whether changes create operational, maintenance, safety, reliability, or interface impacts.
• Ensure approved changes are clearly communicated across affected disciplines.
• Verify that contractors incorporate approved modifications into relevant drawings, requirements, manuals, and operating procedures.
• Confirm consistency between subsystem design changes and overall railway system requirements.
• Maintain controlled communication of technical inputs to contractors and project stakeholders.
• Monitor unresolved change issues and elevate potential non-compliance where appropriate.

Testing and commissioning activities will require active specialist participation.

• Attend Factory Acceptance Tests for major metro equipment and systems.
• Participate in testing activities conducted locally and internationally.
• Support Operational Scenario Tests and other integrated system verification activities.
• Review test results from an operability and maintainability perspective.
• Participate in system demonstrations and trial running activities.
• Support management of train operations during construction and testing phases.
• Verify that operational interfaces are appropriately controlled during construction activities.
• Identify operational deficiencies discovered during testing and ensure corrective measures are developed.
• Coordinate with testing, commissioning, systems, safety, and contractor teams to resolve operational concerns.

The role will also assess readiness for passenger operations and long-term maintenance.

• Review contractor training strategies, training plans, course structures, modules, and staff preparedness programs.
• Assess whether training content provides adequate preparation for railway operations and maintenance teams.
• Review operating rules and procedures covering normal, abnormal, emergency, and degraded operating modes.
• Examine Operation and Maintenance manuals for completeness, usability, technical accuracy, and contractual compliance.
• Verify that procedures reflect approved system design and operating concepts.
• Assess staffing and operational readiness requirements during testing and commissioning.
• Support preparation for system demonstrations and partial and final trial runs.
• During the Defect Liability period, evaluate the quality of services delivered by the appointed Operation and Maintenance entity.
• Identify deficiencies affecting service reliability, safety, maintainability, or operational performance.
• Recommend corrective measures and follow up implementation.

Effective reporting and stakeholder coordination will remain essential throughout the assignment.

• Participate in multidisciplinary design, systems, operations, and project coordination meetings.
• Communicate technical concerns clearly while maintaining appropriate confidentiality and professional discretion.
• Coordinate with contractors, consultants, client representatives, subsystem specialists, and external stakeholders.
• Maintain reliable records of technical comments, responses, decisions, and outstanding matters.
• Provide timely information required for project management decisions.
• Ensure Operation and Maintenance considerations remain visible throughout design and delivery rather than being addressed only at commissioning.
• Support development of reliable project reporting covering compliance, operational readiness, and maintenance preparedness.

Ideal Profile

• Degree or diploma in a relevant engineering, railway, transportation, operations, or technical discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of professional experience in metro Operation and Maintenance.
• Demonstrated involvement in at least three automatic metro line projects.
• Experience gained across at least three different countries.
• Minimum 5 years of proven field experience involving Operations Control Centre operations and live metro line operations.
• Extensive understanding of automatic metro operating principles and maintenance requirements.
• Strong familiarity with signaling, rolling stock, track, communications, electromechanical systems, and civil infrastructure interfaces.
• Experience reviewing contractor designs from an operational and maintenance perspective.
• Strong knowledge of testing, commissioning, system demonstration, and trial-running processes.
• Practical experience reviewing operational rules, procedures, and maintenance manuals.
• Ability to evaluate normal, degraded, abnormal, and emergency railway operating scenarios.
• Experience participating in Factory Acceptance Tests and integrated system testing.
• Strong understanding of operational readiness and training preparation.
• Ability to identify non-compliance and challenge technical solutions constructively.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management capability within complex international projects.
• Comfortable providing expert recommendations to senior project and client leadership.

Skills Set

• Metro Operation and Maintenance
• Automatic metro systems
• Railway operations
• Operations Control Centre
• OCC operations
• Metro line operations
• Operability assessment
• Maintainability assessment
• System assurance
• Requirements management
• Requirements traceability
• Design compliance
• Subsystem integration
• Design review
• Design change management
• Rolling stock
• Railway signaling
• Track systems
• Communication systems
• Electromechanical systems
• Civil infrastructure interfaces
• Railway system integration
• Factory Acceptance Testing
• FAT
• Operational Scenario Testing
• OST
• Testing and commissioning
• Trial runs
• System demonstration
• Operational readiness
• Maintenance readiness
• Railway operating procedures
• Degraded mode operations
• Emergency operating procedures
• Operation and Maintenance manuals
• Training plan review
• Contractor technical review
• Compliance reporting
• Railway lifecycle management
• Defect Liability period
• Metro service quality assessment
• Technical workshop leadership
• Stakeholder coordination

Why Join Us

This position offers the opportunity to influence the operational readiness and long-term performance of a major metro program within Saudi Arabia 's expanding Transportation-Trucking-Railroad sector. The role provides senior-level exposure across automatic train operations, OCC functions, subsystem integration, testing and commissioning, operational procedures, maintenance strategy, and contractor compliance. For an experienced railway specialist, it offers a strong platform to shape how a complex metro system transitions from design and construction into safe, reliable, and maintainable passenger operations.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation delivers engineering, transportation, infrastructure, program management, construction management, and technology services across major international projects. Its Saudi Arabia teams support complex transportation programs where systems integration, operational readiness, testing, maintenance planning, and lifecycle performance are critical to successful railway delivery.