Senior Project Manager - Rail Systems

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 52,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons is seeking a Senior Project Manager for Rail Systems in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The role requires extensive rail systems engineering and delivery experience across signaling, telecoms, platform systems, and related interfaces.

The position emphasizes leadership in design management, risk mitigation, and regulatory coordination to ensure safety, quality, and on-time delivery for a major rail program.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related engineering discipline.
• Master's degree is advantageous.
• Professional registration such as CEng/PE is highly desirable.
• Project management certification such as PMP/PRINCE2 is an advantage.
• Typical 15 years of rail systems engineering experience on major projects.
• Experience coordinating with multiple contractors and authorities.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary technical focal point for rail systems.
• Represent the client in meetings with consultants, contractors and regulators.
• Interpret and protect employer requirements and standards.
• Provide technical guidance on safety, cost, and scope decisions.
• Manage rail systems design lifecycle from concept to close-out.
• Oversee signaling, train control, telecoms, and other line-wide systems.
• Review design reports and interface control documents for compliance.
• Lead design reviews and value engineering workshops.
• Track approvals and certifications for rail systems.

Skills

Rail systems project management

Systems integration

Technical assurance

Interface management

Risk management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Electronics/Telecommunications/Systems Engineering

Master's degree in Railway/Transportation Engineering (advantage)

PM/PRINCE2 or equivalent certification (advantage)

Job description

Senior Project Manager – Rail Systems – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Job Snapshot

• Industry: Transportation – Trucking – Railroad
• Function: Project‑Program Management
• Experience: 15 years in rail systems engineering and design‑build delivery
• Job Type: Full‑time
• Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Salary: 52,000‑72,000 (estimate; confirmed with employer)

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary technical focal point for rail systems within the integrated client office.
• Represent the client in technical, design, integration, risk, and coordination meetings with consultants, contractors, systems integrators, independent reviewers, and authorities.
• Interpret and protect employer requirements, system performance specifications, technical standards, and rail systems expectations throughout the project lifecycle.
• Provide objective technical advice to client leadership on rail systems issues, risks, delivery impact, cost implications, safety concerns, and scope decisions.
• Manage the rail systems design lifecycle from concept and preliminary design through detailed design review and technical close‑out.
• Oversee technical scope for signalling, train control, telecoms, radio, CCTV, PABX, passenger information, data networks, SCADA, platform systems, automatic fare collection, ticketing, access control, intrusion detection, public address, and other line‑wide systems.
• Review system design reports, drawings, architectures, specifications, interface control documents, and technical submissions for compliance with employer requirements, regulations, authority conditions, and industry standards.
• Lead multidisciplinary rail systems design reviews and value engineering workshops to support safe, robust, practical, and cost‑effective solutions.
• Ensure rail systems requirements are captured, traced, verified, validated, and closed out through structured requirements management processes.
• Oversee technical assurance activities including design verification, independent safety assessment coordination, configuration control, and formal technical reviews.
• Manage rail systems interfaces with track, rolling stock, braking curves, speed profiles, headways, power supply, traction power, stations, depots, equipment rooms, cable routes, MEP systems, control centres, and back‑office platforms.
• Maintain interface registers and interface control documents while ensuring early identification and resolution of cross‑system and cross‑contract issues.
• Support development of integrated system architecture and confirm compatibility, scalability, and alignment with normal, degraded, and emergency operational concepts.
• Coordinate with civil, MEP, architectural, and construction teams to ensure physical space, environmental conditions, access needs, and equipment requirements are embedded in designs.
• Apply safety‑by‑design principles across rail systems and support demonstration of system safety, availability, reliability, and maintainability targets.
• Review RAMS documentation including safety cases, hazard logs, risk assessments, FMEA, FTA, and safety assurance evidence.
• Coordinate with engineering, safety, independent safety assessors, regulators, and authorities to support safety approval processes and certification milestones.
• Track required approvals, licenses, certifications, and compliance evidence for rail systems in line with program milestones.
• Support definition and implementation of cyber‑security requirements for safety‑critical and business‑critical rail systems.
• Confirm that rail systems design is aligned with construction methodology, access constraints, phasing, and installation sequencing.
• Review contractors' installation strategies, cable routing plans, equipment room layouts, temporary works arrangements, and constructability proposals.
• Support evaluation of design changes, technical deviations, value engineering proposals, RFIs, non‑conformance reports, and site technical queries.
• Oversee quality of as‑built documentation and verify alignment with approved designs, configuration records, and technical requirements.
• Review testing and commissioning strategies, plans, and procedures covering factory acceptance tests, site acceptance tests, static tests, dynamic tests, integration tests, and trial running.
• Monitor testing and commissioning progress through reports, selective site attendance, readiness reviews, and defect trend analysis.
• Support formal system acceptance, performance demonstrations, and technical readiness reviews before handover.
• Coordinate with operations and maintenance stakeholders to ensure systems are operable, maintainable, and aligned with long‑term asset management strategies.
• Monitor rail systems design, procurement, installation, testing, and commissioning progress against the integrated master program.
• Identify schedule‑critical dependencies such as power‑on dates, track access windows, integration windows, and systems readiness constraints.
• Provide technical input to project controls and commercial teams on changes, claims, variations, mitigation plans, and recovery strategies.
• Maintain rail systems technical risk registers with clear assessment of likelihood, impact, mitigation ownership, and decision requirements.
• Prepare clear technical reports, risk summaries, status updates, and governance papers for client steering committees and senior decision‑makers.
• Coordinate with internal client stakeholders to ensure rail systems support operational concepts, customer service expectations, maintainability, and safety objectives.
• Interface with regulators, transport authorities, telecom providers, power providers, adjacent projects, developers, and infrastructure owners where approvals or interdependencies exist.
• Lead and mentor rail systems engineers and technical specialists within the integrated client‑PMC environment.
• Promote safety, technical excellence, quality discipline, collaboration, proactive risk management, and lessons learned across the rail systems team.
• Ensure QA and QC processes are applied to rail systems design and construction deliverables through structured reviews, audits, and technical checkpoints.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Telecommunications, Control Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Master's degree in Railway Systems, Transportation Engineering, Systems Engineering, or Project Management is an advantage.
• Professional registration or chartership such as CEng, PE, or an equivalent credential is highly desirable.
• Project management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent is an advantage.
• Typical 15 years of experience in rail systems engineering on major rail, metro, light rail, heavy rail, or high‑speed rail projects.
• Strong experience in PMC, client‑side, or major consultancy roles managing rail systems scope on design and build contracts.
• Proven track record in rail systems design management, systems integration, technical assurance, and complex multi‑contract program coordination.
• Demonstrable experience with signalling, train control, telecoms, SCADA, platform systems, fare collection, security systems, and line‑wide rail systems.
• Strong knowledge of systems engineering, integration, RAMS principles, interface control, requirements management, and technical governance.
• Experience coordinating with multiple contractors, consultants, OEMs, independent reviewers, authorities, and client stakeholders.
• Ability to assess technical submissions, identify risks, challenge assumptions, and guide teams toward safe and practical solutions.
• Strong planning, coordination, facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills in complex project environments.
• Highly effective written and spoken communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical issues to non‑technical decision‑makers.
• High level of professionalism, integrity, client‑service orientation, and commitment to safe project outcomes.
• Proficiency with standard office and project tools.
• Familiarity with requirements management tools, modelling or simulation tools, document control systems, and rail assurance platforms is an advantage.
• Fluency in English is required, while Arabic language ability is an advantage.

Skills Set

• Rail systems project management
• Rail systems design management
• Technical assurance
• Systems integration
• Interface management
• Signalling and train control
• Telecommunications systems
• SCADA
• Platform systems
• Automatic fare collection
• Ticketing systems
• Security systems
• Access control
• Intrusion detection
• Public address systems
• Passenger information systems
• Line‑wide systems
• Control centres
• Requirements management
• Verification and validation
• Configuration control
• Safety by design
• RAMS
• Safety cases
• Hazard logs
• FMEA
• FTA
• Cyber‑security requirements
• Factory acceptance testing
• Site acceptance testing
• Static testing
• Dynamic testing
• Trial running
• System acceptance
• Technical risk management
• Construction coordination
• Design‑build delivery
• RFI review
• Non‑conformance review
• Value engineering
• As‑built documentation
• QA and QC reviews
• Authority coordination
• Stakeholder management
• Client‑side rail delivery
• PMC coordination
• Contractor and OEM management
• Project controls support
• Governance reporting