Project Manager - Overhead Contact System

Jaquith Consulting Group Inc; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Dental insurance

Health insurance

Paid time off

Vision insurance

Job summary

Jaquith Consulting Group is seeking a Project Manager, Overhead Contact System (OCS), to support the delivery of 25kV AC railway electrification on the California High-Speed Rail program.

You will oversee scope, schedule, budget, and risk across OCS work packages, coordinating with traction power, signaling, track, and compliance stakeholders.

Based in Sacramento with 25–50% travel, you will lead safety, energization readiness, testing, and handover to revenue service.

Qualifications

• Ten+ years delivering railway electrification/OCS projects
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and contractors
• Experience coordinating with utility providers, regulators, and operators
• Strong knowledge of railway electrification systems and OCS interfaces

Responsibilities

• Lead OCS project delivery from design through energization and handover
• Own scope, schedule, budget, risk for OCS work packages
• Coordinate with traction power, signaling, track, structures, and operations teams
• Oversee testing, energization readiness, and safety programs
• Engage with utilities, regulators, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related

Job description

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Client / Engagement: California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA)
Location: Sacramento, California (on-site), up to 50% travel
Salary Range: $140,000-$220,000 (based on experience)
Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Summary

Jaquith Consulting Group is looking for a Project Manager, Overhead Contact System (OCS) to support the delivery of 25kV AC railway electrification infrastructure on the California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) Program. The position covers catenary systems, registration equipment, cantilever assemblies, auto-tensioning systems, sectioning and paralleling facilities, switching infrastructure, neutral sections and overlap zones, grounding and bonding systems, traction return systems, and OCS monitoring, from design through procurement, installation, testing, commissioning, energization, and operational handover.

In this role, the Project Manager is accountable for scope, schedule, budget, risk, contractor performance, and delivery milestones across OCS work packages, and coordinates delivery with traction power, signaling, communications, track, structures, stations, maintenance facilities, operations, and maintenance. The position coordinates with utility providers, railroad operators, local jurisdictions, regulators, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction on the approvals required for energization and railway operation, and leads outage planning, electrical safety, energization readiness, and integrated testing programs.

Reporting to the Rail Systems Lead, the Project Manager supplies the Program with delivery accountability for railway electrification, verified installation and energization readiness, and the dynamic test and acceptance evidence required to support trial running and entry into revenue service. The position is based in Sacramento, California, with travel of 25 to 50 percent along the alignment.

Position Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of OCS systems throughout design, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, energization, and operational handover
• Maintain accountability for project scope, schedule, budget, risk management, contractor performance, and delivery milestones for OCS work packages
• Coordinate delivery activities between traction power, signaling, communications, track, structures, stations, maintenance facilities, operations, and maintenance teams
• Support delivery of catenary systems, contact and messenger wire systems, cantilever assemblies, registration equipment, and auto-tensioning systems
• Support delivery of sectioning and paralleling facilities, switching infrastructure, neutral sections, overlap zones, grounding and bonding systems, traction return systems, and OCS monitoring systems
• Provide leadership for railway electrical safety, outage planning, energization readiness, and operational readiness programs
• Coordinate with utility providers, railroad operators, local jurisdictions, regulators, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction
• Support approval processes associated with energization, railway operations, and electrification infrastructure
• Coordinate responses to technical reviews, stakeholder comments, and system acceptance requirements
• Support technical oversight of contractor installation activities and system implementation
• Coordinate resolution of technical issues, field changes, interface challenges, and construction constraints
• Review installation readiness, testing readiness, and energization readiness across OCS work packages
• Lead execution of Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, integrated testing, dynamic testing, and energization programs
• Coordinate testing interfaces with traction power, signaling, communications, rolling stock, and operations systems
• Support defect resolution, punch-list closure, operational readiness, and entry into revenue service
• Support executive reporting, forecasting, change management, stakeholder engagement, and governance activities

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Railway Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related engineering discipline, or demonstrable on-the-job work experience, and a minimum of ten (10) years of experience delivering railway electrification or OCS infrastructure projects
• Minimum of ten (10) years of project management experience on transportation, railway, utility, or infrastructure programs
• Demonstrated experience delivering 25kV AC OCS systems from design through commissioning and operational service
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams, contractors, suppliers, and consultants
• Strong working knowledge of railway electrification systems, OCS interfaces, grounding and bonding, traction return systems, and railway operations
• Experience coordinating OCS delivery with traction power, signaling, track, structures, and rolling stock disciplines
• Experience leading outage planning, energization readiness, and railway electrical safety programs
• Experience managing approvals with utility providers, railroad operators, regulators, and Authorities Having Jurisdiction
• Experience leading Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, integrated testing, and energization programs
• Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Availability for travel of 25 to 50 percent along the alignment

Preferred Qualifications/ Certifications/ Licensures

• Experience on high-speed rail projects operating above 125 mph (200 km/h)
• Experience delivering high-speed catenary systems and electrification infrastructure
• Experience with EN 50119, AREMA, FRA, and railway electrification standards
• Experience supporting dynamic testing and pantograph-catenary interaction testing
• Experience supporting entry into revenue service on an electrified passenger railway
• Experience overseeing contracts exceeding $250 million
• PE, PMP, CEng, APM, or equivalent professional certification
• Experience with OCS monitoring systems and electrification asset condition management

Jaquith Consulting Group is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.