Senior Project Manager

Luster National; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited flexible time off

Paid holidays

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) plan with employer contribution

Professional development

Job summary

Luster National seeks Senior Project Managers to lead large, complex heavy civil rail programs in Sacramento, CA. You will manage work packages across design, testing, energization, and handover, with 25%–50% travel.

Responsibilities include coordinating traction power, OCS, and signaling interfaces with civil teams, and ensuring cost, schedule, and quality targets are met. Ideal candidates have 10+ years in rail project management for major DOT or transit programs, strong leadership, and a

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, systems engineering, telecommunications engineering, railway engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of rail systems or electrical project management experience on large, complex transit programs.
• Experience delivering traction power, OCS, or communications systems across full lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Oversee rail systems work packages from design through testing and handover.
• Manage cost, schedule, scope, risk, and contractor delivery for assigned work packages.
• Coordinate interfaces between traction power, OCS, signaling, and other disciplines with civil teams.
• Review design packages, submittals, and studies; track comments to closure.
• Conduct field reviews to ensure conformity with drawings and standards.

Skills

Strong communication

Multi-tasking

Leadership

Problem solving

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

We’re seeking Senior Project Managers to support large, complex heavy civil infrastructure programs, including highways, roads, bridges and transit (bus and rail), delivered through both traditional and alternative delivery methods. You’ll oversee delivery of rail systems on a major passenger rail program in several areas, including traction power, OCS, or wayside communications. We’re looking for real depth in one or more, plus the project management discipline to carry work packages from design through testing, energization, and handover to operations.

These are long-term, full-time, on-site positions located in Sacramento, CA, with 25% to 50% travel required.

Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Oversee rail systems work packages in traction power, OCS, or wayside communications, from design and procurement to field installation, testing, energization, and handover to operations.
• Maintain accountability for cost, schedule, scope, risk, and contractor delivery on assigned work packages, and support forecasting, change management, and executive reporting.
• Coordinate interfaces between systems disciplines (traction power, OCS, signaling, communications, and SCADA) and the civil, track, structures, stations, maintenance facility, and operations teams.
• May review design packages, equipment submittals, and technical studies for the assigned discipline (such as load flow and protection studies for traction power, catenary layouts for OCS, or network and radio coverage designs for communications), and track comments through to closure.
• Perform field reviews of installation progress, and verify that installed work conforms to approved drawings, specifications, governing standards, and safety requirements.
• Coordinate approvals from utilities, host railroads, regulators, local jurisdictions, and authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), including utility interconnections, energization authorizations, and permit conditions.
• Coordinate outage planning, electrical safety for railway work, and readiness for energization and operations.
• Oversee test plans and commissioning procedures, including Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), System Integration Testing (SIT), and dynamic testing across systems disciplines.
• Coordinate resolution of field issues, Requests for Information (RFIs), design changes, utility conflicts, and installation sequencing constraints.
• Support closeout of defects and punch list items, commissioning and acceptance records, revenue service demonstration, and the start of passenger operations.

Attributes

• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent multi-tasking and organizational skills.
• Collaborative mindset that fosters teamwork, trust, and positive relationships.
• Natural curiosity, problem-solving abilities, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Steady leadership and stakeholder management with technical teams, utilities, and regulators.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, systems engineering, telecommunications engineering, or railway engineering, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 10+ years of rail systems or electrical project management experience for large, complex, heavy civil passenger transit or DOT infrastructure programs.
• Experience delivering traction power, OCS, or communications systems across the full lifecycle, from design to commissioning and system acceptance.
• Experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams, contractors, equipment suppliers, and consultants across interfacing systems.
• Experience obtaining approvals from utilities, regulators, host railroads, or AHJs.
• Experience with integrated testing programs, including FAT, SAT, and energization or system integration testing.
• Technical grounding in railway electrification or railway communications systems, such as traction return, grounding and bonding, fiber and IP networks, or radio systems.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite/Office 365 (e.g., Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, systems engineering, telecommunications engineering, or railway engineering.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification (Project Management Institute), Professional Engineer (PE) license, PRINCE2 certification, or comparable engineering or project management credential.
• High-speed rail experience on lines operating above 125 mph (200 km/h), or experience on another electrified passenger railway, including dynamic testing and the start of passenger operations.
• Cost and schedule accountability for contracts valued at $250M or more.
• Background in 25kV AC traction power or high-speed catenary systems, or in wayside radio, dispatch, IP/MPLS, LTE, or FRMCS communications networks.
• Working knowledge of FRA, AREMA, EN 50119, and FCC requirements as they apply to railway electrification and communications.
• Experience in an owner’s representative, program management, or construction management capacity.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Power BI, Oracle Cloud Analytics, or other dashboard KPI reporting software.

Expected Salary: $140k-$200k/year ($67-$96/hour). Luster provides the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might offer for this position based on the successful candidate’s level and years of experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, education, certifications, licenses, geographic location, etc. Luster reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range depending on circumstances not related to any status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

Just LOOK at the Benefits We Offer!

• Unlimited flexible time off
• Paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Flexible spending accounts (healthcare and dependent or elder care)
• Long-term disability insurance
• Short-term disability insurance
• Life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment
• 401(k) plan with guaranteed employer contribution
• Formal career planning and development program
• $2,500 annually toward professional development
• Wellness program with monthly wellness stipend
• Company cell phone or cell phone plan reimbursement
• Free personalized meal planning and nutrition support with a registered dietitian
• Free personal financial planning services
• Employee assistance program
• Employee referral bonus

Specific plan details and coverage for each benefit noted above will be provided upon offer.

Luster is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to criminal history, race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

The employer will participate in E-Verify and will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee’s I-9 to confirm work authorization.

All positions may be subject to a background check and drug test once a conditional offer of employment is made for any convictions directly related to its duties and responsibilities, in accordance with all applicable local, state, and/or federal regulations.

This job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position.

Luster does not accept unsolicited resumes from any third-party. In the absence of a signed agreement, Luster will not consider or agree to payment of any kind. Any unsolicited resumes presented to Luster personnel, including those submitted to Luster hiring managers, are deemed to be the property of Luster.