Senior Rail Operations Planning Lead

Jacobs; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Jacobs’ US Northeast Transportation Planning team seeks a Senior Rail Operations Planning Lead to optimize rail network performance and drive data-driven decisions. You will lead operational plans balancing capacity, efficiency, safety, and customer commitments, collaborating with cross-functional stakeholders to deliver measurable results.

You’ll focus on projects in the New York Metro region while supporting initiatives in New England, developing a national/global rail operations center of

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree
• Substantial professional (post graduate) experience
• Familiarity with transit and railroad operations
• Experience working in railroad Transportation departments working on trains and field management positions.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to regional commuter rail strategies through project management and technical delivery oversight.
• Advance an integrated approach to rail infrastructure design and service planning; manage rail network simulation projects/tasks.
• Contribute to preliminary and final design of rail infrastructure projects across intercity, regional/commuter, freight, high-speed rail and urban transit.
• Interface with clients including railroads, passenger rail agencies and modelers.
• Translate client goals into deliverable modeling tasks.
• Propose solutions to new problems by adapting procedures and methods.
• Identify, troubleshoot, and debug model logic and service plan conflicts.
• Provide guidance to modelers/analysts and interpret railroad operating rules.
• Verify modeling outputs are realistic and client-aligned.
• Ensure reports/presentations clearly communicate results.
• Coordinate with other rail planning disciplines and design teams.
• Work within budget/schedule with limited supervision.
• Support growth of the US Northeast Transportation Planning team.

Skills

Rail operations

Transportation planning

Data analytics

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Client relations

MS Office

Education

Bachelor degree

Tools

RTC COTS

RailSim

TrainOps

OpenTrack

Job description

Your impact

Join Jacobs’ US Northeast Transportation Planning team to help shape the future of rail transportation through strategic planning, operational excellence, and data-driven decision making. As the Senior Rail Operations Planning Lead, you will play a pivotal role in optimizing network performance, enhancing service reliability, and driving innovative solutions that improve the movement of people and goods across the rail system.

In this role, you will lead the development and execution of operational plans that balance capacity, efficiency, safety, and customer commitments. You will partner with cross-functional stakeholders to evaluate service performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and implement strategies that strengthen operational resilience. Using data analytics, forecasting, and scenario modeling, you will translate complex operational challenges into actionable plans that deliver measurable results.

The Senior Rail Operations Planning Lead will focus primarily on winning and delivering projects in the New York Metro region, however it is expected that the Lead will contribute to pursuits and projects in New England as needed. The Rail Operations Planning lead will work with local, national and global rail leaders and transportation account managers to create a national and global rail operations center of excellence within Jacobs.

Summary

The position includes responsibility for project management, staff mentoring, and business development. The Rail Operations Planning Lead will work with the US NE Transportation Planning group and support a broad range of technical assignments.

Responsibilities will include

• Contributing to regional commuter rail strategies for rail and transit clients through project management and technical delivery oversight.
• Advancing an integrated approach to rail infrastructure design and service planning and overall responsibility for managing rail network simulation projects/tasks
• Contributing to preliminary design and final design of rail infrastructure projects as appropriate, including intercity rail, regional/commuter rail, freight rail and high-speed rail, heavy metro and light rail in the east region and throughout the United States
• Interfaces with clients including railroads, passenger rail agencies and modelers.
• Translates client goals into deliverable modeling tasks.
• Proposes solutions to new problems by adapting standard procedures or methods.
• Identifies, troubleshoots, and debugs model logic and/or service plan conflicts.
• Provides guidance to modelers/analysts
• Interpret and advise on modeling logic and railroad operating rules as necessary
• Verify modeling outputs results are realistic and client aligned
• Ensures that all operations model results are communicated in clear, digestible reports and presentations
• Coordinates and iterates with other rail planning disciplines including design teams
• Performs work in accordance with agreed upon budget and schedule with little supervision.
• Participates in the growth of the US Northeast Transportation Planning team.

Here’s what you’ll need

• Bachelor degree
• Substantial professional (post graduate) of relevant experience
• Familiarity with transit and railroad operations
• Experience working in railroad Transportation departments working on trains and field management positions.

You also should have

• Familiarity with some or all of the following software RTC COTS, RailSim, TrainOps, OpenTrack.
• Familiarity with Northeast Corridor (NEC) operations and connection to MNR/LIRR/NJTRANSIT.
• Expertise in rail operations, transportation planning, network optimization, analytics, and stakeholder engagement.
• Familiarity with rolling stock and maintenance requirements including passenger and freight equipment
• Familiarity with rail infrastructure such as track and signal systems
• Experience with business development and client relations
• Familiarity with passenger rail-sponsoring agencies (DOT’s, rail authorities, Amtrak, etc.)
• Familiarity with Federal Railroad Administration discretionary grant programs including Corridor Identification and Development Program
• Demonstrate leadership skills and communication skills requiring client interaction
• Ability to work with various multi-disciplined teams as part of a matrix management system
• Provide in-depth Quality Control and Quality Assurance for design/project management/program management
• Familiar with MS Office software

Our health and welfare benefits are designed to invest in you, and in the things you care about. Your health. Your well-being. Your security. Your future. Employees have access to medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance, a 401(k) plan, and the ability to purchase company stock at a discount. Eligible employees may also enroll in a deferred compensation plan or the Executive Deferral Plan. Jacobs has an unlimited U.S. Personalized Paid Time Off (PPTO) policy for full-time salaried/exempt employees, seven paid holidays, and caregiver leave. And certain roles may be eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases, performance discretionary bonus, and stock.

The base salary range for this position is $200,000.00 to $300,000.00. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

We value collaboration and believe that in-person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

Your application experience is important to us, and we’re keen to adapt to make every interaction even better. If you require further support or reasonable adjustments with regards to the recruitment process (for example, you require the application form in a different format), please contact the team via Careers Support.