Technical Director-Train Control/ATS

Parsons; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons is seeking a Technical Director to lead complex ATS/CBTC initiatives for major North American transit agencies. You will oversee technical strategy, design reviews, and vendor coordination to ensure safe, reliable operations.

The role requires senior leadership, deep rail signaling expertise, and the ability to drive cross-functional collaboration among stakeholders, engineers, and program teams in high-visibility environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related technical field.
• 20+ years of related work experience.
• 10+ years of experience implementing software-based rail systems.
• Strong understanding of Centralized Traffic Control, Vital/Non-vital Interlocking, CBTC systems.
• Experience with ATS/SCADA and centralized supervision systems.

Responsibilities

• Chair technical working groups, lead meetings, and support client discussions with CBTC/ATS vendors.
• Manage teams evaluating upgrades and new technology to minimize downtime and improve performance.
• Lead direct teams and communicate with clients, project teams, and vendor reps across levels.
• Oversee ATS/CBTC projects for large transit networks in North America.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder Management

CBTC Systems

ATS

Software Development

Systems Integration

Cybersecurity Basics

Client-facing

ConOps Development

Requirements Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering/ communications/ mathematics/ Data Science or related technical field

Job description

Job Description:

Parson's has a career opportunity for someone with solid leadership experience who leads with confidence, navigates complex technical challenges, and brings people together around practical solutions. If you have the ability to see the big picture as well as the operational details, understand how critical Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) performance is for safe, reliable transit operations and who can drive progress across technical, operational, and stakeholder teams and thrive in high-visibility environments where leadership, coordination, and technical judgment matter every day, we'd like to hear from you. If you have are looking for an opportunity where you will be responsible for working on complex Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) and Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) initiatives that support essential transit operations, then consider joining our team as a Technical Director. You will lead projects and teams in North America for large transit agencies such as New York City Transit (NYCT), Washington Metro, Sound Transit focused on technical oversight of ATS, evaluating system upgrades, and coordinating with stakeholders and vendors on critical ATS-related improvements and issue resolution.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Chairing the technical working groups, conducting and leading technical meetings, and supporting client teams in discussions with CBTC/ATS suppliers related to robust designs, installation/ implementations, enhanced features, operational impacts, performance and reliability improvements.
• Managing teams that assess the feasibility of proposed upgrades, introduction of new technology and product platforms, contributing to the development of operational concepts and requirements, and ensuring that technical, operational, maintenance, and owner stakeholders are aligned on strategies that minimize downtime and support system performance.
• Leads direct teams, SMEs, exhibit strong organizational skills support by a strong technical background, and be highly effective at communicating with clients, project teams, department leaders, and vendor representatives across a range of technical and management levels.
• If you are energized by mission-critical rail technology, systems integration, and the opportunity to support one of the most demanding transit environments in North America, this position, and Parsons, is for you.

What Required Skills You'll Bring:

• Bachelor's in engineering/ communications/ mathematics/ Data Science or related technical field.
• 20+ years of related work experience
• 10+ years of experience in implementation of software-based rail systems.
• Strong understanding of Centralized Traffic Control Systems, Vital and Non-vital Signal Interlocking Control Systems, and CBTC systems.
• Strong experience in software development, product life cycle development of Automatic Train Supervision (ATS), SCADA and other centralized supervision systems and interfaces
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build consensus and lead technical working group discussions.
• Ability to work effectively in a client-facing environment with service and delivery managers, department heads, program managers, and construction managers.
• Familiarity with typical transit operating rules for CBTC and non-CBTC trains in both revenue and non-revenue service.
• Knowledge of control center operational strategies, field control capabilities, and the operational and maintenance roles of NYCT departments.
• In-depth knowledge of ATS system capabilities specific to large rapid transit networks, including schedule and timetable management, route management, trip management, train regulation, and train reporting functions.
• Experience with real-time, mission-critical server-client architecture and models.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices, communications networking, systems engineering and integration, and software development principles.
• Ability to lead a team of technical/ project staff for project delivery and opportunity pursuits for Train Control/ ATS / CBTC systems
• Ability to manage/ perform technical feasibility studies, requirements management, operational workforce development, CONOPS development and collaborate with client/project stakeholders and user communities to define business and operational needs