Rail Design Manager

What You Will Do:

GFT is seeking an accomplished and collaborative Rail Design Manager to provide technical leadership and design oversight for complex rail and transit infrastructure projects in New Rochelle, NY. This role follows a hybrid work model, requiring regular attendance at our New Rochelle, NY office.

The Rail Design Manager provides technical leadership and oversight of the multidisciplinary design review and technical submittal process for complex rail and transit infrastructure projects. This role ensures design packages are technically complete, coordinated across disciplines, constructible, and aligned with client requirements and construction needs.

Serving as a primary day-to-day technical interface with the client, the Rail Design Manager manages design priorities, submittal workflows, interdisciplinary comment resolution, and technical escalations while proactively identifying risks that may impact construction, safety, schedules, railroad operations, testing, or commissioning.

What You'll Be Challenged to Do:

• Lead and oversee multidisciplinary design reviews and technical submittals across Civil, Structural, Track, Signals, Communications, Traction Power/OCS, Electrical, Mechanical, and related disciplines.
• Establish design quality standards, review checkpoints, and submission readiness criteria, applying Go / Hold / Revise decisions to ensure packages are complete, coordinated, and constructible before client submission.
• Develop and maintain standardized procedures for the end-to-end submittal process, including reviews, approvals, client transmission, comment resolution, resubmissions, tracking, and closeout.
• Serve as the primary day-to-day design interface with the client, coordinating priorities, managing expectations, resolving escalations, and aligning technical deliverables with project and construction needs.
• Coordinate design reviews, Requests for Information (RFIs), temporary works, and field-driven technical requirements while managing competing priorities and critical project deadlines.
• Lead interdisciplinary review comment resolution, ensuring responses are technically accurate, consistent, actionable, assigned to the appropriate discipline, and tracked through closure.
• Identify and manage design risks related to constructability, temporary works, construction sequencing, operational interfaces, and unresolved technical decisions.
• Evaluate design impacts on construction activities, safety, schedules, railroad outages, testing, commissioning, and operational readiness.
• Coordinate with Construction Management, Project Controls, Quality, Safety, Commissioning, and field teams to align design decisions and technical deliverables with project execution requirements.
• Monitor submittal schedules, outstanding comments, and critical technical issues, identifying bottlenecks and driving timely resolution.

Education | Experience:

What you will bring to our firm:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience in engineering design, technical coordination, or design management, preferably supporting railroad, transit, or major infrastructure programs.
• Demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary engineering design packages and formal technical submittal and review processes.
• Strong understanding of design development, constructability, construction sequencing, temporary works, and interfaces between engineering disciplines.
• Knowledge of railroad or transit operational interfaces and the relationship between design decisions, construction activities, testing, and commissioning.
• Proven ability to coordinate complex technical reviews, resolve interdisciplinary design issues, and manage competing priorities.
• Experience identifying and managing design risks that may affect safety, quality, schedule, construction, or operational readiness.
• Strong client-facing communication and relationship-management skills, with the ability to engage effectively with owners, consultants, contractors, and multidisciplinary technical teams.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to clearly communicate complex technical issues and recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Experience serving in an owner-representative, Program Management/Construction Management (PMCM), or similar project oversight capacity.
• Experience supporting major rail or transit capital improvement programs involving multiple technical disciplines and complex construction interfaces.
• Familiarity with design governance, quality assurance, technical review protocols, and formal submittal management systems.
• Experience coordinating technical deliverables within active rail or transit operating environments.

Compensation:

The salary range for this role is $228,000 - $250,000. Salary is dependent upon experience and geographic location.

Featured Benefits:

• Hybrid (in-person and remote) work environment.
• Comprehensive benefits package including wellness programs, parental leave, and pet insurance, in addition to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Tax-deferred 401(k) savings plan.
• Competitive paid-time-off (PTO) accrual.
• Tuition reimbursement for continued education.
• Commitment to professional development, access to internal and external training programs, and support of active participation in professional organizations
• Incentive compensation for eligible positions.

Company Overview:

At GFT, a privately held AEC firm, we innovate where transportation, water, power, and buildings converge. We call this the Infrastructure of Life. We measure our success by the strength of our relationships – that’s why we’re the employer of choice for 5,000+ of the industry’s brightest engineers, planners, architects, inspectors, designers, and more.

Our clients choose us for our expertise and prefer us for our nimble approach, creativity, and personal touch. Backed by over a century’s experience, together we’re building a lasting legacy for future generations: stronger communities, a healthier planet, and better lives.

GFT: Ingenuity That Shapes Lives™ is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veterans’ status or other characteristics protected by law.

Unsolicited resumes from third party agencies will be considered the property GFT.

GFT does require the successful completion of a criminal background check for all advertised positions.

Location: New Rochelle, NY Core Business Hours: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Employment Status: Full-Time