Chief Engineering Officer

The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), operator of the South Shore Line Railroad, is seeking an experienced railroad engineering leader to serve as Chief Engineering Officer. This is a senior railroad operating and maintenance leadership position with direct responsibility for the safety, inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, reliability, regulatory compliance, and state of good repair of NICTD Engineering Department infrastructure, including Track, Structures, Line, and Signal. The Chief Engineering Officer leads NICTD's Engineering Department and is expected to be a visible, hands-on field leader. The successful candidate will establish clear standards, enforce railroad operating and safety rules consistently, develop supervisors and employees, identify infrastructure risks before they become failures, and ensure that work is properly planned, documented, and executed.

With safety at the front of mind, the Chief Engineering Officer is accountable for the safe condition and regulatory compliance of infrastructure under the Engineering Department's control and for building a department in which employees understand that production, schedule, and cost never take priority over safe work practices, regulatory compliance, accurate inspection and testing, and safe railroad operations.

The Chief Engineering Officer works closely with the Senior Director of Capital Projects and Structures. The Chief Engineering Officer remains accountable for the safe condition, inspection, maintenance, repair, and operational availability of Engineering Department assets, while the Senior Director provides senior structural technical expertise and leads assigned major capital rehabilitation, replacement, and construction projects.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Safety Leadership

• Provide visible, hands-on safety leadership for the Engineering Department, including regular field observations, work-site visits, job briefing observations, and infrastructure inspections.
• Establish and maintain a culture in which safe work practices, operating discipline, regulatory compliance, accurate reporting, and prompt correction of hazards are expected every day.
• Ensure employees and contractors comply with NICTD safety rules, applicable FRA regulations, Roadway Worker Protection requirements, Track Safety Standards, bridge worker safety requirements, and other applicable requirements.
• Ensure employees have the training, qualifications, tools, equipment, personal protective equipment, and supervision necessary to perform work safely.
• Review employee injuries, near misses, infrastructure failures, derailments, rule violations, and significant operating events involving Engineering; identify root causes and ensure corrective actions are implemented and closed.
• Ensure reported hazards and safety concerns are evaluated promptly, and corrective actions are tracked to completion.
• Exercise authority to stop or restrict work, impose appropriate operating restrictions, increase inspection or monitoring, or remove infrastructure from service when conditions warrant.
• Report significant safety, regulatory, infrastructure, and service risks promptly and accurately to executive leadership.
• Work closely with NICTD Safety and Transportation leadership to improve employee safety, infrastructure safety, and railroad operating safety.

Track and Right-of-Way

• Direct the inspection, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and renewal of NICTD track and related right-of-way infrastructure.
• Ensure compliance with 49 CFR Part 213 - Track Safety Standards, applicable NICTD standards, and accepted railroad engineering practices.
• Ensure required inspections are properly performed, accurately documented, appropriately reviewed, and followed by timely corrective action.
• Establish maintenance priorities based on safety risk, asset condition, operating requirements, inspection findings, failure history, and available resources.
• Monitor track geometry, rail condition, switches, turnouts, roadbed, drainage, crossings, and related infrastructure for conditions affecting safety, reliability, ride quality, or train performance.
• Develop preventive and predictive maintenance practices intended to identify deterioration before it results in unsafe conditions or service disruption.
• Establish appropriate slow orders or other operating restrictions when required and aggressively manage corrective work necessary to safely remove restrictions.
• Plan and direct seasonal infrastructure programs and preparations for winter, extreme heat, drainage events, severe weather, vegetation, and other conditions affecting railroad infrastructure.
• Coordinate maintenance and construction activities with Transportation and other departments to minimize unnecessary service impacts while maintaining safety as the controlling priority.

Line and Signal

• Direct the safe inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, reliability, and state of good repair of NICTD signal systems, highway-rail grade crossing warning systems, and line infrastructure assigned to the Engineering Department.
• Ensure compliance with applicable requirements of 49 CFR Parts 234 and 236, NICTD standards, manufacturer requirements, and accepted railroad signal and communications practices.
• Ensure required signal and grade-crossing inspections, tests, records, and reports are completed accurately, reviewed appropriately, retained as required, and followed by timely corrective action.
• Establish preventive and corrective maintenance programs for signal, crossing-warning, and line assets based on safety risk, regulatory requirements, failure history, asset condition, service reliability, and lifecycle needs.
• Monitor signal failures, crossing-warning activations and failures, trouble calls, repeat defects, and other performance indicators; identify root causes and ensure effective corrective actions are implemented.
• Ensure Signal and Line employees are properly trained, qualified, equipped, and supervised to perform assigned work safely and in compliance with applicable regulations and NICTD requirements.
• Coordinate signal and line outages, testing, cutovers, temporary arrangements, and maintenance activities with Transportation and other affected departments to protect railroad operations and minimize unnecessary service impacts.
• Maintain appropriate emergency-response capability for signal failures, crossing-warning system failures, storm damage, utility interruptions, and other conditions affecting safe railroad operations.
• Work closely with the Senior Director of Capital Projects and Structures on capital projects affecting signal, crossing, line, and related Engineering Department assets. The Chief Engineering Officer retains responsibility for the safe operation, inspection, maintenance, and regulatory compliance of those assets following turnover.
• Participate in design, constructability, maintainability, testing, commissioning, acceptance, and turnover reviews for capital projects affecting Line and Signal systems.

Bridges and Structures

• Maintain departmental responsibility for the safe condition, inspection, maintenance, repair, and operational availability of NICTD bridges, culverts, retaining structures, and other structures assigned to the Engineering Department.
• Ensure bridge inspection and management activities comply with applicable FRA bridge safety requirements, NICTD policies, and accepted railroad engineering practices.
• Ensure structural defects and deficiencies are documented, evaluated, prioritized, monitored, and corrected within appropriate timeframes.
• Implement operating restrictions, increased inspection frequency, monitoring, temporary repairs, or removal from service when structural conditions require immediate action.
• Work closely with the Senior Director of Capital Projects and Structures to evaluate significant structural conditions, develop repair and rehabilitation strategies, establish capital priorities, and plan major bridge and structural improvements.
• Jointly evaluate significant structural deficiencies with the Senior Director. The Chief Engineering Officer retains responsibility for immediate safe operation and maintenance of the railroad; the Senior Director provides senior structural technical and capital-project expertise.
• Provide maintenance history, inspection findings, operational requirements, and field knowledge needed to develop and execute bridge and structural capital projects.
• Participate in design, constructability, maintainability, testing, commissioning, and acceptance reviews for capital projects affecting Engineering Department assets.
• Coordinate Engineering Department participation in assigned capital projects without transferring supervision of Engineering Department employees to the Senior Director.
• Coordinate with the Senior Director to ensure appropriate inspection, testing, as-built documentation, training, spare materials, warranties, and other turnover requirements are satisfied before completed assets enter routine Engineering Department maintenance.

Department Leadership and Workforce Development

• Lead, supervise, develop, and evaluate Engineering Department supervisors and employees across Track, Structures, Line, and Signal functions.
• Establish clear performance expectations and ensure employees understand their responsibilities for safety, compliance, quality, productivity, and railroad service.
• Spend sufficient time in the field to understand actual infrastructure conditions, employee performance, work practices, and departmental needs.
• Develop supervisors into effective frontline leaders capable of managing safety, people, production, and operating requirements.
• Conduct timely and meaningful performance evaluations, recognize strong performance, and address deficient performance promptly and consistently.
• Ensure appropriate staffing, qualification, training, succession planning, and employee development.
• Maintain effective working relationships with represented employees and labor organizations while consistently administering NICTD policies, rules, and collective bargaining agreements.
• Participate in employee investigations and corrective or disciplinary processes as appropriate.

Inspection, Compliance and Asset Condition

• Maintain effective inspection, documentation, and compliance programs for Engineering Department assets.
• Ensure required inspection, maintenance, testing, qualification, and regulatory records are accurate, complete, current, and auditable.
• Maintain current knowledge of FRA regulations, AREMA recommended practices, industry standards, technology, and railroad maintenance practices.
• Work professionally and cooperatively with FRA inspectors and other regulatory agencies and ensure regulatory and internal audit findings receive prompt corrective action.
• Use inspection results, asset-condition information, failure data, slow orders, maintenance history, and other performance information to establish maintenance priorities.
• Develop meaningful measures of infrastructure condition, safety performance, maintenance effectiveness, slow-order exposure, and departmental performance and report emerging risks to executive leadership.

Maintenance Planning and State of Good Repair

• Develop short- and long-range maintenance plans for Engineering Department assets.
• Establish annual production and maintenance programs based on infrastructure condition, safety risk, operational needs, and available resources.
• Identify infrastructure approaching the end of its useful life and develop repair, rehabilitation, or replacement recommendations.
• Work collaboratively with the Senior Director of Capital Projects and Structures and other NICTD leadership to develop long-range capital priorities.
• Ensure maintenance, inspection, operability, and lifecycle requirements are incorporated into capital project planning and design.
• Identify opportunities to improve inspection, maintenance, productivity, reliability, and employee safety through technology, equipment, training, and improved work practices.
• Maintain appropriate emergency-response plans and resources for derailments, washouts, bridge strikes, severe weather, infrastructure failures, and other significant events.

Budget, Resources and Contractors

• Develop and manage Engineering Department operating and maintenance budgets and participate in development of capital budgets and long-range infrastructure investment plans.
• Manage labor, equipment, materials, contractors, and other resources efficiently without compromising safety, regulatory compliance, or infrastructure condition.
• Monitor expenditures and forecasts and identify significant variances or emerging financial requirements.
• Maintain appropriate inventories of critical track and structural materials for routine and emergency repairs.
• Evaluate maintenance equipment needs and develop replacement and acquisition recommendations.
• Ensure contractors performing Engineering Department work meet NICTD safety, quality, contractual, and performance requirements.

Capital Project Coordination

• Serve as the Engineering Department's principal operating and maintenance stakeholder for capital projects affecting track, bridges, structures, drainage, roadway, and related assets.
• Work collaboratively with the Senior Director of Capital Projects and Structures throughout planning, design, construction, testing, commissioning, acceptance, and turnover of assigned projects.
• Provide Engineering Department resources and technical input through the appropriate Engineering Department supervisory chain. The Senior Director does not directly supervise Engineering Department employees.
• Review proposed designs for safety, railroad operability, maintainability, lifecycle cost, constructability, inspection requirements, and impacts to train service.
• Coordinate track outages, work windows, protection requirements, inspections, testing, and other Engineering Department support needed for project delivery.
• Accept completed capital improvements into routine Engineering Department inspection and maintenance after appropriate turnover requirements have been satisfied.

Interdepartmental and Operational Coordination

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