Senior Principal Engineer, AirTrain

Description

About the Role

AirTrain JFK is an elevated people mover system stretching 8.1 miles (13 km) through Queens, New York City. Serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), it operates 24/7 with a fully automated, driverless design. The AirTrain consists of three distinct lines—the Howard Beach Line, the Jamaica Line, and the Central Terminal Circulator—and stops at nine stations, including all JFK terminals, parking lots, rental car facilities, and key transfer points. Passengers can easily transfer between terminals or connect directly to the New York City Subway at Howard Beach station (A train) or via an enclosed walkway to the Long Island Railroad and subway (E, J, Z trains) at Jamaica Station. Since its opening in December 2003, AirTrain JFK has provided a reliable, weather-resistant link for millions of travelers each year.

Responsibilities

• This position serves as a subject matter expert on safety certification, technical specifications, engineering calculations, test procedures, and equipment/system performance data analysis for the AirTrain system’s ATC signaling, electrified track, JMUX, SCADA, network, communication equipment, and related software/hardware design. Reporting to the AirTrain Assistant Manager, this role manages contract staff for track, signaling, and communication infrastructure. Key duties include providing technical guidance on planning, scheduling, and auditing, and overseeing daily preventive/corrective maintenance, as well as safety certifications for system expansion or design changes.
• Project Management and Technical Oversight: Support signal and Automatic Train Control (ATC) projects, including lifecycle replacements, state-of-good-repair programs, and system upgrades. Coordinate with contractors and stakeholders, monitor schedules and deliverables, support technical reviews, and ensure alignment with operational and safety requirements.
• Operational Data Analysis & Technical Support: Support Rail Operations through technical analysis using programming (Python), Excel, Power BI, Power Automate, and other analytical software. Analyze ridership trends, fault data, survey results, reliability metrics, and other operational data to identify trends, inform decisions, improve performance, and address operational issues.
• Field Engineering and Troubleshooting: Inspect signal and ATC equipment rooms, wayside locations, and control facilities. Collaborate with Operations & Maintenance contractors and teams to investigate failures, verify fixes, and identify risks to reliability and availability.
• Build and maintain expertise in railroad signaling according to Federal Railroad Administration guidelines. Oversee technical and managerial tasks for signal system rehabilitation, maintenance, and improvements. Conduct rapid research on strategic issues. Coordinate planning studies and activities. Build relationships with peers at other railroad agencies.
• Ensures that assets and services are protected through proper inspections, maintenance, and repairs when needed for all track, signal, and communication infrastructure, including responding to and coordinating emergency incidents on the system, and provides assurance that signal inspections, maintenance, and operational tests are in compliance .
• Provide expert technical support and advice on test procedures, test requirements, and lead investigations to identify root causes of equipment and subsystem failures. Also, analyze and evaluate system performance levels, and make recommendations for hardware/software changes and upgrades.
• This position will communicate across departments to inform the organization about updates and improvements to equipment and systems. It will ensure responsibilities are completed, problems are addressed, and communications to all impacted teams are clear and thorough.
• Work with contractors to develop preventive and corrective maintenance plans that effectively and efficiently use the resources required to support Automatic Train Control (ATAC) engineering tests, software, and hardware changes. This position will develop and implement contingency plans for changes or events that affect planned work and ensure plans have the least impact on revenue service.
• Adhere to all safety rules, work processes/procedures, and monitor/audit activities to ensure that contractors are in compliance with safety rules and have the skills and certifications to participate in tests, software/hardware upgrades, and changes. This position will conduct safety risk analysis, inspections, and address safety concerns and issues. This position will report fully on system problems, malfunctions, incidents/accidents, and other issues that affect employee and equipment safety and performance.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering from an accredited college or university
• Noted familiarity with rapid transit signal system design, related computer programming, and computer networking applications.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) systems, which are advanced train signaling systems that use wireless communication to manage train movements, and railroad signaling.
• Experience establishing comprehensive, detailed plans with specific timelines, milestones, and deliverables necessary to meet or exceed project goals.
• Experience in leading and managing staff, teams, project/program management, with internal and external partners, vendors, tenants, and contractors.
• Strong quantitative, analytical, problem-solving, decision-making skills, and critical-thinking abilities
• Must possess a valid driver’s license
• Proficient in the use of various computer programs such as Microsoft Excel (complex formulas, data manipulation, analytic reporting, etc ); PowerPoint (creating/updating/ presenting). Power Bi And MS Automate
• Be available to respond to airport emergencies, including snow alerts. Report to work without delay on a 24-hour, seven-day per week basis, including weekends and holidays. The candidate must also be available to work off-hours when required.
  
  

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical , Mechanical, or Electronic Engineering from an accredited college or university
• Extensive familiarity with C and other programing languages
• Ability to learn custom software applications such as SELTRAC train control
• Experience with positive train control systems
• Extensive experience with Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems
  
  

Selection Process

The application process varies by position, but typically includes an initial phone interview for qualified candidates, followed by a more in-depth interview(s) and/or assessment(s). Selected candidates who are made a conditional job offer will be asked to undergo a background check.

Compensation, Benefits & On-Site Collaboration Requirements

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey offers a competitive benefits package and a professional environment that supports development and recognizes achievement. Click here for more information about benefits, our culture, and career development opportunities.

Skills

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey anticipates that the actual salary offered to a successful candidate will depend on aspects such as experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and internal factors. The expected compensation range for this role is:

Minimum: $ 135,018 Midpoint : $ 175,530 Maximum: $ 216,034

In accordance with Port Authority policy, this position permits employees to work remotely a maximum of one day per week, subject to operational and business needs.

How To Apply

Interested candidates should apply to this job by clicking on the "Apply Now" button and submitting a resume. The Port Authority of NY & NJ welcomes veteran and military spouse applications.

Only applicants under consideration will be contacted.

About The Port Authority

Founded in 1921, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. The agency's network of aviation, ground, rail, and seaport facilities is among the busiest in the country, supports more than 550,000 regional jobs, and generates more than twenty three billion in annual wages and eighty billion in annual economic activity. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center site, where the 1,776-foot-tall One World Trade Center is now the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey/Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

It is the Port Authority’s policy, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws, to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities who are employees or applicants for employment and who request the Port Authority do so, unless providing the requested accommodation would result in an undue hardship to the Port Authority.

Job applicants may request a reasonable accommodation (1) if they claim a disability is affecting the interview process, or (2) to ensure that if they are selected for a position, they can perform the essential job functions. To submit a request, please contact the recruiter or email the Human Resources Department’s Disability Accommodation Coordinator at [email protected] .

The Port Authority will treat any request for Reasonable Accommodation by a job applicant confidentially.