Manager, Rail Transportation

The posting

Job Description

WHO WE'RE LOOKING FOR

The Manager Rail Transportation reports to the Director of Transportation Operations. The Manager holds the overall accountability for CapMetro’s Transportation Department, overseeing the strategic and administrative responsibility for CapMetro's Transportation (Train & Engine, or T&E) crew function, encompassing all Engineers and Conductors. This position owns labor relations and workforce planning for T&E crews, discipline policy, budget, and the overall FRA compliance posture for crew operations — including hours-of-service (49 CFR Part 228) policy ownership — and serves as CapMetro's primary point of contact for T&E crew workforce matters. The Manager of Transportation leads Transportation operations and works in strategic partnership with the OCC Manager, Rail Dispatch. Together, these functions support safe, compliant, and efficient rail operations, with OCC directing train movement, while Transportation controls crew staffing and assignment. This position provides senior management-level directions to the Transportation Manager. This position also owns the policy framework that governs the Transportation Shift Supervisor role's dual responsibility for floor supervision and crew dispatch (crew calling), including the standards for how time is allocated between those functions and the safeguards used to separate discipline-related decisions from crew assignment decisions.

Responsibilities

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

Note: The duties and primary responsibilities below are intended to describe the general content of and requirements of this job and are not intended to be an exhaustive statement of duties.

Transportation Workforce Leadership & Labor Relations

• Provide leadership and oversight for Transportation workforce planning, staffing, labor relations, employee development, and performance management for all Engineers and Conductors, ensuring consistent application of attendance, discipline, and operating standards across the department.
• Direct Transportation operations through subordinate leadership staff, ensuring adequate workforce availability, employee qualification and certification compliance, and operational readiness to support scheduled service, special events, training needs, vacancies, and emergency response.
• Collaborate with Rail Dispatch, Engineering Services, Vehicle Maintenance, Signals, and other stakeholders to align workforce resources and operational priorities in support of safe, reliable, and efficient rail service delivery.
• Oversee CapMetro Operations Testing Program in accordance with 49 CFR Part 217, ensuring operational testing, documentation, program evaluation, and corrective actions are effectively implemented to maintain regulatory compliance and operational excellence.
• Lead investigations involving employee performance, operating rule violations, safety incidents, and other operational events, ensuring appropriate corrective, disciplinary, training, or procedural actions are taken.
• Establish and reinforce customer service, safety, and operational performance expectations, ensuring professional employee conduct and effective communication during normal operations, service disruptions, emergencies, and special events.

Crew Resource & Hours-of-Service Compliance Policy

• Provide strategic oversight of Transportation workforce governance, including staffing, crew assignment practices, crew board administration, scheduling standards, workforce deployment, and compliance with 49 CFR Part 228 Hours of Service requirements, ensuring consistent application of policies, controls, and accountability across the Transportation function.
• Direct workforce planning, staffing models, shift structures, and fatigue risk management initiatives to ensure sufficient qualified crew resources are available to support scheduled service, special events, emergency response, and operational continuity.
• Establish safeguards, controls, and oversight mechanisms to promote equitable workforce management, regulatory compliance, and effective separation of personnel administration and crew assignment functions.
• Establish, monitor, and report departmental performance, compliance, safety, and workforce metrics, ensuring accountability for operational effectiveness, service delivery, employee qualifications, attendance, overtime management, operational testing, and adherence to operating standards.

Regulatory Compliance & Safety

• Ensure compliance with applicable FRA, FTA, TxDOT, and CapMetro regulations, policies, and programs governing Transportation operations, including crew qualification, certification, discipline, recordkeeping, and Hours of Service requirements.
• Provide oversight of locomotive engineer and conductor certification and qualification programs in accordance with 49 CFR Parts 240 and 242, ensuring required certifications, monitoring, recertifications, and records are maintained.
• Provide leadership for Transportation safety, training, and workforce readiness programs by promoting a safety-first culture, ensuring employees maintain required qualifications and certifications, and coordinating with Safety and Training to deliver required initial, recurrent, remedial, and regulatory training.
• Direct Transportation's response to regulatory audits, inspections, investigations, corrective action plans, and major service disruptions or emergency events, coordinating with Executive Leadership, Rail Operations leadership, Safety, and other stakeholders to maintain regulatory compliance, operational continuity, and service reliability.

Technical & Program Management Support

• Provide technical and operational support for crew management programs, workforce planning initiatives, and related projects.
• Prepare reports, presentations, and supporting documentation for leadership, regulatory agencies, and Board review.
• Comply with records management standards and company policy.

CapMetro SMS Support & Other Duties Assigned

• Support CapMetro's Safety Management System (SMS) process by ensuring staff follow safety and security policies, consider safety in every action, and report safety and security concerns.
• Perform other duties as required and/or assigned.

Qualifications

WHAT YOU BRING

• Bachelor's degree in Transportation, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a related field required. Related experience may substitute for educational requirements on a year-for-year basis.
• Eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in railroad or rail transit operations, transportation, or a closely related field.
• Two (2) years of management experience, including labor relations, workforce planning, budget ownership, and staff oversight through subordinate leaders within a railroad or transit operating environment.
• Experience working in FRA-regulated operations, including hours-of-service (49 CFR Part 228) compliance, preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of railroad or rail transit T&E crew operations, crew calling practices, and hours-of-service regulations.
• Knowledge of labor relations principles, discipline policy development, and workforce planning in a safety-sensitive operating environment.
• Knowledge of applicable FRA, FTA, and TxDOT regulations governing T&E crew qualification, certification, and hours of service.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and enforce workforce and compliance policy through subordinate leaders, rather than performing tactical work directly.
• Ability to identify and mitigate conflict-of-interest risk in combined supervisory roles, and to design practical safeguards that protect both compliance and employee trust.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees, peer managers, regulatory agencies, leadership, and the public.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills; effective oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to effectively manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced operational environment, and to respond to operational emergencies as needed.
• Demonstrated ability as a self-starter committed to operational excellence and continuous improvement.

RESPONSIBILITIES - SUPERVISORY AND/OR LEADERSHIP EXERCISED Direct and manage department personnel by planning, scheduling, delegating, and overseeing employee work assignments through subordinate leaders; establishing and enforcing discipline and crew assignment policy; authorizing, coordinating, and scheduling work with vendors and consultants; and overseeing hiring, training, work assignments, and performance evaluations at the program level.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS Work is performed in an office and outside environment with exposure to inclement weather and adverse weather conditions. This position works with multiple project timelines and is responsible for managing a workforce performing safety-sensitive, complex work.

Incumbent must have the ability to stand, walk, and travel to field and yard locations as needed. This position will need the ability to work varying shifts, days, nights, weekends, holidays, and rotating shifts to meet department needs. The incumbent in this role serves as an on-call escalation point and may be required to respond to emergencies, major service disruptions, or other critical operational incidents outside of normal operating hours. Must be able to safely operate a motor vehicle and use a telephone or headset equipment. Incumbents must be able to lift and move material weighing up to 20 lbs., perform work at a computer terminal for 6–8 hours a day, and function in an environment with constant interruptions. This position may require work beyond a normal forty-hour weekly schedule. Regular and predictable attendance at assigned work location is an essential function.

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions as previously described.

WORK AUTHORIZATION Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. All applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States.

Mobility Status: As an Onsite position, the incumbent's primary workplace is a CapMetro facility or field location. Mobility status is subject to change at any time based on business needs or organizational decisions.

COMMITMENT TO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY CapMetro is an equal employment opportunity employer and committed to creating a welcoming environment for all employees. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, pregnancy, age, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. CapMetro makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and organization needs at the time.

SECURITY SENSITIVE POSITION This position has been identified as a “Security Sensitive” position. CapMetro will conduct annual background checks on incumbents in this position. A position is “Security Sensitive” if the incumbent handles currency, has access to sensitive, computerized databases, has access to master keys, or works in an area of CapMetro that has been designated as a security-sensitive area.

SAFETY SENSITIVE POSITION This position is identified as an FTA safety-sensitive position. An employee in this position is required to participate in the Employer's testing program for prohibited substances. Participation in this program is a condition of employment with CapMetro. A safety-sensitive employee is randomly tested for prohibited drug use or alcohol misuse while the employee is performing safety-sensitive functions; just before the employee is to perform safety-sensitive functions; or just after the employee has ceased performing such functions.