PTC ITCM Engineer

The final salary will depend on the candidate's qualifications. Those with 8 years or more of required experience can expect offers up to the midpoint of the salary range. Metra provides full pay ranges so candidates can consider their growth potential.

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Qualified veterans who meet the minimum requirements will receive outreach during the recruitment process in accordance with Federal and State laws, including the Illinois Veterans Preference Act. Meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee an interview or job offer. The most qualified candidate will be selected.

Metra is one of the largest and most complex commuter rail systems in North America, serving Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, Kane, and McHenry Counties. The agency is linking communities in Northeastern Illinois by providing safe, reliable, and efficient commuter service.

Engineering is responsible for building and maintaining the majority of Metra's fixed assets, such as buildings, stations, bridges, track, electrical, telecommunications and signal systems. The Engineering Department also monitors the condition of and assists in building and maintaining the fixed assets on the freight lines where Metra trains operate. The Engineering Department is divided into two major groups: Capital Projects, and Communications and Maintenance.

Reporting to the Manager Back Office Systems, the PTC ITCM (Inter-operable Train Control Messaging) Engineer is responsible for developing implementing, and managing PTC ITCM systems; overseeing systems configuration, deployment, and testing both in the production environment and test laboratory to support PTC system integration; and is responsible for ITCSM (Inter-operable Train Control Systems Management) deployment of PTC 220 MHz radio software (ITCR), management and monitoring of the PTC 220 MHz radio network, administration of day-to-day systems duties.

The primary duties include: Manage the ITCM messaging system including documentation, testing, configuration changes, topology updates, problem resolution, and trouble shooting. Develop software solutions to aid in monitoring, reporting, analysis, and deployment of PTC related systems. Interact with teams and independent work environments, including vendors for escalation and incident tracking/resolution. Lead root cause analysis of system hardware, software, operating, and messaging systems. Develop and review technical designs and systems integration plans; and, read and write technical specifications and documentation, configuration of Linux (RHEL) based servers, and testing systems and subsystems. Coordinate team's day-to-day activities, assign tasks/projects and monitor performance, and provide guidance and training, but is not a supervisor. Promote safe work practices and maintain and foster a safe work environment. Perform other related duties as assigned to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.

Metra is a railroad employer subject to the provisions of the Railroad Retirement Tax Act, not the Social Security Administration.

1. Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering, Information Technology or Computer Science or lieu of a degree, a combination of education and experience may be substituted for required degree that equals four years in software development, development operations, or site reliability engineering.
2. In addition to #1, must have seven years of experience in software development, development operations, or site reliability engineering and/or experience.
3. Experience working with configuration management systems and in generating documentation and following standard systems engineering methods is required.
4. Experience in administrative script development in Shell (Bash), Ruby, Python; configuring virtual-server based systems, server clustering, load balancing, scalability, and High Availability (HA), preferably using Red Hat Cluster Suite, messaging protocols such as Red Hat Enterprise (RHE) MRG messaging and Advance Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP).
5. Considerable knowledge of hardware and software for ITCM, ITCSM,and adjacent systems.
6. Considerable knowledge of computer based systems and associated networking architectures.
7. Good knowledge of highly available clustered Linux systems.
8. Good knowledge of scripting languages and their application to maintaining a large production environment.
9. Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision making skills.
10. Good verbal and written communication skills.
11. Good project management skills.
12. Ability to translate data and messaging protocols such as EMP.
13. Ability to exercise sound judgment, especially in potential high-pressure situations, where ability to triage competing priorities is required.
14. Ability to provide leadership to resources or small teams including the planning of tasks, definition of expectations and execution to plan is required.
15. Ability to work independently.
16. Red Hat system administrator certification preferred. If not a RHCSA, must be enrolled and pursuing RHCSA within four months of hire or promotion date.
17. Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) desirable.
18. Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) desirable.
19. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license.
20. Hearing/Visual acuity, far/near, depth perception, field of vision, color vision.
21. Must be able to operate a vehicle.
22. Must be willing to travel within and outside of Metra's 6-county region.
23. Must be available to work flexible hours in the early morning, late afternoon, evenings, or weekends.
24. Must be available on-call 24-hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year, including weekends and holidays.

Metra employees in an active review period under the current discipline policy or who have documented attendance or performance issues will not be considered and/or selected for this position.

Please note: Regardless of any state laws that legalize marijuana, Metra prohibits applicants and employees' use or possession of marijuana (or marijuana paraphernalia), or having detectable amounts of marijuana in their bodies, including synthetic and/or non-synthetic substances such as THC for any reason for preemployment screening purposes, while on duty, subject to duty, on Metra property, or in Metra work equipment and vehicles.

Metra is committed to ensuring that our career website and recruiting process are accessible to all individuals. For general assistance, please contact talentacquisition@metrarr.com. If you require reasonable accommodations to complete this application, participate in interviews, complete any pre-employment testing, or engage in any other aspect of the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to the Reasonable Accommodations Committee at RAC@metrarr.com.

Metra is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. It is our policy to fill vacant positions with qualified candidates without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, gender identity, disability, or any protected categories, assuming an individual can perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation.