Civil Highway Engineer / Railroad Specialist

GFT is seeking a Civil Highway Engineer/Railroad Specialist to join our Practice or CBG Team in Schaumburg, IL! This role follows a hybrid work model, requiring regular attendance at the  Schaumburg, IL office.

GFT's Transportation team offers the opportunity to engage in transformative projects that enhance transportation infrastructure and improve community connectivity. Whether working on highways and bridges or traffic engineering, our team excels in resilient, sustainable design and construction, delivering innovative solutions that address the complexities of modern, multimodal roadway systems and ensure safe, efficient, and reliable travel for all​. Explore some of our signature Transportation projects here.  

 

What you’ll be challenged to do:

GFT’s Schaumburg, IL office seeks a Civil/Transportation Engineer/Railroad Specialist to join our growing office of roadway, highway, structural, transit, rail, and intermodal designers and construction inspectors as a roadway/highway Railroad Specialist on Phase I and Phase II projects.

The person will be a member of our highway division and will be part of a Program Management role. The position is a full-time role (40 hours a week) working in the IDOT District One office in the Bureau of Design, Project Support Section, Railroad Unit. The successful candidate will perform various tasks including project coordination with the IDOT Project Manager, design consultants and railroad staff.  This position will assist with the IDOT at-grade crossing program and implementing public improvements on the State highway system. 

This individual will use engineering skills to understand and interpret roadway plan drawings and specifications to facilitate improvements to the State highway system. The candidate will work with the IDOT Project Manager and the design consultant in coordinating public improvements with railroads.  This coordination would range from preliminary concept design and geometry layout to detailed contract plans and specifications for reconstruction, widening and bridge replacements that impact railroad facilities. This would include attending design meetings and facilitating solutions to design and scheduling issues and questions. The candidate will assist in the development of the at-grade crossing safety improvement program. Additional duties would include preparing responses to public inquiries, inspecting railroad crossings conditions, and construction management of field improvements by the railroad forces on the State highway system.  The candidate will be required to coordinate with local governments on detour routes for proposed grade crossing replacement.  The candidate will review force account bills and process work for payment by railroads on safety crossing improvements.  The candidate will work with IDOT’s Central Office and Chief Counsel in coordination of Railroad Agreements.  This individual may be asked to testify at ICC Hearings regarding public improvements. 

A candidate with a background working with IDOT in preliminary engineering, development of plans or construction is recommended. This individual may be asked to prepare sketches and plan diagrams for at-grade crossing, so a base level knowledge of CADD would be beneficial in the execution of duties.  The individual will be called upon to collaborate closely with other teams on multi-disciplinary projects.

 

In this capacity, the successful candidate will be responsible for the following: 

• Analyzes information and data to perform routine design tasks.
• Makes decisions independently on engineering problems and methods.
• Responsible for accuracy of engineering design and plans, quality presentation, thoroughness and follow-through, and efficient conformance to budgets, schedules, and company standards.
• Reviews design options and document findings from the design team.
• An understanding of OpenRoads is preferred.
• Manages workload and any changes in project schedule or scope or additional services.

What you will bring to our firm: 

• Minimum 5 years of related, in-field experience, including work directly or as a consultant for the Illinois Tollway, Illinois DOT, Chicago DOT, Cook County Department of Transportation & Highways, or local counties and municipalities, and with Federally funded projects.
• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering or similar field from an ABET accredited university. 
• E.I.T. Certification.
• Candidates must possess strong technical skills, excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to work well in a team environment on multi-disciplinary projects.
• Previous experience on projects with railroad coordina