Senior Systems Engineer

Senior Systems Engineer Salary: $165,053.24 - $200,603.54 Annually

Location: CA 95134-1927, CA Job Type: Full-Time Job Number: 26-CC-20153 Division: Maintenance Department: LR Maint Admin Opening Date: 03/09/2026 Closing Date: 3/30/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Description: The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) is seeking a collaborative, solutions-oriented engineer with strong experience in rail transit systems and a passion for improving system performance for the position of Senior Systems Engineer.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Generous holiday, vacation, and sick leave
• Credit union and deferred compensation available

Questions:

• Job Description
• The Ideal Candidate
• About VTA

Job Description: The Senior Systems Engineer plays a key role in advancing the safety, reliability, and performance of the Light Rail System. Based at the Light Rail Maintenance Yard, this position provides high-level engineering support across rail system assets and helps ensure compliance with regulatory requirements while driving continuous system improvement.

This role leads and supports a wide range of engineering projects, including component and material replacement, maintenance service improvements, and construction-related upgrades. The Senior Systems Engineer uses system data and field insights to monitor asset health, identify improvement opportunities, solve complex technical issues, and recommend solutions ranging from part changes to fleet-wide enhancements.

The position works closely with maintenance teams, contractors, consultants, and other engineering disciplines, requiring strong technical judgment, project management capability, and the ability to deliver practical, effective solutions in a dynamic operating environment.

Light Rail Vehicle Maintenance: Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) Maintenance is located at the Guadalupe Light Rail Division. LRV Maintenance is responsible for timely and reliable maintenance, preventive maintenance, inspections, repair, and servicing of light rail vehicles and service equipment.

Regular preventive maintenance is performed at prescheduled cycles every 10,000, 30,000, 60,000, and 120,000 miles to ensure optimal performance, efficiency, safety, and reliability. Running Repair/Corrective Maintenance repairs items identified by Operators during the daily operation of an LRV.

What You'll Be Doing: Under direction, the Senior Systems Engineer plans, organizes, and directs varied and difficult electrified rail engineering work performed by staff and consultants, and provides technical assistance in systems engineering to rail operating managers.

The Ideal Candidate: The ideal candidate is a collaborative, solutions-oriented engineer with strong experience in rail transit systems and a passion for improving system performance. They bring a solid foundation in engineering design, troubleshooting, and project delivery, and are comfortable working in a public agency or other highly regulated environment.

About VTA: The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employs more than 2,000 people dedicated to providing solutions that move Silicon Valley. Unique among transportation organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, VTA is Santa Clara County's authority for transit development and operations (light rail and bus), congestion management, transportation-related funding, highway design and construction, real estate and transit-oriented development, and bicycle and pedestrian planning.

VTA Forward Plan: As we continue to implement our VTA Forward Plan, we aim to strengthen and increase our workforce to take on future opportunities and challenges by elevating our people and our services.

Family-Friendly Workplace Certification Program (FFWCP): The County of Santa Clara FFWCP recognizes VTA as a business that creates supportive workplaces for employees and their families.

Essential Job Functions:

• Selects, trains, supervises, and assigns work to professional and technical engineering staff
• Oversees the work of staff, consultants, and contractors
• Provides expertise for systems integration of vehicles, track, overhead electrification, traction power, signals, communications equipment, and fare vending machines
• Evaluates systems, equipment, and operations for safety, cost effectiveness, efficiency, and reliability
• Develops and reviews specifications and prepares budget estimates for vehicles, systems, and components
• Develops and designs changes to upgrade systems and equipment
• Monitors performance of critical components and systems and provides data on failure trends
• Participates in accident investigation to determine cause and damage to systems and recommends corrective action
• Develops or assists in developing programs and procedures for quality assurance, testing, major overhaul and rebuild, or systems and equipment
• Ensures coordination of construction work by others within or near the right-of-way with the operations of the rail system
• Establishes and maintains control of equipment and technical documents
• Maintains contacts with other agencies, suppliers, and consultants
• Prepares and presents oral and written reports
• Performs related work as required

Minimum Qualifications:

• Sufficient education, training, and professional engineering experience on electrified rail systems which demonstrates the ability to perform the above tasks and possession of the following knowledge and abilities
• Registration as a professional electrical or mechanical engineer in the State of California, at the time of appointment

Knowledge and Abilities:

• Design and construction of electrified rail systems and components
• Principles of supervision and training
• Systems and component testing
• Principles of quality assurance and quality control
• Investigative techniques
• Operations and maintenance of rail transit vehicles and equipment
• Federal, State, and local safety and other legal requirements
• Maintenance requirements and practices of rail vehicles, wayside equipment, and systems
• Specialized tools and equipment used in the maintenance of rail systems and equipment

Ability to:

• Supervise systems engineering functions
• Evaluate and monitor work and performance of others
• Analyze engineering problems and work out effective solutions
• Make accurate engineering computations
• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing
• Write accurate and concise engineering reports, analyses, specifications, and procedures
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those encountered in the course of work

General Application Instructions:

• Please read this job announcement in its entirety before applying
• We recommend printing or saving a copy for future reference
• To be considered, applications must be submitted online through the Human Resources department by the posted deadline
• If the job posting is listed as "continuous," we encourage you to apply as soon as possible, as the posting may close without prior notice
• Once your application is submitted, you will receive an immediate email confirmation

Personalized Responses to Supplemental Questions:

• Please provide personalized responses to the supplemental questions, connecting your past experiences to this specific role
• AI-generated content may lack the specificity required to address the key criteria outlined in the job description
• While we encourage the use of AI as a tool to enhance your work, we want to evaluate your non-AI-assisted communication skills

Important:

• Only online applications will be accepted for this recruitment
• We do not accept paper applications, resumes, Job Interest Notification Cards, or incomplete/unsubmitted applications in place of a fully completed application

Communication & Contact Information:

• All updates regarding your application-including notices for testing and interviews-will be sent via email
• Be sure to select email as your preferred method of communication and maintain a valid, up-to-date email address
• Applicants are also responsible for keeping their phone numbers and mailing addresses current in their online profiles

Application Review & Processing:

• All current and prior relevant work experience-including experience with VTA-must be fully detailed in the Work Experience section of your application
• Entries such as "see resume" are not acceptable
• Incomplete or improperly completed applications may be rejected, even if you meet the minimum qualifications

Tentative Examinations:

• Oral Panel: Week of April 27 - May 1, 2026

Conditions of Employment:

• Final candidates must successfully complete a Live scan background check, reference checks, verification of education or certifications, and a criminal history review before appointment
• For sensitive positions, VTA requires all safety-sensitive positions to have a 6-month DOT physical clearance
• Obtained at the time of preboarding from a VTA-contracted Concentra Location

Eligibility List:

• The established Eligible List from this recruitment will be used to fill the current vacancies and additional vacancies that may occur
• Eligible Lists typically remain in effect for six (6) months
• However, Human Resources may abolish Eligible Lists at any time during the six (6) month period
• Human Resources may extend eligible Lists for up to two (2) years
• Eligible Lists may be used for more than one recruitment

Americans with Disabilities Act Accommodations:

• VTA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities in the recruitment and examination process
• To request an accommodation, please contact the Human Resources Department at (408) 321-5575 or email Personnel@vta.org at least five business days before the test

Equal Employment Opportunity:

• VTA is an equal employment opportunity employer
• VTA does not and will not tolerate discrimination against applicants or employees on the basis of age, ancestry, color, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information, national, origin, immigration status, political affiliation, race, religion, creed, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, medical condition, disabled veteran or veteran status, etc.