Career Opportunities: Mgr Trainee (IMCS) - Washington (163487)

Your success is a train ride away!

As we move America’s workforce toward the future, Amtrak connects businesses and communities across the country. We employ more than 20,000 diverse, energetic professionals in a variety of career fields throughout the United States. The safety of our passengers, our employees, the public and our operating environment is our priority, and the success of our railroad is due to our employees.

Are you ready to join our team?

Our values of ‘Do the Right Thing, Excel Together and Put Customers First’ are at the heart of what matters most to us, and our Core Capabilities, ‘Building Trust, Accountability, Effective Communication, Customer Focus, and Proactive Safety & Security’ are what every employee needs to know and do to be most impactful at Amtrak. By living the Amtrak values, focusing on our capabilities, and actively embracing and fostering diverse ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives, together we will honor our past and make Amtrak a company of the future.

SUMMARY OF DUTIES:
The Amtrak Management Trainee Program is an aggressive, fast paced program designed to accelerate future leaders into management professionals at Amtrak. The program gives college graduates and early career professionals an opportunity to gain a broad perspective and valuable experience in a series of rotation assignments throughout the organization. It offers assignments which allow employees to train, develop, and grow professionally while making meaningful contributions to the organization. Through the program, the trainee will have the opportunity to build solid record of accomplishments and gain a broad-based perspective of the company. The program typically ranges from 12-18 months (about 1 and a half years) in length depending upon career track and performance. The winter cohort will start on January 13, 2025, and the summer cohort will start on June 16, 2025.

The onboarding phase of the program includes orientation and multiple training requirements. During this phase, trainees will participate in meet and greets with executives and department leaders, as well as receive tours of several facilities, shops, and stations across Amtrak’s footprint. The first four weeks of the program will be classroom and computer-based training and on-site operational training across multiple Amtrak locations.

Once the orientation, tours, and mandatory trainings are complete, trainees will move into the observations phase of the program. During the observations phase, the trainees will get a high-level overview of each department. They will attend meet and greets with front-line employees and get an introduction to off corridor railroading. They will participate in roundtable discussions with department managers and supervisors and receive behind-the-scenes tours of stations, facilities, yards, maintenance of way facilities, and other work sites. The observations phase lasts approximately eight weeks.

The next phase of the program is the advanced rotation assignments. Assignments are selected for each trainee based on hired role, previous experience, and business needs. Trainees are placed one-on-one with an Amtrak manager, to gain a more detailed understanding of each position. This phase may last about eight – ten weeks depending on the trainee’s path, familiarity of the department and whether the candidate is an internal or external hire.

The program's final phase includes placing the trainee in an assistant manager role aligned with a manager from the position where the trainee will be a best fit. This is determined by the Program Manager based on feedback from managers during advanced rotations and business needs. This phase may last three to twelve months based on career path and individual development plan. During this final phase, training will continue to help the trainee learn all facets of the Infrastructure Maintenance Construction Services (IMCS) Department. Schedules will vary between sub-departments, but the first 3 months will be spent completing mandatory training and visiting Maintenance-of-Way facilities and Production field locations between Washington, D.C., and Boston, MA, During this time, trainees will be assigned to Supervisors and/or Foremen to observe daily maintenance and construction operations and assist with tasks as needed.

At the end of the program, trainees will work with their IMCS Program Manager to be placed in a position that best suits their skills and abilities and IMCS business needs.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Typical first assignments for IMCS employees may include:

• Field Engineer – Manage a team of 15-30 Amtrak agreement employees who maintain and inspect infrastructure assets. Teams typically consist of 1 to 2 agreement supervisors who assist in managing the operation. Responsibilities include technical, logistical, and administrative support to the respective Assistant Division Engineer in the Sub-Division for the efficient and cost-effective management of construction, maintenance, and inspection of IMCS infrastructure. Field Engineers are responsonsible for the accountability and safety of their team. 
• Electrical Engineer – Systematically researches problems, analyzes failures for root causes, and designs solutions while distinguishing between routine troubleshooting and genuine system problems. Works to help troubleshoot problems and implement design changes system wide. Electrical Engineers are responsible for the accountability and safety of their team. 
• Equipment Engineer – Responsible for/assists with the deployment and maintenance of roadway equipment and vehicles under direction of the Director of Maintenance of Way  Equipment. Manages the maintenance and repair activities of Production and Division Equipment repair forces and shop.  Provides guidance and acts as a liaison for truck and vehicle maintenance specifications and inventory with the Director of Equipment, GSA, and the Automotive Group. Equipment Engineers are responsible for the accountability and safety of their team. 

 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Prior to program start date, applicant must be a college graduate with a bachelor's degree in engineering (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial) or Construction Management from an accredited university/college, or equivalent railroad and business experience, or
• Program may include current Amtrak employee with college degree and relevant experience in engineering or IMCS.
• Commitment to complete an 18-month program in IMCS with the final two phases in IMCS and on successful completion, the trainee will be placed in an IMCS permanent position.
• Ability to work nights, weekends, and holidays.
• Demonstrate leadership skills in areas or roles outside of normal job responsibilities
• Work effectively with others in a team setting
• Express ideas and information in a clear and concise manner
• Willingness to travel, primarily on the Northeast Corridor
• Demonstrate strong communications skills
• Experience working in a transportation, engineering, manufacturing, industrial or technical environment
• Proven leadership experience and excellent oral and written communication skills
• Military graduate will be considered
• Ability to work defined workday and various work shifts as needed (including nights and weekends)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience working in a transportation, engineering, manufacturing, industrial or technical environment
• Proven leadership experience and excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work defined workday and various work shifts as needed (including nights and weekends)
• Military graduate will be considered

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• This program requires extensive travel. An ideal candidate must be flexible to travel to any Amtrak location nationwide.
• A candidate can be relocated to any Amtrak location. An ideal candidate must be flexible regarding location. The assignment locations may differ from the permanent location at the end of the program.
• No vacation exceptions permitted within the first 6 months of hire into the program.

COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:

• Must have excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Candidates who apply to this posting may be contacted now or later when a position becomes available.

The salary/hourly range is $72,500. Pay is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, internal equity, etc. Depending on an employee’s assigned worksite or location, Amtrak may consider a geo-pay differential to be applied to the employee’s base salary. Amtrak may offer additional incentive and pay programs to recognize and reward our employees, including a short-term incentive bonus based upon factors such as individual and company performance that is commensurate with the level of the position and/or long-term incentive plan compensation. In addition to your salary, Amtrak offers a comprehensive benefit package that includes health, dental, and vision plans; health savings accounts; wellness programs; flexible spending accounts; 401K retirement plan with employer match; life insurance; short and long term disability insurance; paid time off; back-up care; adoption assistance; surrogacy assistance; reimbursement of education expenses; Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility; Railroad Retirement sickness and retirement benefits; and rail pass privileges. Learn more about our benefits offerings here.

Requisition ID:163487
Posting Location(s):District of Columbia; Maryland; Virginia

Work Arrangement:05-Hybrid Monthly 
Job Family/Function:Engineering 
Relocation Offered:No 
Travel Requirements:Up to 75% 

You power our progress through your performance.
 

We want your work at Amtrak to be more than a job. We want your career at Amtrak to be a fulfilling experience where you find challenging work, rewarding opportunities, respect among colleagues, and attractive compensation. Amtrak maintains a culture that values high performance and recognizes individual employee contributions. 

Amtrak is committed to a safe workplace free of drugs and alcohol. All Amtrak positions requires a pre-employment background check that includes prior employment verification, a criminal history check and a pre-employment drug screen. 

Candidates who test positive for marijuana will be disqualified, regardless of any state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or other law that legalizes or decriminalizes the use or possession of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational, or other use. Amtrak's pre-employment drug testing program is administered in accordance with DOT regulations and applicable law.  

In accordance with DOT regulations (49 CFR § 40.25), Amtrak is required to obtain prior drug and alcohol testing records for applicants/employees intending to perform safety-sensitive duties for covered Department of Transportation positions. If an applicant/employee refuses to provide written consent for Amtrak to obtain these records, the individual will not be permitted to perform safety-sensitive functions.

In accordance with federal law governing security checks of covered individuals for providers of public transportation (Title 6 U.S.C. §1143), Amtrak is required to screen applicants for any permanent or interim disqualifying criminal offenses. 

Note that any education requirement listed above may be deemed satisfied if you have an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Amtrak is an EOE/Affirmative Action Minority/Female employer, and we welcome all to apply. We consider candidates regardless of race/color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions), national origin/ethnicity, age, disability (intellectual, mental and physical), veteran status, marital status, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, genetic information, citizenship or any other personal characteristics protected by law.