Principal Field Quality Engineer

Description

Salary range is $120k to $215k, with a midpoint of $165k. New hires typically receive between minimum and midpoint, however, we may go slightly higher based on experience, internal equity and market.

Sound Transit also offers a competitive benefits package with a wide range of offerings, including:

• Health Benefits: We offer two choices of medical plans, a dental plan, and a vision plan all at no cost for employee coverage; comprehensive benefits for employees and eligible dependents, including a spouse or domestic partner.
• Long-Term Disability and Life Insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Retirement Plans: 401a - 10% of employee contribution with a 12% match by Sound Transit; 457b - up to IRS maximum (employee only contribution).
• Paid Time Off: Employees accrue 25 days of paid time off annually with increases at four, eight and twelve years of service. Employees at the director level and up accrue additional days. We also observe 12 paid holidays and provide up to 2 paid floating holidays and up to 2 paid volunteer days per year.
• Parental Leave: 12 weeks of parental leave for new parents.
• Pet Insurance.
• ORCA Card: All full-time employees will receive an ORCA card at no cost.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Sound Transit will pay up to $5,000 annually for approved tuition expenses.
• Inclusive Reproductive Health Support Services.
• Compensation Practices: We offer competitive salaries based on market rates and internal equity. In addition to compensation and benefits, you'll find that we provide work-life balance, opportunities for professional development and recognition from your colleagues.

GENERAL PURPOSE:

Under general direction from the ST Corridor Quality Manager, this position is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the approved Project Quality Management Plan (QMP) is followed and aligns with the agency Quality Management System Plan (QMSP). This is a full-time, on-site field presence to strengthen the agency adherence to quality standards, including ensuring that construction is performed in accordance with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requirements, agency approved plans, and contract requirements and reporting project quality issues for greater visibility and awareness.

Qualified applicants will have demonstrated experience in construction and construction quality practices for major infrastructure projects. Experience delivering or managing construction fieldwork or construction inspections are desirable. In addition to construction quality fieldwork experience, this position must be able to effectively communicate with multiple stakeholders including construction contractors and Sound Transit's construction management team and its partner agencies. This includes communicating on contentious topics, tracking details, collaborating with diverse staff, facilitating meetings, writing/reviewing documents, communicating clearly and professionally, exercising independent judgment, taking initiative, and making informed decisions. The successful applicant will also be expected to uphold a quality culture, embody the agency values, incorporate principles of equity, inclusion, and respect, and serve as a change management champion.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

The following duties are a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, position-specific duties.

• Proactively identify potential construction quality activities before they occur and collaborate with agency and contractor representatives to find resolutions... field site activities and provide technical advice on construction and design. Regularly observe construction and provide quality assurance that completed work is in compliance with the plans and specifications.
• Provide full-time, on-site presence at multiple sites potentially within a single day where public transportation may not be readily available.
• Produce daily field reports on project activities affecting quality, including detailed accounts of all ongoing construction tasks, identified deviations from quality standards, documentation of materials and equipment used, assessment of workmanship, and notes on any incidents or issues encountered.
• Review and interpret complex documents such as engineering documents, policies, standard operating procedures, processes, contracts, and work instructions to determine accuracy in accordance with agency Quality Management System Plan (QMSP) and project-specific Quality Management Plans (QMP), internal directives, and regulatory requirements.
• Produce complex documents such as internal review reports, follow-up assessment reports, findings, corrective and preventive action plans, internal review scopes of work, policies, standard operating procedures, processes flow charts, and work instructions, to effectively communicate instructions to internal and external stakeholders.
• Research and evaluate data using analytical and logical reasoning to gather, review and form a finding or conclusions that support an issue requiring correction or highlighting areas of interest for further investigation.
• Perform effective problem-solving techniques to identify root causes of faults or problems. Utilizes available data, as well as deductive reasoning to understand, explain and address the root cause of issues, which can lead to correction and prevention of reoccurrence.
• Use information from quality activities and develop solutions to optimize systematic organizational processes. Apply an understanding of organizational functions and operations to provide guidance recommendations for solutions to address and prevent hazards while reducing risk.
• Develop internal corrective and preventive action plans backed by evidential findings and follows-up on implementation to ensure issues identified within the organization are remediated.
• Actively coordinate and communicate quality requirements with the Construction Management Consultant (CMC) and/or Design Build Project Management (DBPM) staff (e.g., Resident Engineer, Field Engineers, Inspectors), and communicate to leadership any issues, concerns, or incidents related to the quality of construction projects.
• Visit project sites, including multi-site projects, and Sound Transit offices and provide full-time on-site presence to strengthen reporting of project quality issues for more visibility and awareness while monitoring and enhancing timely quality issues communications through day-to-day onsite observations.
• Provide real time monitoring of key quality process execution and high-risk activities; (e.g., materials delivery inspections, workmanship performed, and project Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) inspections) to ensure activities are performed in accordance with agency quality requirements, approved agency plans, and contract requirements.
• Review Construction Work Plans (CWP) for process conformance and attends Readiness Review Meetings (RRM) to evaluate quality readiness of work activities for First Time Quality (FTQ).
• Champion and instill quality culture and mindset at the project level with front line people; be an effective resource of support and guidance for Quality requirements implementation.
• Maintains awareness of trends and developments in the field related to quality; provides opportunities for continuous program improvements.
• Represents ST Quality at on-site project meetings to review specific work and to discuss and provide critique on portions of the work being constructed.
• Collaborate with staff around the agency tactfully, clearly, concisely, and respectfully while leading change through targeted advocacy.
• Follow the agency safety rules, regulations, and procedures pertaining to their assigned duties and responsibilities.
• Integrate sustainability into everyday business practices.
• Champion and model Sound Transit's core values and demonstrates values-based behaviors in everyday interactions across the agency.
• Contribute to a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion in alignment with Sound Transit's Equity & Inclusion Policy.
• It is the responsibility of all employees to follow the Agency safety rules, regulations, and procedures pertaining to their assigned duties and responsibilities, which could include systems, operations, and/or other employees.
• It is the responsibility of all employees to integrate sustainability into everyday business practices.
• Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education and Experience: Bachelor's degree in Project Management, Construction Management, Engineering, or related field and 8 years of field construction experience in transit and/or transportation projects; OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Qualified applicants must have a minimum of five years of experience in decision-making roles within the construction industry, demonstrating the ability to independently assess complex situations, make informed decisions, and suggest effective solutions.

Required Licenses or Certifications:

• Valid state driver's license. This role will travel to active construction sites, stations, and facilities, including locations that are not currently served by transit. Driving an agency vehicle will be necessary to monitor construction tasks and respond to emergent situations at any time of day, within assigned projects and project corridors.

Preferred Licenses or Certifications:

• Professional Engineer or Architect Licenses, or Project/Construction Management Certifications
• Quality Engineer Certification (CQE)
• Certified Construction Quality Inspector (CQI)
• Certified Quality Technician (CQT)
• Certified Public Infrastructure Inspector
• Construction Quality Management for Contractors (course through Army Corps of Engineers)
• Certified Construction Manager
• Construction Inspector Certification (via WSDOT)

Required Knowledge and Skills:

• Knowledge of construction management and/or quality assurance in a construction environment.
• Ability to identify, analyze, communicate, and address a wide variety of issues and problems effectively in a mature and highly professional manner internally and externally in a high-intensity environment.
• Ability to function well in a "trailblazing" environment and make progress in ambiguous territory working effectively under pressure.
• Demonstrate experience in the fundamentals of capital project delivery, preferably in the public sector and/or construction environment.
• Operational characteristics, services, and activities of a construction site.
• Strong teamwork, relationship management, and interpersonal skills, especially working with a variety of people; able to establish and maintain effective working relationships while working independently or as a part of a team.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and active listening; ability to distill complex, technical information into communications, quality reports and summaries, presentations, and talking points for a variety of audiences.
• Utilize computer software programs to compile and prepare spreadsheets, briefings, and reports (e.g., SharePoint, Power BI, Smartsheet, Microsoft Office suite).
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with strong adaptability to adjust to changing demands and competing priorities with attention to detail and follow-through.
• Knowledge of, interpreting and applying applicable federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations
• Independent judgment, strategic thinking, and strong problem resolution abilities.
• Knowledge of applicable Quality Management requirements, transit industry specifications, and references of standard quality management practices in transit environments as they relate to design and construction.

Preferred Knowledge and Skills:

• Experience in implementation of construction quality program requirements.
• Knowledge of transit/transportation project management experience in the public sector or government agency.
• Ability to understand the principles of product and service quality evaluation and control in a transit environment.
• Experience with developing quality control systems, application and analysis of testing and inspection procedures.
• Knowledge and ability to develop and administer management information systems and to audit quality systems for deficiency identification and correction.
• Demonstrated experience establishing, strengthening, and/or maintaining a quality culture within a complex, asset-intensive organization.
• Experience working in a fully functioning quality assurance/quality control program, ideally specifically within the context of the Federal Transit Administration's fifteen Quality Elements. Demonstrated understanding of how to engage management in processing non-conformance reports, audit issues, addressing root causes, corrective actions, and actions to prevent recurrence, and solving quality issues.
• Experience with design, structural, construction, operations, safety programs, activities, and services of a regional transit authority.
• Forecasting potential nonconforming quality trends with design and construction by leveraging data.
• Data gathering, analysis and visualization for reporting, decision making and transparency of decisions.
• Ability to excel in new environments, navigate uncertainty, and perform well under pressure.

Physical Demands / Work Environment:

• Work is performed in a hybrid office and construction site environment.
• Positions working in field may occasionally be exposed to dangerous machinery, extreme weather conditions, physical harm, hazardous chemicals, and/or extreme noise.
• Position is responsible for providing full-time on-site presence at multiple sites potentially within a single day where public transportation may not be readily available. May be subject to bending, climbing, eye/hand coordination, grasping, hearing, kneeling, pushing, pulling, reaching, repetitive motion, sitting, standing, talking, seeing, walking, and carrying and lifting objects up to 25 pounds.
• Position includes on call and weekend and night shifts.
• The Agency promotes a safe and healthy work environment and provides appropriate safety and equipment training for all personnel as required.

Sound Transit is an equal employment opportunity employer. No person is unlawfully excluded from employment action based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status or other protected class.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)