Alignment Head (Design/Rail)

SYSTRA is one of the world's leading engineering and consultancy groups specialising in public transport and sustainable mobility. With over 10,300 employees, SYSTRA's mission is to design safe and sustainable transport solutions to bring people together, develop social inclusion and facilitate access to employment, education and leisure throughout the world.

For 65 years, the Group has been working alongside cities and regions to contribute to their development by creating, improving and modernising their infrastructure and transport systems, throughout the life cycle of their projects. SYSTRA is involved from the earliest stages of design through to the testing, deployment and maintenance phases. The company provides all its services in over 80 countries worldwide and generates 74% of its turnover internationally. With its new services, SYSTRA supports its clients and partners in their digital, ecological and energy transition, in order to invent the mobility of tomorrow.

Context

SYSTRA’s Mobility & Railway Business Unit is anticipating future growth, with new rail projects expected soon. To support these potential opportunities, we are looking for an experienced Alignment Head (Design/Rail) to join our project teams and contribute to our mobility solutions.

The Alignment Head will lead all activities related to the route alignment for a major conventional long-distance rail project. This role will be responsible for the development, coordination, and optimisation of the horizontal and vertical alignments, ensuring technical excellence, constructability, and compliance with project and statutory requirements. Preference will be given to candidates with direct experience in the Middle East.

Missions/Main Duties

• Design Leadership
• Lead the alignment design process from concept through detailed design phases, ensuring optimal solutions for safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.
• Oversee route selection studies, evaluating technical, environmental, social, and operational constraints.
• Approve horizontal and vertical alignment proposals, ensuring compliance with international and local standards.
• Develop the urban and countryside alignment criteria and design to be followed.
• Coordination & Interface Management
• Coordinate closely with civil, track, structures, systems, geotechnical, and environmental teams to integrate alignment with all project disciplines.
• Manage interfaces with land acquisition, stakeholder engagement, and authorities to ensure alignment feasibility.
• Ensure coordination between the infrastructure teams and the different entities involved in the design.
• Technical Assurance
• Review and validate alignment deliverables, reports, models, and drawings, ensuring quality and accuracy.
• Implement quality control and assurance procedures for all alignment-related outputs.
• Stakeholder Management
• Liaise with clients, stakeholders, and regulatory authorities for approvals and support through design submissions.
• Participate in meetings, workshops, and site visits, representing alignment interests and addressing technical concerns.
• Risk & Change Management
• Identify and mitigate alignment-related risks; proactively manage change and ensure proper documentation and traceability of decisions.
• Innovation & Value Engineering
• Drive innovation and value engineering
  
  

Profile/Skills

• Education: Bachelor’s degree (required) or Master’s degree (preferred) in Civil Engineering, Railway Engineering, or Geomatics Engineering.
• Experience:
• Minimum 12 years’ experience in route/alignment design for major rail or linear infrastructure projects.
• Experience with large-scale, conventional long-distance rail projects.
• Middle East project delivery experience strongly preferred.
• Skills:
• Deep knowledge of international and Middle East rail design codes for alignment and track geometry.
• Proficient with relevant alignment design and modelling software (e.g., Bentley Rail Track, Civil 3D, OpenRail, MXROAD).
• Strong organisation, communication, and leadership skills.
• Proven ability to manage multidisciplinary design interfaces and to resolve technical alignment issues.
• High attention to detail, with robust analytical and problem-solving abilities.
  
  

Desirable

• Chartered Engineer or equivalent professional membership.
• Experience with digital engineering and BIM in rail design.
• Familiarity with statutory approval processes and alignment studies in the Middle East.
• Fluency in English; Arabic language skills an advantage.
  
  

Systra is an equal opportunities company; this position is open to all applicants.