𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺.
When the hiring manager briefed us on this search, the ask was five words: "Find us our next co-owner."
𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗬
Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of our client, a specialized industrial freight rail design firm that works for the railroads' customers, not the railroads, across the agricultural, chemical, aggregate, building materials, and energy industries. The firm is 100% employee-owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), fully remote with staff in six states, and paired with sister construction and inspection companies that give designers visibility into the full project lifecycle.
𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲
- Designers who want to run their own workstream: 12 to 15 live projects at various stages, not feeding drawings into someone else's queue
- OpenRoads Designer (ORD) users who can take raw survey data through alignments, grading, and drainage without hand-holding
- Self-checkers with real quality discipline; every deliverable gets a peer review, and yours should arrive clean
If you need daily in-person direction, or you are still in MicroStation/InRoads and have not made the jump to ORD, this is not the right fit.
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬
You'll report to the Director of Engineering and join an eight-person design team whose veterans carry 11 to 25 years of freight rail and civil experience. A licensed Professional Engineer (PE) provides quality assurance oversight on your work; the design decisions are yours. Within 90 days you'll be base mapping and producing 2D rail concept drawings over aerial imagery, delivering plan sets at 10%, 30%, and 100%, and designing rail alignments in ORD from raw survey imports. Mentorship and leadership are real growth paths as you establish yourself.
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢
- Design rail alignments, grading surfaces, and drainage systems in OpenRoads Designer for industrial freight rail projects
- Produce plan/profile sheets, cross sections, and complete plan sets for design, design/bid/build, and design/build work
- Import and work up raw survey data into base maps and digital terrain
- Run basic hydrology and hydraulics (H&H): delineate drainage areas, pick coefficients, select and size pipes
- Prepare quantity takeoffs (QTOs) and opinions of probable construction cost (OPCCs)
- Manage your own schedules, client updates, and coordination across engineering, business development, and construction teams
𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦
𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱:
- 5+ years of civil design experience; a firm requirement from the hiring manager, not negotiable
- Proficiency in Bentley OpenRoads Designer (2D or 3D; plan views are 2D here)
- Ability to independently import survey data, design alignments, grade a surface, and design drainage
- Rail design background strongly preferred; strong highway/transportation designers will be considered
𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:
- 10+ years of freight rail experience or a PE license (opens compensation above the posted range)
- Any education path works, from trade school certificate to engineering degree, if you can nail the work
𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦
𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆: $80,000 to $105,000 depending on experience; above range considered for 10+ years freight rail with a PE, or 15+ years freight rail
𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: free ESOP participation, 100% company funded; annual stock allocations based on your compensation
𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: profit sharing distributions plus merit-based compensation
𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲: three UnitedHealthcare plan options with the company paying $750+ per month toward premiums; dental, vision, and a $50,000 life and AD&D policy 100% company paid
𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 401(k) alongside the ESOP
𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳: paid time off plus 13 paid holidays
𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲: fully remote with flexible daytime hours
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹: occasional, and it can throttle up or down based on your interests
Interested? Apply via LinkedIn and we'll be in touch. Confidential search; your application is fully private.
𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 | 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱
