Rail Signal & Communications Technician

Overview

You May be Eligible for a New Hire Recruitment/Retention Bonus up to $3,000!

King County Metro Transit's Rail Division has exciting opportunities for Signal and Communications Technicians! These positions will perform maintenance on railway signal and communications equipment such as motorized switch machines, vital relays, microprocessor controlled interlockings, programmable logic controllers, fiber optic links, failsafe railroad crossing equipment, stand-alone computers and power supplies.

King County Metro Transit’s Rail Division manages and maintains Sound Transit’s Link light rail service and City of Seattle’s streetcar system. Link light rail currently spans a 33-mile route from Sea Tac to Lynnwood and a 6.6-mile route from Redmond to South Bellevue. By the end of 2026, light rail is projected to expand to nearly 60 route miles, adding seven new stations.

Additional expansions to the Link system will be coming online for years to come.

Seattle Streetcar includes the 1.3 mile South Lake Union line and the 2.5 mile First Hill line, serving Seattle’s downtown core. Puget Sound transit agencies are collaborating to create an integrated transit network that enables people to travel farther, faster, and more easily.

This recruitment is open to all qualified applicants internal and external and will be used to fill current Career Service vacancies and may be used to establish an eligibility list to fill future career service vacancies that may occur over the next twelve months.

These positions are considered safety sensitive. Applicants must undergo drug testing prior to employment and will be subject to random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, and follow-up drug and alcohol testing in compliance with Federal DOT protocols.

These positions are non-exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and are overtime eligible. Employees will work a 40-hour per week schedule with non-standard hours including evenings, weekends and holidays. Schedules are based on a seniority pick system and include a mix of shift types, including 5x8 and 4x10 shifts. Shift differentials are paid for second and third shifts: 7.5% for third shift.

Current hourly rates are:

• Day Shift:
• Swing/2nd Shift:
• Graveyard/3rd Shift:

Employees may report to any of the following locations:
Rail Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF) Central: 3407 Airport Way S Seattle, WA 98134; OMF East: th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98005; or Maintenance of Way (MOW) North: 920 North 137th St Seattle, WA 98133. Other locations in King County may become available in the future.

Applying equity and social justice principles is a daily responsibility and a foundational expectation for all King County employees. You will apply equity and social justice principles in all aspects of the work. You will:

• Conduct fault diagnosis; inspect, test, modify, maintain and repair railway signal and communications equipment
• Inspect, repair and maintain electrical, electronic, mechanical, and hydraulic equipment including grade crossing mechanisms, switch machines, multiplexers, microprocessor controlled interlockings, vital relays, power supplies, battery systems, audio systems, and other complex machinery and equipment
• Operate common and specialized tools and equipment such as mechanical lift devices, hand tools, and electronic measurement devices
• Access aerial support structures and poles to perform inspections, maintenance and repair tasks
• Determine work priorities for emergency maintenance tasks in the absence of on-site supervision; respond to emergency calls as necessary
• Operate switch machines by hand and by Local Control Panels under revenue and non-revenue conditions
• Plan, schedule, communicate and coordinate activities and work with other trades and sections; assist other trades as necessary
• Operate assigned vehicles including Hi-Rail and Aerial Lift equipment
• Perform snow and ice removal
• Flag trackway to provide safer work zones; set up work zone traffic control areas
• Record and document maintenance and diagnostic data
• Other duties as assigned