SEPTA recruiting engineering staff as Philadelphia trolley-modernization work advances
SEPTA is recruiting project managers and senior project engineers for its Trolley Modernization program, scheduling a virtual engineering recruitment event for Aug. 7 as it staffs work tied to Philadelphia-area trolley infrastructure.
The online event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration runs through Aug. 3, according to SEPTA’s job notice. The authority said it has multiple positions available.
The recruitment notice identifies the positions as supporting corridor-modernization projects, overhead-contact-system conversion, new substations, bridge upgrades and related infrastructure. That makes the hiring effort an implementation-related staffing update, rather than an announcement that a particular trolley corridor has begun construction.
What the jobs would support
SEPTA describes Trolley Modernization as an effort to transform the nation’s largest trolley network. The authority says the work is intended to improve transit access, air quality and connections among urban communities.
Project managers and senior project engineers would support work across several infrastructure areas listed in the notice. Corridor modernization concerns the trolley routes and their physical infrastructure, while overhead-contact-system conversion concerns the equipment that supplies power to trolley vehicles. The notice also points to substations, bridge upgrades and related construction-management work.
The listing does not say which trolley corridors will enter construction next. It also does not provide a total program cost, identify funding sources, set a construction-completion date, or announce closures or service changes. SEPTA has not presented the recruitment event itself as proof that work has started on a specific corridor.
What riders and applicants can expect now
For transit riders and neighborhoods served by the urban trolley network, the immediate development is staffing for the program’s forthcoming infrastructure work. SEPTA’s stated goals include better access and connections among urban communities, but the hiring notice does not establish a timetable for when riders would see those outcomes.
For applicants, the next deadline is Aug. 3, followed by the virtual event on Aug. 7. The listed opportunities are aimed at experienced engineering and project-management work connected to modernization of trolley corridors and supporting systems.
The recruitment comes during a broader period of transit planning and implementation activity at SEPTA. Separately, the authority said in March that its New Bus Network was proposed to begin implementation in August 2026, after a multiyear redesign and public engagement process. SEPTA’s bus-network announcement did not provide a trolley-modernization construction schedule.
Further project-specific updates would be needed to identify construction sequencing, costs, funding, rider impacts and completion dates for Trolley Modernization.