2027 - 2028 TRU Year in Industry Placement - Rail

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Jacobs have an excellent internship opportunity available to ‘Year in Industry’ students. The role provides the opportunity to work on the TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU) rail project, a project of huge importance in the North of England. The post is for a full-time Jacobs employee but may also include periods of time working with both Network Rail (the client Jacobs works alongside as part of the Programme Management Organisation) and a number of employees from other rail businesses which form Alliances and make up the Programme Delivery Organisations.

Jacobs is ever evolving and striving for the best and most efficient ways of working and is invested in you and your success. As such, no clearly defined role is provided at this time as candidates will be assessed at interview and roles can be adapted not only to suit the project demands but also to consider the abilities and aspirations of the individual.

Examples of previous roles are provided below.

What could be your role be on TRU?

Role - RSI - Assistant Project Manager:

The Contract Management Team are a client facing team responsible for engaging with the client (Network Rail) and liaising with both them and the Jacobs Teams to ensure we are compliant and in line with the contract. They support the management and administration of the contract with reporting; financial applications and scheduling/planning.

Example of Responsibilities include:

• Responsibility for running Production Meetings and creating new workplans for the week ahead
• Producing reporting dashboards
• Monthly Status Reports
• Updating project financial trackers
• Event Planning
• Keeping records of employee authority to work on project and subcontractor timesheets
• Involvement in commercial reporting and trusted with sensitive financial data
• Support to Project Manager, Commercial Manager, Planner and the Wider (Rail System Integration) RSI Team where needed, learning key project management functions whilst managing a large team
• Client facing role, interacting with the client on an almost daily basis. Supporting the client’s needs in regard to the contract
• Publication of key project documentation, and other related materials
• Line Management duties.

Role - TRU Programme Assurance, Common Safety Method, Technical compatibility and Interoperability:

This team supports the RSI team and leads on the TransPennine System Assurance Case for the wider programme, allowing for the TRU programme to put sections of the railway into operational use and providing support to the Sponsor team to provide Client level assurance that the requirements for compliance are met at TRU programme level.

This includes supporting the readiness for putting into use, reporting and continuous improvement of the TRU Programme Assurance Register and associated evidence management processes.

The TRU Programme Safety Team delivers:

• System Safety: in accordance with the Common Safety Method for Risk Evaluation and Assessment Regulations (CSM RA) 2013.
• Technical Compatibility: in accordance with RIS-8270-RST and Interoperability in accordance with the Railway (Interoperability) Regulations (RIR) 2011
• TransPennine System Assurance Case for the wider programme (managing the Assurance Register tools)

The role requires a structured, proactive and agile thinker with strong analytical and scenario-based reasoning skills.

Example of Responsibilities include:

• Support the programme assurance lead through the management, analysis and continuous improvement of assurance registers and reporting tools
• Support the stakeholder engagement across Network Rail, Delivery Partners, Train Operators, DfT and Independent Assessment Bodies to facilitate programme assurance activities and evidence gathering.
• Support the development of Programme level Safety, Interoperability and Technical Compatibility Documents in accordance with client standards
• Take part in Hazard identification workshops and management of System level hazards - issues relating to the safe integration of the Programme including systemwide interfaces, together with hazards due to the complex nature of the Programme which cannot be appropriately managed at sub-programme or project level.
• Support Programme submissions to the Independent Assessment Body to support acquiring Safety Assessment Reports
• Support submissions to the System Review Panel (SRP) and NRAP Panel to gain endorsement for the major programme stages
• Support the TRU NRAP Panel organisation by managing the Panel agenda, collecting Project Authorisation Strategy required to be obtained by other duty holders, liaise with NRAP secretary and produce minutes; all of which are necessary for the put sections of the railway into operational use.
• Identifying opportunities to improve assurance processes through digital tools, automation, process mapping and continuous improvement initiatives
• Develop digital tool user manual and deliver training to support consistent application of assurance processes across the programme.
• Attend meetings with wider industry partners to support assurance delivery

Role - Requirements and V&V:

The Requirements and Validation and Verification (V&V) teams deliver the Transpennine Route Upgrade requirements management process and V&V management process at programme level. The teams create and capture data against programme-level requirements which are produced using various sources to make a coherent and consistent set of programme-level requirements that are aligned with the Department for Transport's (DfT) goals for TRU, as well as Network Rail standards and policies; The Verification and Validation team check that these requirements are being met.

Example of Responsibilities include:

• Requirements; capture and manage requirements from the Client Development Agreement with the DfT, through the Enterprise Requirements, to the allocation and apportionment to project level Client Requirements for TRU delivery teams.
• Review delivery teams project detailed requirement to ensure traceability back to the Client Requirements.
• Verification and Validation; making sure that the work carried out by other departments is meeting the specifications requested by the customer.
• Reading technical documents and drawings and automating the formatting of data from Industry Standard Programme tools IBM Doors to Excel using Visual Basic (VBA) (program language for Microsoft applications), creating and managing VVMs (Verification and Validation Matrices).
• Support as required to Requirements and V&V Teams and wider RSI workstreams
• Using ProjectWise and ProjectMapper to verify TRU assets and relevant data
• Displaying V&V data to key stakeholders through Excel and Power BI dashboards.

Role - Train Service Performance Management:

The Train Service Performance workstream is a multidisciplinary function within the Railway Systems Integration team working on TRU. The workstream is responsible for understanding, forecasting, and managing the operational performance impacts associated with the delivery of a major railway enhancement programme.

Working collaboratively with Network Rail, Train Operating Companies, Freight Operating Companies, and programme delivery teams, the team ensures that railway performance considerations are embedded throughout programme planning, design, and delivery. This supports the successful implementation of TRU while protecting the performance of the operational railway for passengers and freight customers.

Role Overview:

As a Train Service Performance intern, you will support the analysis, modelling, and reporting activities undertaken by the Performance team. You will gain experience of working with railway performance data, forecasting tools, and industry-recognised analytical software to help inform operational and strategic decision-making.

The role offers an opportunity to develop skills in data analysis, performance modelling, visualisation, stakeholder engagement, and systems thinking within a complex and dynamic railway environment.

Typical Responsibilities:

• Supporting the analysis of railway performance data, including train punctuality, delay attribution, cancellations, and service reliability.
• Assisting in the identification of performance trends, risks, and opportunities using a variety of data sources and analytical techniques.
• Developing reports, dashboards, and visualisations using tools such as Power BI, Excel, and other analytical platforms.
• Supporting the collection, validation, and management of performance-related datasets.
• Assisting with the development and maintenance of performance forecasts to assess the potential impacts of railway infrastructure upgrades and operational changes.
• Supporting the application of Performance, Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (PRAM) modelling techniques to assess programme performance outcomes.
• Contributing to the preparation of technical reports, presentations, and performance assessments for a range of stakeholders.
• Assisting with reliability improvement initiatives and structured problem-solving activities, including the use of Data Reporting and Corrective Action Systems (DRACAS).
• Working collaboratively with engineering, operational, and project delivery teams to understand the relationship between infrastructure projects and railway performance.
• Supporting engagement with industry partners to help improve the sharing of performance information and insights.

Knowledge and Skills Development Opportunities:

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to gain experience in:

• Railway operations and performance management.
• Data analytics and performance forecasting.
• Statistical analysis and data visualisation.
• Power BI, Excel, SQL, Python, and other analytical tools.
• PRAM methodologies.
• Reliability engineering and continuous improvement techniques.
• Working within a major infrastructure programme environment.

Role – Development Projects - Assistant Project Manager (APM)

The Development portfolio contains a range of projects that are in their earliest stages, primarily seeking to determine whether feasible solutions exist, which options can be considered, and which is the optimum option to be progressed to more detailed design. Working collaboratively with Network Rail our multi-disciplinary teams bring a wide range of deep technical expertise to ensure that the projects developed are effective and efficient. The projects themselves range from more traditional infrastructure projects to studies and recommendations regarding working practices and business change.

As an Assistant Project Manager, you will support the scheme Project Managers and be a key part of the project leadership team. In addition to working directly alongside some of the best Project Managers in industry, you will also interface with the technical team, which gives an unparalleled opportunity to learn from across the spectrum of the various technical disciplines. You will also get to work directly with Network Rail and be instrumental in forming the positive and constructive working relationship we enjoy.

Typical responsibilities:

• You will first and foremost be a valued part of the project team working together to deliver the best outcomes possible for the client.
• Forecast updating – working alongside the discipline leads to update and submit the monthly financial forecasts.
• Drive innovation and efficiencies – establishing regular reviews of where our work has brought efficiencies to the projects so that these can be captured and approved by the client and Jacobs.
• Support the Project Manager with coordinating presentations to the client organisation as required.
• Manage project risk via routine updating of the project risk register.

Knowledge and skills development opportunities:

• Opportunity to interact directly with the client team at the heart of these projects.
• Get exposure to a wide range of Jacobs capabilities, not only including the technical design teams, but also the adjacent Rail Systems Integration team, commercial, planning and many other key contributors that are essential to the running and successful delivery of projects.
• Work alongside highly experienced Project Managers who will enable and support your management development journey, both technically and in the ‘art’ of successful Project Management.
• As a valued member of the team, you will be encouraged to identify efficiencies and improvements and empowered to make an active contribution to the projects.

Here's what you'll need

• Motivation to own your work to ensure on-time completion
• Be able to operate within tight deadlines in accordance with company and client requirements
• A willingness lean and be open to change
• Work well within a team.
• You must have the right to work in the UK

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