Rising Stars 2024: Marco Gonzalez

Marco Gonzalez, 35
Senior Reliability Engineer
Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp.

Nominator’s quote: “Marco is one of those innovators whose insights and creativity find their way to actual, real-time solutions and improvements for both the organization and its customers, while saving cost and expense at the same time.” — Clarelle DeGraffe, Port Authority Trans-Hudson

Education: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with focus in electrical power, Polytechnic University.

Job responsibilities: Responsible for collecting and analyzing data, identifying trends, and developing corrective actions to improve performance and reliability of the railroad infrastructure and rolling stock. Duties also include executive reporting and innovation. Coming up with new ways to solve old problems by leveraging technology.

Career path: After college, I spent five years as an electrical engineer between two medical device companies. I helped develop automated test equipment for manufacturing plants. I landed my first job in rail in 2015 as an electromechanical engineer at AirTrain JFK, the automated people mover at JFK International Airport. I focused on power distribution. I was promoted to senior engineer and became the technical lead for traction power, automatic train control and rolling stock electrical.

I left AirTrain JFK as the head of overnight maintenance. I joined the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Railroad (PATH) in 2019 as an electrical engineer concentrating on traction power maintenance and capital projects. In 2022, I was promoted to my current position.

How or why did you get into the rail industry? By chance. I had spent a few years working in Long Island, 30-plus miles away from home and I wanted to be closer to Queens, New York. Bombardier was looking for an electrical engineer to support the maintenance and operations of AirTrain JFK and I applied. I did not know anything about rail but having flown out of JFK my whole life, I always saw the AirTrain move between the airport terminals, and I was ready for a new challenge.

What’s the best career advice that you’ve received? Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Take on stretch assignments outside of your comfort zone and be great. Be ready and willing to take on the extra work and take the lead to deliver results. I have been very fortunate to work around people with decades of knowledge and experience in the industry.

What advice would you share with someone just starting out in rail? Get your hands dirty. Spend time in the field, observe and partake in the intricacies of maintaining railroad infrastructure and rolling stock. Get involved, ask questions, listen and learn from any railroaders willing to pass along the tricks of the trade.

What was your first job? During my junior year of college, I began an internship at a medical device company working in the electrical lab calibrating, troubleshooting and repairing test equipment for the manufacturing plant.

Share a fun fact about yourself. I enjoy building high-horsepower cars with my younger brother who is a master mechanic. Piecing together an engine from top to bottom — connecting rods, camshafts, turbocharger, etc. — and then putting it on the road is incredibly satisfying.

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why? Mariano Rivera. Growing up as a Yankee fan in New York City, I enjoyed watching him help the team win multiple championships through on-field dominance. As an adult, I am able to appreciate the preparation, execution and excellence in his craft and apply that mentality to my personal and professional endeavors.

His humanitarian contributions also really hit home with me, having spent so much of my childhood in Ecuador and watching him give back to the impoverished youth of Panama. I would like to pick his brain about impact, legacy and of course, the cut fastball.

Who has had the most influence on your career? My uncle inspired me to pursue a higher education. He was the first person in my family to graduate from college. Watching him motivated me to follow in his footsteps —at the same school — and also become an engineer. As the years have passed, my family inspires me to do more and be more. I aspire to be the best role model I can be for my two daughters and provide them with every resource possible to succeed in life.

Describe a major obstacle in your career and how you surmounted it. Being viewed solely as an electrical engineer. Before and after I entered the rail industry, my tasks were always only electrical in nature. I had to go above and beyond to prove that I was more than capable in applying my engineering background and way of thinking to other disciplines whether they be operations, mechanical or civil in nature.

I parlayed my hobbies outside of work into hands-on capabilities in the field, which allowed me to move beyond my title and display my mechanical and analytical aptitude across the different facets of the railroad business.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the rail industry today? Adoption of new technologies in operations and maintenance. Whether I am replacing rail, repairing switch machines or overhauling propulsion units, I have seen that the science of maintaining a railroad remains unchanged. New technologies are often met with hesitation by lifelong railroaders and as the old saying goes, “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

However, I strongly believe technology can, at a minimum, improve traditional maintenance practices. Data analytics and artificial intelligence can assist with cutting down the time to recognize an issue before it becomes a failure. Moving from reactive to preventative — and eventually predictive — maintenance is something the industry has just begun to do.