McDonald Joins Atkins as Practice Manager for Transit and Rail

Atkins is delighted to announce the hiring of Jonathan McDonald, PE, who has joined the company as vice president and senior practice manager for the company’s transit and rail practice. He is based in Atkins’ San Francisco office.

McDonald is an industry leader with 20 years of experience, specializing in building partnerships with key stakeholders, driving business development, expanding client bases and growing companies. He has successfully implemented several industry firsts, including IP-based emergency phones, distributed central control and reliability management.

According to Barry Schulz, president of Atkins’ transportation practice, “Jon is a seasoned professional who has developed a successful career in building winning strategic plans while assembling high-performance technical teams for international transportation, manufacturing, and telecommunications organizations.” Schulz noted that McDonald’s outstanding reputation, exceptional project and business performance, international experience and history of innovation will be a substantial asset to Atkins.

McDonald has successfully led systems development for some of the world’s largest and most advanced rail projects, including the California High-Speed Rail project, Hong Kong’s US$10 billion mixed freight/passenger West Rail Line, multiple BART extensions with state-of-the-art ATO (automated train operation), and Seattle’s Central Link light rail system with mixed bus/rail tunnel operations.

McDonald earned his MBA from the University of Chicago, after earning a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. He is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), serving on its board of directors as chair of its Research and Technology Committee. He serves as a U.S. delegate with the Asia Pacific Economic Corp. (APEC), and has chaired the Transportation Research Board (TRB). He is also an active member of Toastmasters International.