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Ministry of Railways Jobs 2026 — Project Manager (Software) & Deputy Director IT Infrastructure (MP-III)

Ministry of Railways, Government of Pakistan (Pakistan Railways) — Islamabad

By Muhammad Younus, Editor Posted: 27 Oct 2026 13 min read

The Ministry of Railways, Government of Pakistan, has announced two senior information technology leadership posts on the Management Position (MP) scales: Project Manager (Software) and Deputy Director IT Infrastructure, both in MP-III. The appointment is on contract, initially for three years, under the MP Scales Policy 2020, and the posts are based in Islamabad, with travel across Pakistan for railway work. The Project Manager (Software) will lead software projects for Pakistan Railways, while the Deputy Director IT Infrastructure will oversee IT infrastructure planning and operations for the national railway network. Both posts require a PhD or a Master's degree in a computing field — Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Data Science or Information Technology — together with programme or project management experience: three years with a PhD, or five years with a Master's degree. The maximum age is 62 years. Applications are submitted online through the National Job Portal within fifteen days of the advertisement's publication in Daily Dawn on 27 October 2026, which falls on 11 November 2026, and the full terms of reference for both posts are available on the Ministry's website, railways.gov.pk. This article gives the post-wise requirements, the experience rules, the application method, and the contract terms, so that senior IT professionals can judge their eligibility before applying.

About Ministry of Railways, Government of Pakistan (Pakistan Railways)

The Ministry of Railways is the federal ministry that owns and runs Pakistan Railways, the national railway system, and it is responsible for railway policy, planning, safety and operations across the country. Pakistan Railways operates passenger and freight services on a network that links Karachi with Peshawar, Quetta, Lahore, Rawalpindi and the rest of the country, and its headquarters and principal offices sit in Lahore and Islamabad. In recent years the railway's modernisation has depended heavily on information technology: passenger reservation and ticketing systems, freight tracking, locomotive and rolling-stock management, signalling and control systems, and the administrative systems that run human resources, finance and procurement. The two posts in this advertisement sit at the top of that IT function. The Project Manager (Software) owns the delivery of railway software projects from planning to rollout, and the Deputy Director IT Infrastructure owns the networks, servers, data centres and field systems on which those projects run. Both roles report to senior ministry leadership and coordinate teams, vendors and timelines for nationwide rollouts. For a senior IT professional, these are among the few MP-scale posts in the federal government that combine a national-scale system, a three-year contract horizon, and direct responsibility for systems used by millions of passengers.

Vacant Positions — Post-Wise Details

The advertisement lists two posts, one each, both in MP-III. The two roles are complementary rather than interchangeable: one owns software delivery, and the other owns the infrastructure that software runs on. Each row below gives the post, the number of seats, the scale, the required qualification and experience, and a short note on the responsibilities.

• Project Manager (Software): Leads software projects for Pakistan Railways: plans delivery, coordinates development teams and vendors, manages timelines and risks, and reports progress to senior ministry leadership.
• Deputy Director IT Infrastructure: Oversees IT infrastructure planning and operations for the railway network: networks, servers, data centres and field systems, ensuring they are secure, reliable and fit for railway operations.

Eligibility Criteria — Who Can Apply

• PhD or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Data Science or Information Technology, from a recognised university
• With a PhD: at least three years of programme management experience in information technology
• With a Master's degree: at least five years of programme or project management experience in information technology
• Proven experience of software delivery and IT infrastructure management, as applicable to the post applied for
• Working knowledge of software project delivery, and, for the infrastructure post, of network and systems operations
• Maximum age 62 years
• Willingness to travel across Pakistan for railway work
• Government servants must apply through the proper channel with a No Objection Certificate
• Only shortlisted candidates will be called for interview

The eligibility rules for these two posts are built around a trade-off between academic depth and management experience, and candidates should check which side of that trade-off they fall on before applying. The degree condition is the same for both posts: a PhD or a Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Data Science or Information Technology. A degree in an unrelated field does not meet the condition, even with long IT experience, because the advertisement names the computing disciplines expressly. The experience condition then splits by degree level: a PhD holder needs at least three years of programme management experience, while a Master's holder needs at least five years of programme or project management experience. That experience must be in information technology, and it must be programme or project management experience, not general IT support or development work alone: the posts are leadership posts, and the selection panel will look for evidence of leading teams, vendors, budgets and delivery timelines. The Project Manager (Software) post emphasises software delivery — project planning, vendor coordination, testing and rollout — while the Deputy Director IT Infrastructure post emphasises infrastructure operations — networks, servers, data centres, security and reliability of railway systems. Candidates should apply for the post that matches their record, because the two posts will be shortlisted on different strengths. The maximum age is 62 years, which is unusually high for a government advertisement and reflects the MP-scale practice of recruiting senior professionals, including retired or late-career specialists. Willingness to travel across Pakistan is an express condition, because railway IT work is not confined to Islamabad: systems are deployed at stations, workshops and control rooms across the network. Government servants must apply through the proper channel and produce a departmental No Objection Certificate, and the terms of reference published on railways.gov.pk are the final authority on any condition summarised here.

Salary & Benefits

The advertisement does not print a rupee salary figure for either post, and this article therefore quotes no salary amount. Both posts are on the MP-III scale under the MP Scales Policy 2020, which is the federal government's Management Position scale for senior contract professionals recruited from the market rather than from the regular civil service. Under the MP system, the pay package for a scale is fixed by the policy and stated in the terms of reference for the post, and it typically comprises a lump-sum monthly package rather than the Basic Pay Scale structure of allowances and increments that applies to regular government servants. The exact package for these two posts is therefore found in the terms of reference on the Ministry's website, railways.gov.pk, and candidates should read that document before applying, because the package, and any additional facilities, are part of the contract offer. Because the advertisement itself gives no figure, any salary number circulating on social media for these posts should be treated as unverified. Candidates should rely on the terms of reference and the official offer letter for their exact package, and should not pay anyone who promises an appointment or a particular package in exchange for money.

Selection Process

Selection follows the standard federal process for MP-scale contract posts. First, applications submitted through the National Job Portal are screened against the degree, experience and age conditions, and applications that do not meet the degree discipline or the experience threshold for their post are rejected at this stage. Shortlisted candidates are then called for an interview before a selection panel, which assesses programme and project management experience, technical depth in software delivery or IT infrastructure as applicable, and suitability for a national-scale railway system. Only shortlisted candidates are contacted, and they must bring their original documents — degrees, experience certificates, CNIC and, for government servants, the No Objection Certificate — for verification. No TA or DA is normally admissible for appearing in the interview for contract posts of this kind, unless the call letter states otherwise. Final selection is subject to document verification and to the terms of the MP Scales Policy 2020, and the appointment is initially for three years, with any extension governed by the contract and the policy, not by an automatic right of renewal.

Documents Required

• Attested copy of your CNIC (computerised national identity card)
• Attested copies of all educational certificates and degrees
• Domicile certificate of the required district, with PRC (Form-D) where required
• Two recent passport-size photographs
• Experience certificates, where the post requires experience
• Valid driving licence, for Driver and Dispatch Rider posts
• A written application for the post, separate for each post if applying for more than one
• Attested copy of your father's CNIC, where the advertisement asks for it
• No Objection Certificate (NOC) if you already serve in government
• Disability certificate, if applying against the disabled persons quota
• Original documents for verification at the interview, with one full set of attested photocopies

Terms & Conditions

The appointment is on contract, initially for three years, under the MP Scales Policy 2020, and it does not by itself create a right to permanent appointment or to absorption in the regular civil service. The Ministry reserves the right to accept or reject any application, and to change or cancel the process, without giving a reason. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview, and no travel or daily allowance is normally admissible for attending the interview. Any candidate found to have given false information, or to have tried to influence the process, will be disqualified at any stage, even after appointment. The terms of reference published on railways.gov.pk form part of the conditions of this recruitment, and the Ministry's decision in all matters of this recruitment will be final.

Frequently Asked Questions