Manager Short Line Development - Commercial Sales

Job Summary

The Manager, Short Line Development (Commercial Sales) is responsible for driving commercial growth, strengthening strategic partnerships, and supporting service performance across CSX's short line railroad network. This role serves as a key commercial liaison between CSX and assigned short line partners, working across Sales, Marketing, Operations, Industrial Development, Customer Service, and other stakeholder groups to identify business opportunities, grow customer relationships, increase carload volume, and deliver value for shared customers.

The position is intended to be execution-oriented at the Manager level. The role is responsible for advancing commercial growth initiatives, supporting customer development efforts, facilitating joint selling activities, strengthening partner engagement, and promoting service excellence while escalating broader strategic, policy, or executive-level matters to leadership as appropriate.

Primary Roles & Responsibilities

Commercial Development & Customer Growth

• Lead efforts to identify, develop, and advance growth opportunities across assigned short line partnerships.

• Partner with Sales, Marketing, Industrial Development, and short line commercial teams to grow existing business, support customer retention, secure new business opportunities, and advance truck-to-rail conversion initiatives.

• Develop and execute joint selling strategies that leverage the combined capabilities of CSX and short line partners.

• Support customer pipeline development by identifying prospective rail-served customers, expansion opportunities, and industrial development projects.

• Facilitate customer engagement activities, partner sales calls, and business development discussions to advance revenue growth opportunities.

• Maintain visibility into commercial pipelines and provide updates on opportunity progression, barriers, and required actions.

• Assist in developing business cases, growth strategies, and market assessments that support network expansion and increased carload volume.

Short Line Relationship Management

• Build and maintain productive working relationships with assigned short line railroad partners.

• Serve as a primary point of contact for commercial coordination, business development efforts, and operational collaboration.

• Develop strategic relationships with short line commercial and operational leadership to align growth objectives and customer development efforts.

• Facilitate regular communication between internal teams and short line partners to improve alignment, responsiveness, and follow-through.

• Support partnership initiatives that improve collaboration, strengthen market positioning, and enhance the value of the CSX-short line network.

• Promote a "One Customer, One Solution, One Experience" approach for shared customers and growth opportunities.

Service Performance & Interchange Coordination

• Monitor interchange performance, service trends, and partner feedback impacting customer experience and business growth.

• Work with Operations, Customer Service, and short line representatives to address service issues and improve network fluidity.

• Support the use of KPIs, dashboards, reports, and other tools that provide visibility into service performance, customer impacts, and partner needs.

• Help identify process improvements that enhance service consistency, accountability, customer confidence, and long-term business growth.

• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure service performance supports commercial commitments and customer expectations.

Industry Engagement & Partner Advocacy

• Participate in short line partner meetings, customer visits, industry events, caucuses, and conferences as appropriate.

• Support engagement with industry organizations and trade associations, including ASLRRA-related activities when needed.

• Maintain awareness of short line priorities, market trends, customer needs, emerging industry issues, and competitive dynamics.

• Share relevant market intelligence, partner feedback, and customer insights with internal stakeholders to support growth strategies and business decisions.

• Represent CSX in a professional manner while reinforcing partnership, collaboration, and growth objectives.

Business Continuity & Issue Resolution

• Assist in coordinating response efforts during service disruptions, network events, or partner-related issues affecting customers.

• Support contingency planning and communication efforts to minimize customer impact and business disruption.

• Escalate risks, recurring issues, commercial obstacles, or strategic concerns to leadership with clear recommendations and supporting information.

• Support effective resolution of customer concerns by coordinating actions across internal departments and short line partners.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with proficiency in Excel, reporting platforms, and data visualization tools.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to engage effectively with customers, partners, and senior leaders.

• Knowledge of freight rail operations, transportation networks, short line partnerships, and commercial business processes preferred.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently in a fast-paced environment.

• Commercial Acumen: Understanding of transportation pricing, customer economics, revenue growth drivers, and market opportunities.

• Business Development: Ability to identify, qualify, and advance customer growth opportunities.

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to connect market trends, customer needs, and network capabilities into actionable growth strategies.

• Customer Focus: Commitment to delivering solutions that create value for partners and customers.

• Collaboration: Strong interpersonal skills to work across teams and with external stakeholders.

• Negotiation & Influence: Ability to gain alignment among multiple stakeholders and advance mutually beneficial outcomes.

• Adaptability: Ability to adjust to evolving priorities, market changes, and service challenges.

• Results Orientation: Focused on driving measurable commercial and operational outcomes.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Logistics, Supply Chain, Transportation, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• 3-5 years of experience in business development, sales, freight rail, transportation, logistics, supply chain, customer service, or commercial operations.

• Working knowledge of railroad operations, interchange processes, customer service, and commercial business processes.

• Demonstrated ability to build productive relationships with customers, partners, and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Experience supporting customer growth initiatives, strategic partnerships, account management, or business development activities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Logistics, Supply Chain, Transportation, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• 5-7 years of experience in business development, sales, freight rail, transportation, logistics, supply chain, customer service, or commercial operations.

• Experience working with short line railroads, Class I railroad partners, rail-served customers, or industrial development organizations.

• Familiarity with rail pricing, industrial development, customer pipeline management, joint selling processes, and commercial strategy development.

• Experience conducting customer-facing sales activities and supporting revenue growth initiatives.

• Experience using data, dashboards , reporting tools, and performance metrics to support commercial and operational business decisions.