Welcome to FT! With that schedule, you should make platinum/1K on COUA each year, which will make your flying experience much more pleasant.

My recommendation is to the the Presidential Plus MC from Continental. This card carries a $375-ish annual fee, BUT... it comes with lounge access which will be welcome for your frequent trips AND you get a 25% bonus on redeemable miles AND you get flex EQMs which will allow you to push toward status sooner rather than later. Also, since you will most likely be exceeding the 100K mark in miles each year, the extra EQMs will give you the ability to push forward to the next threshold for SWUs... which will make leisure travel with your family MUCH more enjoyable!

Good luck in your new job!