Jobs

We had a great time this last winter working with the planning staff at Las Vegas's transit agency RTC.  Las Vegas may not be your idea of a transit city, but many parts of the network are fantastically busy, and it's a time of great transformations including (a) the emergence of frequency branding, (b) the Maryland Parkway corridor project, serving the university and airport, and (c) a major study about the future of transit on the Las Vegas strip, already a fantastically bus (and profitable) bus corridor.  

They have a manager of transit planning position open!  Have a look.

Fifty percent of the workforce in the transit industry is set to retire or move on in the next five years so getting the word out that we want smart, driven, talented folks is critical for us.

Mike Eshelman, Senior Planner, SamTrans
In an interview with Hipmunk

How to get into the profession?  Here's my perennial advice.

Are you an experienced public transit planner/engineer with 5+ years experience and a commitment to breaking through old paradigms and raising the standards of the profession?  If so, my colleagues at MRCagney in Sydney may be looking for you.  They are open to hiring from worldwide, so if you've ever dreamed of living in Australia, this may be your chance.   Here's the listing.

MRCagney is small and focused sustainable transport firm with offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, and Singapore.  Built around a group of former transit agency executives, it now does a range of work but is closely associated with BRT, bus network design, and public transit management, with many projects across Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

I worked for them fulltime for five years when I was based in Sydney (2006-2011), and I'm still on their payroll part time, helping out with the occasional network design study.  In 2012, for example, I worked with them on a redesign of Auckland's bus network, which is being rolled out over the next few years, and we did a similar project in Darwin earlier this year.   MRCagney is really the Australia-NZ firm for cutting-edge transit planning, which is why I stay involved with their work as much as I can.   I like to think I've had some influence on MRCagney's transit planning values, so if you like what I've written on public transit, and have your own ideas about how to put these ideas into practice, that's probably an advantage!

Please pass this on to other professionals who might be ready for an adventure Down Under.  It's an exciting time to be a transit planner in that part of the world.  

CHK America has done some of the better transit network maps I've seen in North America lately, like this one for Washington DC.  They also do a range of other graphical information tools.  If you're experienced in this field, now's your chance to join them in sunny Santa Barbara:

CHK America is adding to its staff. We are looking for an experienced senior information designer who has advanced skills in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. Understanding of public transportation systems and service is required. Person will be working in a fast moving production environment and must be able to complete tasks within the established budget. Competitive salary and benefits package. Office is located in Santa Barbara, CA. This position is fulltime. Fax or email resume to 805-682-8004 or [email protected]

UPDATE:  FIRST FOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN COMMENTS BELOW.

My firm Jarrett Walker + Associates is looking for quick assistance in designing a web-based tool, designed to sit on a transit agency or project website, that will help citizens think through some transit planning choices and suggest priorities.  It requires the user to select different types of network for different parts of a city, and cover the whole city within a fixed budget of service.  

We need the product in a month.  Our absolute maximum budget $9000 but we will be very interested in proposals that come in substantially lower.  

This job is likely to be suited to a small, low-overhead web programmer who can do it quickly, efficiently, and yet creatively.  It could lead to a future relationship assisting us with more tools of this type, as the need arises often in our planning projects.

Everything is explained in our simple Request for Proposals, along with two attachments referenced in it.  (All materials are copyright Jarrett Walker+Associates and should not be reproduced for other purposes.)  All you need to do is reply with a quick letter.  

Download Service Allocation Exercise RFP

Download Service Allocation Game

Download Population and Employment Data

If you have a question:

• Look at the comments below.
• If your question hasn't been answered, add a comment beginning with the words "Question __:" where the space is the number of your question (the last number you see, plus 1).  I will then reference these numbers in my responses, which will also appear as comments.  (Alas, TypePad does not support threaded comments.)
• Come back in a day or so to check for your answer.

Note:  To keep the flow of critical information clear on this procurement, I am reading but then unpublishing comments that are extraneous to the question-and-answer process.  

Thanks!  

My consulting practice,
Jarrett Walker + Associates, has won several consulting gigs for 2013, and is ready to grow just a tiny bit.

I'd like to hear from people who are either:

• Interested in full-time employment based in Portland, or
• Interested in assisting me on a subcontract basis.  These do not have to be based in Portland but there is some advantage to being in Portland, Seattle, the Bay Area or Los Angeles.  Scroll down for more on that.

In all cases, compensation is based on experience and salary history, or based on a subcontractor's stated billing rate.  

1.  Full-Time Employment

Full-time employment will likely look like one of these:

• Associate Planner.  This person, based in Portland, would take on a range of analysis and planning roles while also assisting with administrative and logistical support.  Over time it could grow into full-time planning but in the early stages we will not have much clerical or administrative staff, so you must be ready to pitch in with whatever needs to be done.  This role could be anywhere from entry-level (Masters preferred) to up to 3 years professional, and/or academic experience.  Enthusiastic BAs who can show some relevant experience and skills will also be considered.  Essential skills include English fluency, strong personal organization, resourcefulness, quantitative analysis skills in Excel, and an ability to convey ideas clearly in writing.  Highly desirable skills include GIS and spatial analysis generally, ability to write for both general and technical audiences, and demonstrated skills with graphics including both mapping and explanatory graphics.

• Senior Associate.  This person, based in Portland, has all the skills listed above plus a either (1) a Masters in a relevant field (planning, design, or engineering) and over 3 years professional experience in transportation planning and/or policy or (2) five years of such experience.  This person is very well-organized and an excellent manager, able to monitor scope, budget, and deadlines and manage more junior staff and subconsultants.  You already have a range of skills that make you marketable as a transit consultant, and are capable of winning some projects based on those skills combined with me in a project director or oversight role.

2.  Subcontracting

Subcontracting would take the form of part-time but committed roles assisting me with various tasks.  ("Committed" means that our agreement imposes deadlines, requires a certain minimum degree of availability, prohibits you from disappearing in the middle of a task, and may include a non-compete clause, but otherwise leaves much room for flexibility in how work is done.)  Subconractors are capable of self-direction and can accurate commit to the time and materials required for various tasks.  I am especially interested in subcontractors who can help with:

• Graphics of a high presentation quality designed to engage and enlighten a general audience, such as you would expect of an artchitecture or design firm.  These would include both informative maps and compelling visual explanations.  This person should be comfortable with GIS (as a common data source) as well as more artistic graphics programs, and should have a portfolio of clear, engaging and exciting graphical explanations of ideas and/or choices.

• Quantitative analysis of transit issues using Excel (including graphs), GIS, and other relevant software you may propose.

• General transit planning, which requires both quantative and qualitative skills plus good writing skills and an understanding of transit issues demonstrated in past work.  It is also very, very helpful if you have experience interacting with general decision-makers and the public, and also with professionals in adjacent fields such as transportation policy, urban design, and traffic engineering.

How to Express Interest

1.  Take the time to understand my work a little, and think about how your own values and experience relate to that.  At the very least, read the introduction to my book and explore my professional website.  Obviously generic or find-and-change applications will be ignored.

2.  Send me an email, using the link under my photo.  In the subject line, say "Employment" or "Subcontracting" and the position or area(s)  listed above that you feel you are qualified for.

3.  Don't write a lot in the email, because that material is a pain to organize and file.  Put your message to me in the cover letter.  

4.  Provide cover letter, resume, and work samples (including professional, academic or volunteer work) that you feel are most relevant.  If the work samples are not exclusively your work, explain what part of it is yours.

5.  In your cover letter, be sure to state the salary range or billing rate that you believe is appropriate.  If you're not sure, cite your most recent salary or hourly rate for similar work.  

6.  In your cover letter, state any limitations about your ability to travel for work.  If you are not in Portland, clarify if you are interested in moving there, now or in the future.  Again, a Portland location is not essential for subcontractors, but it is still a consideration.

I will start reviewing responses around February 1.  If you plan to respond, please do so by then!

Please forward a link to this post to anyone who might be interested!  Thanks!