Salary : $142,917.42 - $181,253.70 Annually
Location : San Francisco, CA
Job Type: Regular/Full-Time
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 24-024
Section: Planning Section
Opening Date: 05/17/2024
Closing Date: 6/9/2024 11:59 PM Pacific
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is an equal-opportunity, non-discriminatory employer. MTC provides all employees and applicants with an equal opportunity in every aspect of the employment experience regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, physical handicap, medical condition or marital status.
DESCRIPTION
DEADLINE TO APPLY IS SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2024 AT 11:59 PM
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE APPLY IMMEDIATELY
First round interviews tentatively scheduled for Thursday, June 20, 2024
A resume and cover letter are not required with your application, but highly encouraged
Be ready to rethink your assumptions about the public sector. Dedicated and motivated colleagues? Beautiful, high amenity building for on-site work and collaboration? Flexible schedules and hybrid work options? Yes, yes, and yes!
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. MTC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the state designated Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. MTC provides services to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). For more information about MTC, visit .
The Regional Planning Program section at MTC/ABAG is a multidisciplinary team that applies data-driven planning to improve the trajectory of the San Francisco Bay Area. One of our core deliverables is , which we update every four years. This long-range plan lays out a set of strategies for how to achieve a region that is affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant for all. In developing the plan, our team takes on some of the most difficult and important challenges facing the region: how to make living in the region affordable for existing and future residents, how to create a safe and effective transportation system, and how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The section consists of five teams: Major Plans, Mobility, Housing and Local Planning, Data and Visualization, and Forecasting/Modeling and Surveys.

This Principal Modeler position is within the Forecasting/Modeling and Surveys (FMS) team, which conducts data analysis and develops and applies modeling tools to analyze the impacts of potential strategies for Plan Bay Area. Our team strives to create quality modeling tools that embody our section's goals for planning excellence; we emphasize transparency by creating open-source models, and we value collaboration with other agencies and partners in developing shared resources. The FMS team focuses on the application of economic models, urban development models, and travel models, including developing new features for some of these models as new analysis needs arise. The FMS team also conducts regular travel diary surveys and transit passenger surveys to inform these tools and other research questions of interest to the agency.
The Principal Modeler will lead development and application of cutting-edge models to assess our region's future and to evaluate potential strategies and to improve quality of life. In this role, the Principal Modeler will provide leadership to other professional staff on specific projects, including mentoring staff in technical development; represent MTC/ABAG before a variety of groups, agencies, organizations, elected officials, and the public, requiring the ability to communicate effectively about technical topics with non-technical stakeholders; and perform other job-related tasks and duties as required or assigned.
All MTC employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law (California Government Code Section 3100-3109). Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES

The ideal candidate will have the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:
Required

• Deep knowledge of activity-based travel modeling, network modeling and/or socioeconomic modeling
• Programming skills in python and R to collect, clean, code and analyze data
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work in a project and team environment

Desired

• Experience synthesizing technical information to facilitate good policy and planning decisions
• Data visualization experience
• Knowledge of the complexity of the transportation system and land use/transportation issues facing the San Francisco Bay Area

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

An appropriate combination of education and experience that has provided the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way of obtaining the required qualifications is:
Education: A Master's degree in an appropriate field related to the area of assignment, such as transportation planning, city and regional planning; transportation engineering or modeling, financial management, economics, business or public administration. Applicants with a degree issued from an institution outside the United States must have their transcripts evaluated by an academic accrediting service and provide proof of equivalency along with their application.
Experience: Three years of increasingly responsible experience in an appropriate field related to the area of assignment.
A Bachelor's degree in an appropriate discipline and four years of relevant experience is an alternative qualification.
License/Certificate: Possession of a valid California Class C driver's license and a safe driving record, or the ability to provide alternate transportation which is approved by the appointing authority.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Specific tasks and assignments include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Development and application of travel models, including forecasting travel and analyzing transportation system performance
• Development and application of urban models (also known as land use models or socio-economic models), including forecasting households and employment and analyzing land use policy
• Data cleaning, network and policy coding, technical documentation and other activity supporting the Forecasting, Modeling and Surveys team
• Coordinate development of assigned program or project budgets; administer and monitor the approved budgets; discuss and resolve budget issues with appropriate staff and responsible agencies; implement adjustments as necessary; negotiate, prepare and administer contracts, proposals and agreements
• Represent MTC before a variety of groups, agencies, organizations, elected officials and the public

THE FOLLOWING ARE AMONG THE BENEFITS OFFERED TO EMPLOYEES OF MTC:

• Public Employees Retirement System (PERS); employee contributes a portion of gross salary on a pre-tax basis.
  • MTC is subject to California Pension Reform and as of January 1, 2013 will offer two pension plans. The plan employee will receive will be based on the individual's historical pension plan membership. HR will discuss this directly with all final candidates.
• Health Benefits Insurance through the Public Employees' Retirement System (premiums are shared between agency and employee).
• Agency-paid Dental Insurance (dependent coverage shared by the employee and MTC).
• Agency-paid Vision Care Insurance, employees only (dependent coverage is paid in full by employee).
• Agency-paid Life, AD&D, Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance.
• Eleven paid holidays per year.
• One day per month paid vacation leave; for each year of service, an additional day per year is granted to a maximum of 25 days per year.
• One day per month paid sick leave, with no limit to the amount of sick leave that can be accumulated. (May cash out up to 240 hours of accumulated sick leave upon separation from the Agency.)
• Personal Business leave; up to three (3) days per year depending upon date of hire.
• Monthly Transit/Parking Subsidy.
• Alternative employee-paid payroll savings plans (tax-deferred compensation plans).
• Two voluntary employee-paid pre-tax dependent care and flexible spending accounts available for employees to participate in.
• Voluntary Supplemental life insurance.

01

Please explain why you think this role is a good fit for you. What motivates you?
02

Please self-rate your capabilities in the following, from 1-10 (10 being expert and 1 being novice). Please feel free to include some explanation of your rating.a. Model Application and explaining model resultsb. Explaining/Finding the cause of unexpected model resultsc. Model Developmentd. Programminge. Managing People
03

In which area do you want to develop your skills the most? Please explain.
Required Question