Principal, Transit Fare Programs

Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)

San Francisco, CA

Principal, Transit Fare Programs

Salary: $152,501.86 - $193,409.22 Annually

Job Type: Regular/Full-Time

Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid

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.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2026, AT 11:59 PM

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE APPLY IMMEDIATELY

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!

ABOUT MTC

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 is committed to being an equitable and inclusive workplace. MTC provides services to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). For more information about MTC, visit www.mtc.ca.gov.

ABOUT THE SECTION

Established in 2023 the Regional Network Management (RNM) team, housed at MTC, is charged with driving transformative improvements in the customer experience for regional Bay Area transit and whose vision is to advance regional goals in equity, livability, climate, and resiliency through a regional transit system that serves all Bay Area populations. The work of the RNM is grounded in the 2021 Transit Transformation Action Plan, adopted by the Transit Transformation Task Force.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a part of the RNM team the Principal, Transit Fare Programs will manage the delivery of various transit fare initiatives including the Clipper BayPass Program, Clipper START, the Free/Discounted Interagency Transfer Pilot Program, as well as other projects associated with the Transit Fare Policy Vision Statement, adopted by the Fare Integration Task Force in November 2021. This role will also supervise staff supporting the operations of transit fare initiatives.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision and direction of the Assistant Director, Fare Policy and Partnerships the essential duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Manage the operations of the Clipper BayPass Program, including working directly with transit operator partners, existing institutional customers, and potential institutional customers.

• Work with MTC’s legal and contracts teams to oversee the negotiation and execution of contracts associated with the Clipper BayPass Program.

• Support the ongoing delivery of and operational enhancements to the Clipper START (means-based) Program.

• Provide support and guidance to staff reporting directly to the Principal.

• Develop strong, trusted-based partnerships with transit operator staff to support the implementation of fare initiatives.

• Work closely with staff from MTC’s Clipper Program to facilitate the technical implementation of fare initiatives.

• Support the evaluation of fare initiatives through robust technical and customer-based evaluation approaches.

• Develop budget requests, consultant procurements, and other administrative documents necessary to support the delivery of fare initiatives.

• Serve as the staff liaison for the Fare Programs Staff Working Group.

• Represent MTC at meetings, review written reports and memoranda prepared by project staff and make presentations before MTC committees, executive staff, and other agencies.

QUALIFICATIONS

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

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

• Strong knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area transit network, including knowledge of operators and key transit corridors.

• Interest in improving the transit user experience through innovative ideas and creative approaches that may be novel to the Bay Area.

• Knowledge of transit fare policy and approaches to using fare policy as a catalyst for policy outcomes.

• Experience facilitating projects involving numerous organizational stakeholders as well as an interest in finding compromise when faced with conflicting perspectives.

• Ability to translate technical information into a language and format understandable to the general public.

• Flexibility and willingness to develop programs from the ground up, often without existing templates to follow and in circumstances that can challenging to determine the best course of action.

• Prepare and make presentations to a wide variety of audiences.

• Prepare, evaluate and monitor program budgets.

• Analyze complex operational and management problems and develop effective solutions.

• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities listed. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

Education and Experience: Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in planning, civil engineering, environmental science, business or public administration, or a related field and seven (7) years of increasingly responsible professional experience administering programs in a field related to assignment area.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience: 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.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

Successful completion of a background check, professional references and the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.

DISABILITY

The Human Resources Department will make reasonable efforts in the recruitment or skills assessment process to accommodate applicants with disabilities. If selected for an interview or testing, and you require accommodation, please notify the Human Resources Department when confirming your interview or test.

APPLICATION ASSISTANCE

If you need technical assistance with your online application, please contact Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627, available from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (PST), Monday-Friday, excluding holidays.