Principal Transport Planner

Parsons; Dubai; On-site; AED 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons in Dubai, UAE seeks a highly accomplished Principal Transport Planner with 10+ years of consultancy experience to lead multi-disciplinary infrastructure schemes, focusing on public transport integration, rail network planning, and multi-modal design.

The role drives feasibility to regulatory delivery, coordinating rail, road and active travel schemes, and engaging with municipal authorities and developers to secure approvals.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of transport planning experience in an engineering consultancy.
• 3–5 years focused on rail, metro, or mass transit systems.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, Transport Planning, Highway Engineering, Urban/Regional Planning, or related field.
• Chartered status or active membership with CIHT/TPS/ICE or regional equivalent.
• Knowledge of TOD, Traffic Impact Assessments (TIA), Active Travel / NMT design.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of large-scale railway, metro, light rail, and BRT master planning schemes with integrated road and active transport networks.
• Guide transport modeling activities, interpret travel demand model outputs to justify highway modifications and TOD.
• Engage with municipal authorities, highway departments, and developers to secure approvals and define project scopes.

Skills

Multimodal leadership

Rail capacity analysis

Road & Active transport

Demand forecasting

Stakeholder management

Bid management

Mentorship

VISUM

CUBE

EMME

VISSIM

AIMSUN

Synchro

Education

Bachelor’s or Master in Civil Engineering / Transport Planning

Chartered status

Tools

VISUM

CUBE

EMME

VISSIM

AIMSUN

Synchro

Job description

Job Description:

Principal Transport Planner

Dubai, UAE

We are seeking a highly accomplished Principal Transport Planner with a minimum of 10 years of professional engineering consultancy experience to join our growing infrastructure team. While this senior role primarily requires deep, proven expertise in public transport integration and rail network planning, the ideal candidate must also bring a well-rounded multi-modal background. This includes a solid foundation in road infrastructure planning, traffic impact assessments, and non-motorized transport (NMT) frameworks.

As a senior technical leader within our consultancy practice, you will spearhead major multi-disciplinary infrastructure schemes, guiding complex transit projects from initial feasibility through to client and regulatory delivery. You will play a pivotal role in designing seamless, modern urban mobility networks where rail, road systems, and active mobility modes safely and efficiently intersect.

What Required Skills You'll Bring:

• Multi-Modal Scheme Leadership: Lead the technical delivery of large-scale railway, metro, light rail, and bus rapid transit (BRT) master planning schemes, ensuring seamless physical and operational integration with surrounding road and active transport networks.


• Rail Operations & Capacity Analysis: Oversee network planning, rail timetable analysis, line capacity assessments, and operational planning for heavy rail or mass transit systems.


• Road & Active Transport Design Integration: Oversee the development of highway network links, intersection layouts, pedestrian walkways, and cycling infrastructure schemes, ensuring they align safely with transit hubs.


• Strategic Demand Forecasting: Guide transport modeling activities. Interpret complex data from travel demand models to justify highway modifications, modal shift predictions, and transit-oriented developments (TOD).


• Client & Stakeholder Management: Function as the primary technical point of contact for external municipal government authorities, highway departments, and private developer clients to secure infrastructure scheme approvals.


• Commercial Bid Management: Lead winning technical proposals, define clear project scopes, manage budgets, and oversee resource allocation for local, regional, and national transport planning tenders.


• Team Mentorship: Supervise, train, and mentor junior transport planners and engineers across various disciplines (rail, highways, and micro-simulation).

What Desired Skills You'll Bring:

• Experience: Minimum of 10 years of dedicated transport planning experience within an engineering consultancy environment. A minimum of 3–5 years must be focused specifically on rail, metro, or mass public transit systems.


• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, Transport Planning, Highway Engineering, Urban/Regional Planning, or a highly quantitative related field.


• Professional Chartership: Chartered status or active membership with a recognized professional body (e.g., CIHT, TPS, ICE, or regional equivalent).


• Technical Breadth: Significant knowledge of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) principles, Traffic Impact Assessments (TIA), traffic calming measures, and the design requirements for Active Travel / Non-Motorized Transport (NMT).


• Software Awareness: Understanding and ability to interpret outputs from industry-standard software across multiple disciplines, such as VISUM, CUBE, or EMME (for rail/transit) alongside VISSIM, AIMSUN, or Synchro (for roads/intersections).

Parsons equally employs representation at all job levels no matter the race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest.