Mid Level Planner

Sasaki Associates, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 88,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Sasaki Associates, Inc. in Los Angeles, CA seeks innovative planners with 4–7 years of relevant experience to join our multidisciplinary firm.

The role emphasizes planning research, analysis, and storytelling across civic, campus, and master planning contexts. You will lead research, oversee junior planners, coordinate internal interdisciplinary project teams, and develop client-facing project management and marketing skills as you advance.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in planning or related field, or a bachelor’s degree with 4+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong analysis, research, and storytelling skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead research and analysis.
• Oversee junior planners.
• Coordinate internal interdisciplinary project teams.
• Develop client-facing and project management skills as you advance in this position.
• Develop experience with marketing and business development and contribute to innovation in your discipline.
• Present clear graphic communication and storytelling, displaying understanding of cultural sensitivities and craft narratives for complex stakeholder and client groups.
• Lay out presentations, reports, and leading the creation of graphic content.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Project coordination

Verbal communication

Written communication

Team leadership

Client engagement

Education

Master's degree in planning

Bachelor's degree in planning or related field

Tools

ArcGIS

QGIS

Adobe InDesign

Adobe Illustrator

Microsoft Office

Job description

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Planning Full-Time Regular Los Angeles, CA, US

Salary Range: $88,000.00 To $100,000.00 Annually

Sasaki is a 300+ international planning and design firm headquartered in Boston, MA, with locations in Denver, New York, and Shanghai, China. We have a dynamic creative culture with a reputation and body of work that spans over sixty-five years.

Sasaki is looking for innovative, self-driven, and creative planners with4-7years of relevant experience to join our multidisciplinary firm. We would love to welcome a new team member who is eager to jump into a wide range of planning projects, equipped with strong analysis, research, and storytelling skills - verbal, graphic, and written.

What you will bring:

• A strong grasp of foundational planning concepts and the ability toindependently complete tasksrelated to a range of complex planning topics and contexts.


• Demonstrated ability towork on multiple projectsand tasks simultaneously.


• Organizational and management skills, with attention to detail andability to coordinate tasks on small projects or internal teams


• Curiosity and enthusiasm for working across a variety of client and project types,with experience in one of our core markets(civic sector, campus, or master planning) or a technical expertise (e.g., sustainability, transportation, etc.)


• Knowledge of and comfort with Adobe Suite workflow (INDD, AI) and Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)


• Strong written and verbal communication (planning reports, memoranda, and day-to-day communication)


• Strong quantitative and qualitative analysis skills and the ability tostructure and interpretdata-informed physical planning processes


• Cultural competency in engaging with planning concepts in a variety of contexts

What you will do:

• Lead research and analysis


• Oversee junior planners


• Play a substantial role in coordinating our internal interdisciplinary project teams.


• Develop more client-facing and project management skills as you advance in this position.


• Develop experience with marketing and business development and contribute to innovation in your discipline.


• Present clear graphic communication and storytelling, displaying understanding of cultural sensitivities and craft narratives for complex stakeholder and client groups.


• Lay out presentations, reports, and leading the creation of graphic content

Experience & Education:

• Master’s degree in planning or a related field or a bachelor’s degree in planning or related field with a preference for at leastfour yearsof relevant experience (We welcome applicants who may have had a non-typical path into planning - we’d love to hear about it in your cover letter.)

Planners at Sasaki share a common set of core competencies, but also have a range of complementary strengths and interests. The successful candidates will possess some or most of these attributes:

• Experience contributing to community engagement processes and public speaking


• Familiarity with directing spatial analysis workflow and software (ArcGIS, QGIS)


• Familiarity with project implementation processes (e.g., zoning code, design review, etc.)


• Proficiency with languages spoken in frequent project locations (Spanish and Chinese)


• Degree in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, or another design field


• Experience working as a part of an interdisciplinary design team in an office setting


• Experience with emerging topics in planning and design


• Exposure to scope development, budget management, and sub consultant management for planning projects. Familiarity with project pursuits (proposal development, strategy, interviews, etc.)


• Ability to coordinate multiple junior staff members and support project leadership


• A unique superpower that we haven’t thought to ask about, but that will make an impact on our projects and practice