Principal Permitting & Entitlement Specialist - Transit

Purely Works; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Purely Works in Seattle seeks an experienced Entitlement Specialist to support transit and infrastructure projects through planning, permitting, entitlement, and pre-development phases.

You will coordinate land-use, environmental, and regulatory approvals, work with environmental planning teams, agencies, and consultants, and bring 15–20 years of related experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related field.
• 15–20 years of progressively responsible experience in permitting, entitlements, land use, environmental approvals, or related project development activities.
• Strong understanding of land use approvals, zoning, environmental permitting, and regulatory processes.

Responsibilities

• Provide general project permitting and entitlement support, including permit feasibility assessments and regulatory analysis.
• Coordinate with agencies, jurisdictions, project teams, and consultants to advance required approvals.
• Document, process, and track variances, deviations, and exceptions.
• Support environmental permitting and compliance activities across federal, state, and local levels.
• Coordinate environmental approvals and clearances required for project development.
• Maintain organized permitting and entitlement documentation throughout the project lifecycle.

Skills

Communication skills

Project coordination

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related field

Tools

SharePoint

PMIS

Kahua

Job description

Location: Seattle

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced **Entitlement Specialist** to support major transit and infrastructure projects through the planning, permitting, entitlement, and pre-development phases. The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating and advancing land use, engineering, environmental, and regulatory approvals required to support project design and construction.

This role will work closely with **environmental planning teams, project consultants, government agencies, and third-party stakeholders** to facilitate project entitlements, permits, environmental compliance, and related agreements. The ideal candidate will bring **15–20 years of relevant experience**, preferably supporting complex transit or major infrastructure programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide general project permitting and entitlement support, including:
• Permit feasibility assessments
• Code and regulatory analysis
• Development agreements
• Land use entitlements
• Zoning approvals
• Third-party-specific permit plans and supporting documentation
• Manage and coordinate permitting activities from initial feasibility through approval.
• Identify permitting requirements, potential constraints, and regulatory risks that may affect project schedules or delivery.
• Coordinate with relevant agencies, jurisdictions, project teams, and consultants to advance required approvals.
• Document, process, and track required variances, deviations, and exceptions.
• Provide support for permitting appeals and related regulatory matters.
• Support federal, state, and local environmental permitting and compliance activities.
• Coordinate environmental approvals and clearances required for project development.
• Work with environmental planning staff and project consultants to ensure permitting activities align with applicable environmental requirements.
• Monitor environmental permitting commitments and support resolution of regulatory issues.

Water Quality & Regulatory Permits

• Support water quality permitting activities as required, including:
• Wastewater and process-related permits
• Construction stormwater permits
• Other applicable water quality approvals
• Coordinate documentation and agency interactions associated with water quality requirements.

Third-Party & Intergovernmental Agreements

• Document, track, and manage project commitments associated with Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) and other third-party agreements.
• Maintain accurate records of commitments, obligations, approvals, and deliverables.
• Utilize project information and document management systems such as SharePoint, PMIS, and Kahua to track permitting and agreement-related activities.
• Coordinate with internal project teams and external stakeholders to ensure commitments are appropriately documented and addressed.

Project Coordination

• Coordinate closely with Environmental Planning staff, project managers, engineers, designers, consultants, and external agencies.
• Participate in project meetings and provide updates regarding permitting, entitlement, environmental, and regulatory activities.
• Identify potential approval or entitlement issues early and support development of appropriate solutions.
• Maintain organized permitting and entitlement documentation throughout the project lifecycle.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related field.
• 15–20 years of progressively responsible experience in permitting, entitlements, land use, environmental approvals, or related project development activities.
• Demonstrated experience managing due diligence and pre-development activities for complex projects.
• Strong understanding of land use approvals, zoning, environmental permitting, and regulatory processes.
• Experience coordinating multiple stakeholders, agencies, consultants, and project teams.
• Strong documentation, organization, communication, and project coordination skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting transit, rail, transportation, or major infrastructure projects.
• Experience working with public agencies, municipalities, or other governmental entities.
• Experience with Intergovernmental Agreements and third-party agreements.
• Familiarity with water quality and construction stormwater permitting.
• Experience with SharePoint, PMIS, Kahua, or similar project/document management systems.

Professional certifications or licenses such as:

• AICP – American Institute of Certified Planners
• PMP – Project Management Professional
• PE – Professional Engineer
• LEED credentials
• Other relevant professional licenses or certifications.