Research Project Manager

New York City Department of Transportation; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

New York City Department of Transportation seeks a City Research Scientist to drive rigorous transportation research across NYC. You will design and oversee studies, supervise staff, manage grants, and coordinate with partners to deliver actionable insights for policy and street design.

The role emphasizes planning, travel demand modeling, data analysis, and clear technical writing to inform decisions that enhance safety and mobility across all five boroughs.

Qualifications

• Master's degree required for Assignment Level I; for Level II and above a PhD with 1 year supervisory/research experience or a Master's with 3 years of related experience; two-year substitution allowed.
• Probationary period of one year is required.

Responsibilities

• Design, oversee, and implement research studies.
• Coordinate with internal and external partners to ensure deliverables.
• Manage grants, contracts, and research projects and represent the unit in working groups.
• Review sensor performance, data collection, and analytical outputs.

Skills

Transportation planning

Travel demand modeling

Research & technical writing

Collaboration & project management

GIS / data analysis

Python / R

Education

Master's degree in physical/biological/environmental science or public health

Doctorate in physical/biological/environmental/social science with supervisory/research experience

Tools

GIS software (ArcGIS)

Python

R

Job description

Transportation Planning and Management (TPM) is responsible for the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods on the City's streets, supporting the larger goals of economic and social vitality for people living, working, and doing business in New York City. The Division's responsibilities include planning, street design, curb management, technical analysis, signs, transit development, freight mobility and markings, ensuring the safety of motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and cyclists. The Office Livable Streets (OLS) is tasked with prioritizing strategic planning, community engagement, research, policy, design, implementation, and long-term management. Their goal is to create streets that are livable, supporting safety, accessibility, inclusion, resiliency, active modes, community cohesion, and economic vitality citywide. Additionally, they aim to enhance New York City's pedestrian, bicycle, and micromobility networks, providing comfortable, connected, green, and reliable transportation options across the five boroughs. They place special emphasis on Priority Investment Areas, mode shift, and reimagining streets. The office also develops innovative new programs, design typologies, project delivery, and analysis tools to meet the demands of a rapidly changing population with evolving needs and technologies. The Cycling & Micromobility (C&M) Unit is responsible for the nation's largest network of on-street bicycle facilities (1,500+ lane-miles), enhancing street safety, and increasing bike ridership in NYC. The team's primary focus is on innovative redesigning City streets to expand and improve the bike network. Under the direction of the Research & Analytics Lead, the Research Project Manager will support the Cycling & Micromobility Unit's research program and maintenance of the Unit's micromobility demand model. Micromobility demand model responsibilities will include developing, documenting, updating, and running modeling scenarios, conducting base network input updates, documenting in detail all model updates and other maintenance performed. In addition, this role will also support unit data collection and management efforts critical to the Micromobility Demand Model, including the maintenance and expansion of the Unit's computer vision sensor network. The research program work includes performing administrative tasks for grants and consultant or research partner led projects, ensuring that all deliverables, and objectives are met, representing the unit in research initiatives and technical working groups, participating in meetings with internal and external stakeholders, and collaborating with unit staff on short-term research-focused assignments. Tasks may include attending meetings with consultants, contractors, or in-house units to review sensor performance, equipment status, maintenance needs, and operational issues, scheduling installations and maintenance, resolving technical issues, and monitoring data collection and access. The Department of Transportation s (DOT) mission is to provide for the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods in the City of New York and to maintain and enhance the transportation infrastructure crucial to the economic vitality and quality of life of our primary customers, City residents. DOT is an equal opportunity employer, committed to recruiting and maintaining a diverse workforce in an open and inclusive environment. CITY RESEARCH SCIENTIST - 21744

Minimum Qualifications

1. For Assignment Level I (only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health) A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health. To be appointed to Assignment Level II and above, candidates must have: 1. A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or 2. A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or 3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above. NOTE: Probationary Period Appointments to this position are subject to a minimum probationary period of one year.

Preferred Skills

• A strong interest in making NYC the world's best cycling city.
• Knowledge of transportation planning principles and travel demand modeling.
• Understanding of transportation planning, urban planning, transportation engineering, or fundamentals in research project development processes.
• Strong research, analytical, and technical writing skills.
• Ability to collaborate and maintain flexibility.
• Good organizational, communication, and project management skills.
• Experience conducting research and creating analysis reports and visualization with the use of R, Python, GIS, or other data analytical tools.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.