Senior Planner - Long Range Regional Planning

San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Commission; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 129,000 - 174,000; Full time

Job summary

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in San Francisco, CA, is seeking a Senior Planner for Long Range Regional Planning to lead regional planning initiatives, including Plan Bay Area 2060 analyses, equity considerations, and goods movement topics. This role requires strong collaboration with partner agencies and cross-functional teams.

You will manage projects, coordinate with modeling staff, present to the Commission, and mentor junior staff, delivering policy-ready analyses within

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in planning, engineering, economics or related field.
• Three years of progressively responsible experience in a related area.
• International degrees require credential evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Lead major regional planning initiatives and projects.
• Conduct policy and technical analyses using data and modeling.
• Communicate findings and present to stakeholders and boards.

Skills

Transportation planning concepts

Policy and data analysis

Communication skills

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Master’s degree desirable

Tools

Tableau

Travel demand models

Job description

Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)

San Francisco, CA

Senior Planner - Long Range Regional Planning

$129,288.10 - $174,004.76

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 provides services to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). For more information about MTC, visit www.mtc.ca.gov.

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.

Job Description

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2026, AT 11:55 PM

HOWEVER, THIS JOB POSTING MAY CLOSE EARLIER IF WE RECEIVE 75 APPLICATIONS BEFORE THE 10/25/26 CLOSING DATE, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST

FIRST ROUND INTERVIEWS ARE TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2026

'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 THE SECTION

The Senior Planner will be a member of the Transportation Planning team, one of four teams within the Regional Planning Program section serving MTC and ABAG. The Regional Planning Program leads regional planning activities related to housing, land use, resilience, and transportation to create an affordable, connected, diverse, healthy, and vibrant Bay Area for all. The section collaborates extensively with local and regional partner agencies, non-profits, advocacy organizations, business and labor groups and community organizations.

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Transportation Planning team leads long-range initiatives that shape the Bay Area’s transportation future. The team develops the Transportation Element of Plan Bay Area—establishing strategic policy and investment priorities for MTC/ABAG and partner agencies—as well as modal plans for transit, goods movement, road pricing, and other regional priorities. With an interdisciplinary focus, the team’s work portfolio extends to topics related to the transportation–land use connection, environmental resilience, economic vitality and equity. In addition, the team plays a central coordination role with federal, state, and local partners on transportation planning.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Senior Planner will play a lead role within the Transportation Planning team. In the near term, the position is anticipated to lead a portfolio of initiatives such as performance planning and equity analyses for Plan Bay Area 2060 and white papers on specific topic areas. In the longer term, this position would be expected to lead planning studies on topics related to goods movement, road pricing, transit and other relevant transportation priorities for the region.

The individual would collaborate closely with policy and planning staff across the agency as well as technical staff in the forecasting and modeling team. Further, the individual would play a major role in engaging and coordinating with key transportation partners throughout the Bay Area, including county transportation agencies, transit operators and non-profit organizations, as well as relevant federal and state agencies. While this position is envisioned to focus on transportation-oriented projects and policies, it will require a cross-functional and interdisciplinary lens.

The ideal candidate would be a versatile team player with robust technical, communications and project management skills who can seamlessly work with internal and external transportation partners, and who would have knowledge on a wide range of transportation, land use, environmental resilience and equity issues. The candidate should be self-driven and adept at creative problem-solving under tight deadlines, with strong interpersonal skills, flexibility to take on new topic areas, and the ability to learn quickly and advance complex projects successfully.

Responsibilities

Under the direction of the Assistant Director, Transportation Planning within the Regional Planning Program, specific assignments and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Project Management

Lead major transportation planning initiatives within the Regional Planning Program, including project planning and execution

Oversee work of junior staff and/or consultants working on related initiatives

Assist with management of cross-functional teams, including project tracking, internal coordination meetings, etc.

Coordinate closely with staff focused on transportation, housing, and the environment, and when appropriate, lead or partner on initiatives in these areas as well

Policy and Technical Analyses

Leverage robust policy and technical skills to conduct quantitative and qualitative explorations of key issues in regional planning

Coordinate closely with transportation and land use modeling staff

Communications

Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, through compelling, relevant, and understandable memos and presentations.

Lead stakeholder meetings and presentations to Commission/Board audiences.

Represent MTC-ABAG in a variety of meetings and/or events.

Qualifications

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

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

Strong understanding of core transportation planning concepts, and emerging challenges and opportunities

Knowledge of cost-effectiveness, benefit-cost analysis, and other methods for evaluating transportation projects and investments

Understanding of the regional and local policy environment, including key stakeholders and perspectives across multimodal sectors

Strong policy and data analysis skills, with experience using Tableau, regional datasets, and travel demand model outputs

Strong communications skills, including the ability to communicate complex policy and technical analyses to a broad range of audiences and build consensus among stakeholders.

Detail-oriented and organized, with the ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.

Experience in collaborating within a large team environment.

Willingness to continually learn and evolve, tackling new topic areas when needed.

Strategic risk-taking, innovation, and creative problem-solving abilities.

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: A Bachelor’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. A Master’s degree is desirable.

Experience: Three years of increasingly responsible experience in an appropriate field related to the area of assignment.

Applicants with a degree issued by an institution outside the United States who are using that degree to meet the minimum qualifications for the position must have their transcripts evaluated by an academic credential evaluation service and provide proof of equivalency with their application. An evaluation is generally not required if: 1. The position does not require a degree, 2. You qualify through work experience alone, 3. You hold a professional license or certification that satisfies the educational requirement, 4. You have another degree earned in the United States that independently satisfies the educational requirement. To ensure a fair and consistent review, any required academic evaluation must be submitted at the time of application so qualifications can be verified before candidates advance in the recruitment process.