Senior Professional Engineer / Project Manager - Traffic Engineering

TKDA; Riverside, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 146,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

ESOP

401(k) Match

Paid Time Off

Annual incentive plan

HSA contributions

Job summary

TKDA is seeking a Senior Professional Engineer / Project Manager for Traffic to lead transportation projects in California and beyond. You will guide traffic design, operations, and safety studies, mentor staff, and expand TKDA’s California presence through client engagement and business development.

Ideal candidates bring deep traffic engineering expertise, strong project leadership, and a track record of managing multiple projects, delivering quality work, and pursuing new opportunities with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering required.
• Professional Engineer in CA or ability to obtain within six months.
• 10+ years of traffic engineering or related transportation experience.
• Experience leading traffic engineering projects and coordinating with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience managing multiple projects including scope, schedule, budget, staffing, and client coordination.
• Experience mentoring staff and supporting technical development.
• Experience in business development with demonstrated success in securing opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Lead traffic engineering projects in design, operations, or both.
• Oversee plans, specifications, cost estimates, and reports.
• Provide technical direction and quality oversight.
• Develop project work plans, schedules, budgets, and staffing plans.
• Manage delivery and coordinate with clients, agencies, subconsultants, and teams.
• Mentor junior staff and support their professional growth.
• Build and maintain relationships with agencies; pursue new opportunities.

Skills

Traffic engineering

Project management

Client engagement

Business development

Mentoring staff

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in civil engineering

California PE licensure or ability to obtain within 6 months

Tools

Bentley OpenRoads Designer

AutoCAD Civil 3D

Synchro/SimTraffic

Highway Capacity Software (HCS)

Vissim

Rodel

SIDRA

Job description

Join TKDA as a Senior Professional Engineer / Project Manager - Traffic and help lead the delivery of transportation solutions that improve safety and mobility throughout California and across the country. You'll apply your technical expertise, project leadership, and client service skills while helping expand our traffic engineering services and build on our growing presence in the transportation industry. This role offers an opportunity to help expand TKDA’s California transportation practice through project leadership, business development, and client engagement.

You’ll work alongside engineers, designers, and technicians delivering traffic operations, transportation safety, traffic studies, and transportation system design for state, county, and local agencies and design-build contractors. This position offers the opportunity to lead projects and mentor staff across both traffic operations and traffic design. Candidates may bring deeper expertise in one area while collaborating across a comprehensive range of traffic engineering services.

As a senior member of the team, you’ll partner with the Regional Vice President and Traffic Group Manager, playing a key role in growing TKDA’s transportation presence in the region by managing client relationships, pursuing new opportunities, developing staff, and delivering successful projects. The successful candidate will play a leadership role in project delivery, business development, client engagement, and mentoring as we continue to grow our transportation practice in the region.

We take a seller-doer approach to business development. You’ll partner with Surface Transportation leaders to maintain and expand client relationships, identify project opportunities, develop proposals, and represent TKDA in client and industry settings. You will play an active role in business development through client engagement, pursuit strategies, proposal development, and identification of new opportunities. Success in this role includes strengthening relationships with clients and agency partners throughout the region and helping secure opportunities that support the continued growth of TKDA's transportation practice.

For this opportunity, we are seeking a qualified candidate who currently resides or plans to relocate within a regular commuting distance of our office.

Hybrid Work Environment: Tuesday - Thursday In-Office | Monday & Friday WFH

We're Moving! TKDA is currently located in San Bernardino with plans to relocate to Downtown Riverside by October 2026. Additional information about the exact location of our Riverside office will be communicated soon through a formal press release, so stay tuned!

Responsibilities

Technical and Project Delivery

• Lead traffic engineering projects in traffic design, traffic operations, or a combination of both.
• Oversee the preparation of plans, specifications, cost estimates, technical memoranda, and/or reports.
• Provide technical direction and quality oversight within the candidate’s areas of expertise.

Project Management

• Develop project work plans, schedules, budgets, and staffing plans.
• Manage project delivery and coordinate with clients, agencies, subconsultants, and multidisciplinary teams.
• Monitor project performance and proactively address scope, schedule, budget, and technical risks.
• Coordinate project workloads and priorities across assigned technical staff.

Staff Leadership

• Direct and coordinate the work of engineers, designers, and technicians.
• Mentor junior staff while supporting their technical and professional development.

Client Service and Business Development

• Build and maintain relationships with state, county, and local transportation agencies throughout the region.
• Identify, pursue, and help secure new project opportunities.
• Lead or support proposal development, interviews, and pursuit strategies.
• Represent TKDA in client meetings, industry events, and professional organizations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering
• Professional Engineer in the State of California or ability to obtain registration within six months of employment
• Minimum of 10 years of traffic engineering or related transportation experience
• Experience leading traffic engineering projects in traffic design, traffic operations, or a combination of both, including coordination with multidisciplinary teams throughout planning, design, and/or construction.
• Experience managing multiple projects, including responsibility for scope, schedule, budget, staffing, client coordination, project delivery, and coordination of technical staff workloads.
• Experience mentoring staff, providing technical oversight, and supporting technical development.
• Experience in business development through client relationship management, opportunity identification, proposal development, interviews, or related activities, with demonstrated success securing new project opportunities.
• Experience with one or both of the following areas:
  • Traffic Design: Experience developing plans and specifications for signing, pavement markings, construction staging and temporary traffic control, traffic signals, and/or roadway lighting. Working knowledge of design software such as Bentley OpenRoads Designer or AutoCAD Civil 3D.
  • Traffic Operations: Experience with traffic data collection, traffic forecasting, operations analysis, safety evaluations, traffic studies, and/or simulation modeling. Working knowledge of tools such as Synchro/SimTraffic, Highway Capacity Software (HCS), Vissim, Rodel, SIDRA, or similar analysis software.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, Outlook).
• Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• California Traffic Engineer (TE) license strongly preferred.
• Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) certification, Road Safety Professional (RSP) certification, or interest in attaining either credential.
• Established relationships with transportation agencies and industry partners within the region.
• Demonstrated success winning traffic engineering or multidisciplinary transportation work.
• Experience in both traffic operations and traffic design.
• Experience developing or delivering corridor studies, including alternatives analysis and development of transportation recommendations.
• Experience with multimodal analysis and design.
• Experience leading major proposals, client interviews, or pursuit strategies.
• Professional registration in multiple states.

$146,000 - $175,000 a year

The listed salary range reflects only the starting base pay range for candidates with 15-25 years of related experience in our Riverside, California office. Compensation is determined based on technical skills, experience level, and qualifications. Candidates with more experience or different compensation expectations are encouraged to apply. All candidates are evaluated on the full scope of what they bring to the role.

Join Our 100% Employee-Owned Firm

At our company, every employee is an owner. From the front desk to the corner office, every one of our 430+ professionals thrive on collaboration and holistic development. Our success is collective, and so are the rewards.

Comprehensive Benefits

Health Benefits: Enjoy medical, dental, vision, and life insurance from day one

Annual Incentive Plan: Eligible for discretionary bonuses

HSA Contributions: Receive monthly employer contributions if you choose an HSA-eligible plan

401(k) Match: Get employer matching on your 401(k) deferrals

ESOP: Benefit from our Employee Stock Ownership Plan, funded entirely by company profits

Paid Time Off: Accrue PTO based on your professional experience and enjoy eight paid holidays per year

Upon receiving a formal offer, you will get a personalized Total Compensation Overview (TCO) to see how everything adds up and what it looks like to be part of our community.

TKDA is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or veteran status, gender identity, or any other characteristics protected by law. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, all applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States for any employer without current or future visa sponsorship needs or requirements. TKDA does not sponsor any type of employment visas, including but not limited to H‑1B, F‑1 OPT/CPT, TN, or other work authorization programs.

*Pre-Employment Screening*

Upon acceptance of a conditional offer of employment, the selected candidate will be required to complete a standard pre-employment background screening, which consists of Social Security verification, educational verification, review of criminal convictions, and driving history.