Principal Operations Planner

Marketing Statement

Ride BART to a satisfying career that lets you both: 1) make a difference to Bay Area residents, and 2) enjoy excellent pay, benefits, and employment stability. BART is looking for people who like to be challenged, work in a fast-paced environment, and have a passion for connecting riders to work, school and other places they need to go. BART offers a competitive salary, comprehensive health benefits, paid time off, and the CalPERS retirement program.

Job Summary

Pay Rate AFSCME Pay Grade A17
Annual Salary: $138,881.60 (Step 1) - $168,812.80 (Step 5)

Note: The starting negotiable salary offer will be $138,881.60 (Step 1) - $153,129.60 (Step 3) to commensurate with experience and education.

Reports To
Manager of Operations Planning or Designee

Current Assignment

Please Note: Applications for this posting will be reviewed in three rounds on the following schedule:

* Round 1: March 2 - April 2, 2026

* Round 2: April 3 - May 2, 2026

* Round 3: May 3 - June 3, 2026

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) is currently seeking a highly motivated and skilled Principal Operations Planner to join our dynamic and dedicated Operations Planning Department. This is an exciting opportunity for an operations planner who thrives on tackling challenging and complex work and may lead major functional areas with participation in supervising, assigning, and reviewing the work of subordinate or contract staff.

Under general supervision, leads complex operations planning projects, develops District-wide policies and strategic recommendations, implements innovative solutions to critical issues, fosters internal and external partnerships, and performs related duties as assigned

The most qualified candidate for this position will have highly developed competencies beyond the minimum qualifications in the following areas, which will be reinforced with related work experience and will be clearly articulated during the selection process:

• Coalition-Led Resource & Logistics Mobilization - Develop coalitions to mobilize all resources and coordinate logistics necessary for executing a high-quality shutdown and bus bridge operations
• Strategic Alignment & Execution - Directs and organizes the District's involvement in multi-jurisdictional projects
• Integrated Logistics Planning - Assists in leveraging the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) to coordinate transit connections with regional agencies and enhance trip planning systems.
• Service Planning & Technical Assessment - Performs detailed technical analyses of future special service scenarios, presents findings, and recommends strategies for service operations
• Fleet Readiness & Resource Alignment - Oversees and directs the preparation of the Rail Fleet Management Plan, using it as a primary reference to align service requirements with fleet size, deployment, and storage
• Operational Improvement Advocacy - Champions investments to enhance capacity, efficiency, and reliability through annual budget allocations, planning initiatives, and long-term strategic efforts

* This is a capital position and is subject to time and funding limitations.

Application and Selection Process

This position is represented by American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). All applicants must apply online at

All applicants are asked to complete the application form in full, indicating dates of employment, all positions held, hours worked, and a full description of duties, and are invited to electronically attach a resume to the application form to provide supplemental information, but should not consider the resume a substitute for the application/bid form itself. Applications must be complete by the closing date and time listed on the job announcement.

The Talent Acquisition Division will screen applications/resumes against the minimum qualifications. Those candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be referred to the hiring department for further consideration. The selection process may involve a skills/performance test, a written exam, and/or a panel interview. Outside applicants will not be considered until all employees who have applied have been considered first.

The successful candidate must have an employment history demonstrating reliability and dependability; provide copies of certificates, diplomas or other documents as required by law, including those establishing his/her right to work in the U. S.; pass a pre-employment medical examination, and which is specific to the essential job functions and requirements. Pre-employment processing will also include a background check. (Does not apply to current full-time District employees unless specific job requires additional evaluations).

The selection process for this position will be in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

Applicants needing assistance with the online application process may receive additional information by contacting the Talent Acquisition Division at View phone number on click.appcast.io or View email address on click.appcast.io.
Examples of Duties

1. Build coalitions to set into motion all the resource requirements and logistics needed to execute a high quality shut down/bus bridges.
   
   
2. Leads and coordinates District participation in multi-jurisdictional projects.
   
   
3. Conducts in-depth technical analysis of future special service scenarios, present findings and propose strategies to operate service.
   
   
4. Supports efforts to utilize General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) to coordinate transit connections with regional transit agencies and improve trip planning systems.
   
   
5. Tracks and monitors planned capital improvements or maintenance efforts throughout the District; tracks the impacts to service reliability after special service is operated.
   
   
6. Supports the development and maintenance of planning documents, such as the Bus Bridge Guidebook and Emergency Bus Bridge Plan.
   
   
7. May be assigned to supervise lower level Operations Planning staff.
   
   
8. Supports the Office of Civil Rights in conducting assessments of current and future service plans.
   
   
9. Researches and proposes new methods and approaches to addressing ridership capacity related issues.
   
   
10. Guides and monitors preparation of the Rail Fleet Management Plan, and invokes it as a key reference relating service requirements to fleet size, deployment and storage
    
    
11. Advocates for investments to improve capacity, efficiency and reliability via annual budget contributions, planning projects, and long-range strategy efforts.
    
    
12. Performs related duties as assigned.
    
    

Minimum Qualifications

EITHER

Experience
A minimum of two (2) year of experience as a Senior Operations Planner with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.

OR

Education
Possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Planning, Transportation, Geography, Transportation Engineering or a closely related field.

Experience
The equivalent of four (4) years of full-time progressively responsible experience in public transit planning and/or transportation planning, transit technology and systems development, consulting to the public transit sector, and/or academic pursuits related to transit operations, technology, and planning.

Substitution
Additional experience as outlined above may be substituted for the education on a year-for-year basis.

Knowledge and Skills

Knowledge of:

• Principles, practices and techniques of urban mass transit and/or transportation planning
• Best practices related to transit planning and operations
• Current issues, challenges and trends in the context of the Bay Area, state, national and international transportation environments
• Business and policy issues relevant to management of transit operations
• Advanced data analytics techniques, including managing and querying large databases and manipulating data using business intelligence software
• Statistical and research methods
• Advanced knowledge of the BART track network
• Vehicle (train) scheduling techniques
• Regional bus system networks and how they coordinate with BART
• Rail transit technologies, systems and practices, with interest in their applicability to BART
• Public-sector specification and procurement practices, including funding, risk assessment, and project management
• Rail transit operating practices, regulations, and theory

Skill in:

• Analyzing and developing recommendations for improving public transit and/or transportation services
• Using transit scheduling, planning or modeling software (e.g. HASTUS, Trapeze, TrainOps, Remix, etc.)
• Creating and/or manipulating GTFS data for the purposes of publishing schedules or conducting analysis
• Creative problem solving and resolution development in situations with stakeholders who have conflicting interests and a variety of backgrounds
• Communicating information and ideas clearly and effectively
• Leading, organizing and reviewing the work of staff
• Writing detailed Standard Operating Plans (SOP's) covering topics relevant to BART's business needs in Operations Planning
• Writing, publishing, and managing comprehensive staffing plans that include BART and its regional bus bridge partners
• Managing teams of volunteers during shutdown activities

Working Conditions

Environmental Conditions
Office environment; exposure to computer screens.


Physical Conditions
May require maintaining physical condition necessary for walking, standing or sitting for prolonged periods of time.

Equal Employment Opportunity GroupBox1

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 and above), religion, national origin (including language use restrictions), disability (mental and physical, including HIV and AIDS), ancestry, marital status, military status, veteran status, medical condition (cancer/genetic characteristics and information), or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.

The BART Human Resources Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination process to accommodate persons with disabilities or for religious reasons. Please advise the Human Resources Department of any special needs in advance of the examination by emailing at least 5 days before your examination date at View email address on click.appcast.io.

Qualified veterans may be eligible to obtain additional veteran's credit in the selection process for this recruitment (effective Jan. 1, 2013). To obtain the credit, veterans must attach to the application a DD214 discharge document or proof of disability and complete/submit the Veteran's Preference Application no later than the closing date of the posting. For more information about this credit please go to the Veteran's Preference Policy and Application link at