Traffic Engineer

Traffic Engineer

The first review of applications will be on July 16th

Under the direction of the Principal Transportation Engineer, the Traffic Engineer's responsibilities include performing professional and technical engineering and planning duties in support of the Community Development Transportation Division's review of land use permits and site improvements for private and public development within the City's Right-of-Way and/or private property. Land Use permits and site improvements include but are not limited to reviewing traffic impact analyses, site access, roadway construction including traffic signals and channelization plans, and traffic mitigation, with emphasis on compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), Federal Way Revise Code (FWRC), Right-of-Way Design & Construction Standards, Federal Way Comprehensive Plan, and other applicable federal, state, and county design manuals.

In addition, the position will have responsibilities in the City's permit review process, plan and land use, transportation concurrency management program, and customer service.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Perform professional and technical engineering and planning duties in support of the transportation division of the Community Development Department.

Reviews traffic engineering and transportation planning studies and develops appropriate mitigating measures to impose as conditions for projects in accordance with City Policies and State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

Reviews engineering plans for compliance with engineering standards and project requirements. Interprets, applies, and ensures compliance with codes, standards, specifications, policies, and procedures; ensures compliance with standard engineering principles for review of traffic related transportation infrastructure plans. Where guidelines are not applicable or definitive, base decisions on qualitative and quantitative information.

Prepares letters, memos, and reports addressing site design and traffic impact issues; provides recommendations for developer conditions.

Uses the city permit tracking and time-keeping systems to maintain accurate records of current status of projects, billable time spent, and workload.

Attends Council meetings and public hearings to present information or recommendations related to development applications. Represents the City in a variety of public forums.

Prepare work orders for consultant development review, signs, pavement markings, and traffic signal related projects; follow up and oversee status of work orders to ensure timely and proper implementation.

Assist in the development of transportation-related development ordinances, standards, codes, and regulations.

Prepare responses to inquiries from community members.

Provide excellent service to internal and external customers.

Work with diverse groups to arrive at agreements on transportation engineering issues.

Use the travel demand model to identify future roadway and traffic system deficiencies (with respect to signal operation, vehicular level of service, and overall traffic operations). Develop and evaluate alternatives to include street improvements, signalization projects, road connections, and transportation management programs. Analyze and evaluate long-term traffic impacts of land use alternatives.

Support Public Works and other City Departments in the preparation/revision of the Comprehensive Plan, Sub-Area Plans, and other transportation documents.

Assist Planning and Building in maintaining an accurate land use inventory on an annual basis.

Perform transportation concurrency analysis for development permit applications including city-wide annual evaluation of transportation concurrency program, operate and maintain transportation concurrency database and propose appropriate improvements.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

Education and Experience

Any combination of education and experience equivalent to Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from an accredited college or university and a minimum of three years increasingly responsible traffic engineering and/or transportation planning experience.

Or: In place of the above requirements, the incumbent may possess any combination of relevant education and experience which would demonstrate the individual's knowledge, skill, and ability to proficiently perform the essential duties and responsibilities listed above.

Licenses:

Engineer-in-Training (EIT) strongly preferred.

Professional Engineer (PE) and/or Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE) preferred.

Master of Science in Civil Engineering with Transportation or Traffic Engineering focus preferred.

Must have a valid Washington State Driver's license (or the ability to obtain within six months) and ability to remain insurable under the City's insurance to operate motor vehicles.

Knowledge and Abilities

Knowledge of:

• Organization, operation, policies and objectives of City Government.
• Principles, theory and practices of modern civil and traffic engineering design and standards as applied to various traffic design functions, particularly traffic signals, signing, striping, and illumination.
• Pertinent federal, state and local laws and industry standards such as Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), AASHTO, and Highway Capacity Manual.
• Traffic engineering software such as Synchro, Passer, HCS, and SIDRA.
• Transportation related aspects of the Growth Management Act and State Environmental Policy Act and associated case law.
• Travel demand modeling, preferably with EMME.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, including the ability synthesize complex tasks into manageable procedures.
• Knowledge of highway safety management principles and practices, such as the FHWA's Safe System Approach.
• Knowledge of Four-Step Travel Forecasting Process.
• Knowledge of traffic signal optimization and simulation software.
• Knowledge of zoning and development regulations.
• Familiar with transit, non-motorized, and demand management and their relationship to a complete transportation system.

Ability to:

• Perform highly technical and professional traffic engineering and transportation planning duties in support of the transportation division.
• Read, interpret and apply a variety of written regulations and instructions.
• Plan and organize work.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationship with other employees, city officials, other governmental agencies, and community groups.
• Review traffic impact analysis.
• Observe traffic safety laws and regulations.
• Meet schedule and deadlines.
• Work independently with minimum supervision.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Plan, organize, coordinate, assign and evaluate the work of technical and administrative staff and consultants.
• Analyze traffic problems accurately and adopt an effective course of action.
• Physical ability to perform the essential job functions.
• Demonstrate the ability to positively and effectively interact with diverse individuals to accomplish a common goal.
• Ability to analyze and interpret data and come up with a recommendation or conclusion.
• Represent City interests in regional forums consisting of technical staff and elected officials.

Environmental Conditions/Physical Effort:

Work is performed primarily in an office environment and may require travel to a variety of locations to perform site visit work or to attend meetings. Employee may be exposed to noise from basic office equipment operation, and to weather conditions and traffic hazards.