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Job Description
Description
Do you have great attention to detail?
Are you a skilled communicator, collaborator and problem solver?
Are you creative, persistent and passionate about safe and sustainable streets?
Are you wonkish on complete streets guidance and transportation engineering?
The City of Palo Alto invites talented, forward-thinking engineers with strong skills in transportation engineering to support the Office of Transportation as Project Engineer and Associate Engineer. In this role, you will serve the public and make a measurable impact through projects that improve safety, mobility, and sustainability for all who live, work, and travel in Palo Alto. From signal optimization to grade separations and Safe Routes to School design, your work will keep the community connected and thriving.
Why Palo Alto Office of Transportation?
The City of Palo Alto is a progressive, cutting-edge city that innovates in all areas of civic service and technology. Transportation is part of the secret sauce that makes Palo Alto such a vibrant, beautiful and accessible place to live, work and visit. The City is known nation-wide as a leader in the areas of bike boulevards and safe routes to school. The Office of Transportation supports cutting edge work to create a city where a majority of students safely walk and roll to school, seniors stay active and engaged, visitors linger in vibrant Downtown and neighborhood districts, neighbors enjoy tree-lined streets, and commuters have multiple options in how to reach their destinations safely and efficiently including access to a Caltrain baby bullet station.
As a full-service city, we manage our own utilities, parks, libraries, and transportation network-offering a unique opportunity for engineers to see their work directly improve the community. Our Transportation Engineering team designs and implements solutions to reduce collisions and enhance mobility for all users. Efforts includes:- Advancing major capital projects including multiple rail grade separations;
- Designing and supporting the construction of complete streets projects;
- Maintaining and upgrading Citywide traffic signal operations and coordination;
- Implementing neighborhood traffic calming and school access safety improvement;
- Developing signage, striping and curb management work orders;
- Reviewing traffic control plans for City projects and private developments; and
- Responding to community requests and inquiries on transportation infrastructure.
Benefits:
The City offers a fantastic benefits package including:- Schedule: Option of a 9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off
- Hybrid work: Ability to work remotely and onsite (current policy allows for 2 days/week remote and 3 days/week on-site)
- Professional development: Tuition reimbursement, leadership training, and career growth opportunities
- Education benefits: Potential enrollment for dependents in the Palo Alto Unified School District (pilot program, subject to change)
- Childcare support: $10,000 in childcare subsidies (pilot program, subject to change)
- Commute benefits: Free all-agency BayPass (MTC pilot, subject to change) and incentives for walking, biking and taking transit to work
- Defined-Benefit Retirement Plan: with competitive pension benefits
To learn more about benefits click HERE.
The Opportunities
Project Engineer
Salary Range: $160,451 - $196,560 annually
As a Project Engineer, you will lead high-profile transportation projects that advance the City’s Grade Separation and Bicycle & Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) initiatives. You will oversee design, consultant coordination, and project delivery for major infrastructure efforts that align with Palo Alto’s Safety Action Plan and sustainability goals.
Key Tasks:- Lead design and implementation of Grade Separation and Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan / Safety Action Plan projects;
- Review traffic calming analyses and designs particularly for Safe Routes to School;
- Prepare grant applications from Federal, State and regional sources, and manage grant administration for grant-funded capital projects;
- Supervise and participate in investigating traffic-related citizen service requests;
- Prepare reports, memos and correspondence on transportation issues;
- Manage consultant contracts for transportation capital projects and analyses;
- Participate in team training and process improvement initiatives; and
- Performs field review of construction work requiring traffic engineering knowledge.
Essential Skills:- Professional Engineer (PE) license in California (or ability to obtain within a year);
- Complete Streets design experience and expertise; and
- Strong project management experience including consultant oversight and capital project delivery.
Helpful Skills:- Signal operations and traffic control systems knowledge;
- Familiarity with federally funded projects and E-76 processes; and/or
- Traffic Engineer (TE) certification.
Full job description available here.
Associate Engineer
Salary Range: $132,683 - $162,489 annually
As an Associate Engineer, you will play a key role in maintaining and improving the City’s traffic signal network and operations. You will lead signal capital projects, optimize timing for safety and flow, and collaborate across departments to enhance daily travel for residents, commuters, and visitors.
Key Tasks:- Lead capital improvement projects focused on safety, complete streets implementation and efficiency at signalized intersections;
- Manage traffic signal operations including conducting signal timing evaluations, upgrades, and optimization;
- Advance upgrades to the City’s centralized traffic operations center;
- Provide technical input on development reviews;
- Performs field review of construction work requiring traffic engineering knowledge.
- Review and respond to citizen inquiries on traffic engineering requests (311s); and
- Participate in team training and process improvement initiatives.
Essential Skills:- Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certification; and
- Traffic signal operations and timing expertise.
Helpful Skills:- Professional Engineer (PE) license;
- Knowledge of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and signal communication technologies; and
- Familiarity with Complete Streets principles and/or asset management tools.
Supplemental Information
The Selection Process:- Applicants will receive recruitment status notifications via email. Governmentjobs.com account also has notification status updates.
- Applicants will be screened throughout the posting process and highly qualified candidates may be invited to interview at any time after the posting closes.
- The screening process for this position typically may include a virtual recorded interview and/or panel interviews preceding final interviews with the hiring manager or their designee.
Our online application system is provided by NeoGov . If you have problems while applying online, please contact NeoGov's Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday.
This position is represented by Service Employee International Union (SEIU).
Compensation (SEIU) : Comprehensive compensation plan, to learn more click HERE.
The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.
See our Benefits at a Glance Bookletfor more details.
Learn more about our Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) between the City and its bargaining units, by clicking HERE.
Closing Date/Time: 12/3/2025 11:59 PM Pacific -
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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City of Palo Alto
Show moreThe Community
The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. The community's treelined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage, and, at the same time, many world-class businesses maintain or started offices here, such as Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Amazon, Broadcom, Hewlett-Packard, Houzz, Rivian, SAP and SAP Ariba, Tesla, and Varian Medical Systems. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the start-up capital of the world. Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community's dedication to lifelong learning. Stanford's cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City's exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public-school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation. Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy featuring premium shopping and dining options. Excellent healthcare facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are some of the community's incredibly desirable and cherished amenities. To learn more, visit https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/Latest-NewsCity Government
Palo Alto is a full-service charter city with a council-manager form of government. The seven-member City Council is elected at large, and the City Council annually selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its members. The Mayor and City Council appoint the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Auditor. The City Manager is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the City. Palo Alto is organized into 15 departments/offices with 1,093.10 authorized positions in FY 2025. There is also a FY 2025 capital budget of $316.2 million. Palo Alto owns and operates its own utilities, including electricity (carbon-neutral), gas, water, wastewater, and an expanding fiber network. This dynamic municipal environment ensures an ever-engaging platform for unique problem-solving and advances new initiatives, including sustainability, broadband, and effective service delivery. Community assets also include five libraries, 36 parks, five community centers, a museum and zoo, youth centers, a general aviation airport, an 18-hole golf course, a regional water treatment plant, and wildland open space preserves at the San Francisco Bay and in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains offering 41 miles of walking/biking trails in addition to its police, fire, and ambulance services. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, and the City's ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals are part of what sets it apart. Since the City's first Climate Protection Plan was passed in 2007, Palo Alto has set goals that exceed State and Federal targets. Today, the City's goal to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the "80x30" goal) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 guides sustainability efforts. An award-winning City, Palo Alto is recognized nationally as innovative and well-managed. City services and performance also receive impressive marks from community members in the Palo Alto Community Survey.
Many of those ratings put City programs and services in the highest percentiles among the hundreds of benchmark cities. Palo Alto makes decisions through comprehensive processes and proactively seeks to involve its extremely informed, educated, and engaged residents. Projects are naturally a cooperative effort among the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, engaged residents, neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, and staff.
Join an Award Winning Team
Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government. We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.
Want to learn more about our benefits? Learn more by reviewing our "Benefits at a Glance Booklet."
Contact Us
Phone: 650-329-2376
Email: Recruit@paloalto.gov
Location: City Hall, 1st Floor | 250 Hamilton Ave 94301 | View Map
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