Alta Planning + Design
West Regional Director of Engineering
Alta Planning + Design, Oakland, California, United States, 94616
Overview
Alta Planning + Design is seeking a dynamic West Regional Director of Engineering to join our team in Oakland and lead our growing engineering practice across the West. This is a fantastic opportunity for an engineering leader who believes in the importance of active, multimodal, and sustainable transportation to shape communities while driving business excellence and operational performance. In this role, you will work with the Engineering Director to provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for our West region engineering teams, driving innovation in sustainable transportation design while fostering a culture of collaboration, professional growth, and excellence. You will be responsible for setting technical and strategic direction for engineering initiatives across our West region of offices, which include Oakland, Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno, ensuring our projects create positive impacts on communities nationwide while meeting financial and operational performance standards. If you are passionate about leading transformational change in transportation engineering while developing talent and advancing organizational excellence, apply with Alta today! About Alta
Alta Planning + Design is a sustainable transportation company dedicated to creating active, healthy communities through planning, landscape architecture, engineering, and education/encouragement programs. Alta was founded in 1996 when communities were calling for safer streets for people walking and bicycling as the non-motorized transportation movement developed into a profession in the United States. We pioneered the field of active transportation, evolving our planning and design work into a visionary global practice that empowers people to live active, healthy lives and gets them to where they need to go. Our core values and work bring about positive change by creating places that are geared toward moving people rather than cars, connecting community members to daily needs and human experience, and empowering every person to live an active healthy life. As a global leader in mobility innovation for over 27 years with over 230 staff, we are dedicated to connecting people to places by working across disciplines and scale to address social justice, safety, and environmental resilience. Leadership Responsibilities
As West Regional Director of Engineering, you will be the strategic leader responsible for driving engineering excellence and organizational growth across our western operations while collaborating with other regional directors to help lead the engineering practice as a whole. Develop and execute long-term strategic plans for the West region engineering practice, aligning with company-wide objectives and market opportunities Ensure the West Region meets or exceeds annual and quarterly financial targets, with emphasis on Net Service Revenue and EBITDA growth Lead the regional engineering organization through growth and change, ensuring operational excellence and cultural alignment Champion innovation in active transportation engineering practices and emerging technologies Drive fiscal and business acumen that empowers teams to pursue continuous improvement in operational efficiency and financial performance Participate in budgeting processes, prioritizing trade-offs to grow both revenue and earnings People Leadership & Organizational Development
Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineering professionals, project managers, and technical staff across multiple office locations Supervise and evaluate West Region staff, set clear performance expectations, provide regular feedback, and establish career advancement paths Build and maintain a high-performance culture focused on professional growth, collaboration, and technical excellence Recruit, hire, and retain top engineering talent to support regional growth objectives, with forward-looking hiring plans Foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing across engineering, planning, landscape architecture, and other practice areas Own key performance areas including safety, client engagement, staff development and retention, and cross-business collaboration Maintain staff utilization at or above goals while ensuring sustainable workload management Business Development & Client Relations
Assist regional business development directors in identifying new market opportunities and client relationships Lead proposal development and client presentations for major regional projects Maintain and expand relationships with key public sector clients Ensure compliance with proposal and cost estimation protocols to maintain financial and delivery integrity Operational Excellence & Project Oversight
Oversee project delivery across the region, ensuring quality, schedule, and budget performance Oversee financial and operational performance of projects within the West Region, delegating effectively to project managers Understand financial metrics and KPIs including book-to-burn ratio, revenue factor, and overhead rate Implement best practices and process improvements to enhance delivery efficiency and client satisfaction Provide strategic oversight of project portfolios ranging from trails to multimodal transportation networks Ensure compliance with professional standards, regulations, and company quality assurance protocols Apply disciplined approach to managing non-billable labor and overhead costs Qualifications
Required Experience & Education: 15+ years of progressive experience as a Transportation Engineer in a consulting environment or public entity 8+ years in project management roles with demonstrated P&L responsibility 5+ years in leadership positions managing engineering teams and business operations Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering Professional Engineering (P.E.) license required Proven track record of business development success and client relationship management Leadership & Management Competencies: Lead, inspire, and develop high-performing teams in a professional services environment Strong strategic thinking and business acumen with experience in organizational planning and execution Financial acumen with ability to analyze business performance and KPIs, levers of growth and profit Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills Experience managing regional operations, including budget oversight and performance metrics Drive cultural change and organizational development initiatives Budget prioritization skills with experience evaluating trade-offs to optimize revenue and earnings Strong command of numbers and finance, with data-driven decision making Attention to detail with focus on monitoring KPIs and daily execution Technical Expertise
Experience in active, non-motorized transportation planning and design Understanding of project delivery from conceptual design through construction administration Experience with Plans, Specifications and Estimates packages for complex roadway and transportation projects Proficiency in project management for large-scale, multi-disciplinary projects Working knowledge of MS Excel, Word, MS Project, AutoCAD / Civil 3D or MicroStation / OpenRoads, and enterprise project management tools Additional Requirements
Ability and willingness to travel regionally as needed Strong professional ethics, accountability, and decision-making capabilities Experience managing competing priorities and multiple simultaneous projects within budget and schedule constraints Operational discipline with focus on ensuring compliance with project protocols and standards Preferred Qualifications
Master's degree in Civil Engineering, Business Administration, or related field Active leadership roles in industry-relevant professional associations and committees What We Offer
Flexible Schedule: Alta offers a flexible, hybrid work schedule where most employees work from home three days per week. In-office days support our collaborative culture. Compensation: The pay range for this job in Oakland is $175,000-$215,000 annually. Placement within the range is based upon experience, skill-sets, and qualifications. Benefits: Medical, Dental/Vision, Life Insurance, 401(k) match, PTO, Holidays, Paid Parental Leave/Short-Term Disability, Wellness reimbursement, travel benefits, professional development opportunities
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Alta Planning + Design is seeking a dynamic West Regional Director of Engineering to join our team in Oakland and lead our growing engineering practice across the West. This is a fantastic opportunity for an engineering leader who believes in the importance of active, multimodal, and sustainable transportation to shape communities while driving business excellence and operational performance. In this role, you will work with the Engineering Director to provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for our West region engineering teams, driving innovation in sustainable transportation design while fostering a culture of collaboration, professional growth, and excellence. You will be responsible for setting technical and strategic direction for engineering initiatives across our West region of offices, which include Oakland, Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno, ensuring our projects create positive impacts on communities nationwide while meeting financial and operational performance standards. If you are passionate about leading transformational change in transportation engineering while developing talent and advancing organizational excellence, apply with Alta today! About Alta
Alta Planning + Design is a sustainable transportation company dedicated to creating active, healthy communities through planning, landscape architecture, engineering, and education/encouragement programs. Alta was founded in 1996 when communities were calling for safer streets for people walking and bicycling as the non-motorized transportation movement developed into a profession in the United States. We pioneered the field of active transportation, evolving our planning and design work into a visionary global practice that empowers people to live active, healthy lives and gets them to where they need to go. Our core values and work bring about positive change by creating places that are geared toward moving people rather than cars, connecting community members to daily needs and human experience, and empowering every person to live an active healthy life. As a global leader in mobility innovation for over 27 years with over 230 staff, we are dedicated to connecting people to places by working across disciplines and scale to address social justice, safety, and environmental resilience. Leadership Responsibilities
As West Regional Director of Engineering, you will be the strategic leader responsible for driving engineering excellence and organizational growth across our western operations while collaborating with other regional directors to help lead the engineering practice as a whole. Develop and execute long-term strategic plans for the West region engineering practice, aligning with company-wide objectives and market opportunities Ensure the West Region meets or exceeds annual and quarterly financial targets, with emphasis on Net Service Revenue and EBITDA growth Lead the regional engineering organization through growth and change, ensuring operational excellence and cultural alignment Champion innovation in active transportation engineering practices and emerging technologies Drive fiscal and business acumen that empowers teams to pursue continuous improvement in operational efficiency and financial performance Participate in budgeting processes, prioritizing trade-offs to grow both revenue and earnings People Leadership & Organizational Development
Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineering professionals, project managers, and technical staff across multiple office locations Supervise and evaluate West Region staff, set clear performance expectations, provide regular feedback, and establish career advancement paths Build and maintain a high-performance culture focused on professional growth, collaboration, and technical excellence Recruit, hire, and retain top engineering talent to support regional growth objectives, with forward-looking hiring plans Foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing across engineering, planning, landscape architecture, and other practice areas Own key performance areas including safety, client engagement, staff development and retention, and cross-business collaboration Maintain staff utilization at or above goals while ensuring sustainable workload management Business Development & Client Relations
Assist regional business development directors in identifying new market opportunities and client relationships Lead proposal development and client presentations for major regional projects Maintain and expand relationships with key public sector clients Ensure compliance with proposal and cost estimation protocols to maintain financial and delivery integrity Operational Excellence & Project Oversight
Oversee project delivery across the region, ensuring quality, schedule, and budget performance Oversee financial and operational performance of projects within the West Region, delegating effectively to project managers Understand financial metrics and KPIs including book-to-burn ratio, revenue factor, and overhead rate Implement best practices and process improvements to enhance delivery efficiency and client satisfaction Provide strategic oversight of project portfolios ranging from trails to multimodal transportation networks Ensure compliance with professional standards, regulations, and company quality assurance protocols Apply disciplined approach to managing non-billable labor and overhead costs Qualifications
Required Experience & Education: 15+ years of progressive experience as a Transportation Engineer in a consulting environment or public entity 8+ years in project management roles with demonstrated P&L responsibility 5+ years in leadership positions managing engineering teams and business operations Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering Professional Engineering (P.E.) license required Proven track record of business development success and client relationship management Leadership & Management Competencies: Lead, inspire, and develop high-performing teams in a professional services environment Strong strategic thinking and business acumen with experience in organizational planning and execution Financial acumen with ability to analyze business performance and KPIs, levers of growth and profit Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills Experience managing regional operations, including budget oversight and performance metrics Drive cultural change and organizational development initiatives Budget prioritization skills with experience evaluating trade-offs to optimize revenue and earnings Strong command of numbers and finance, with data-driven decision making Attention to detail with focus on monitoring KPIs and daily execution Technical Expertise
Experience in active, non-motorized transportation planning and design Understanding of project delivery from conceptual design through construction administration Experience with Plans, Specifications and Estimates packages for complex roadway and transportation projects Proficiency in project management for large-scale, multi-disciplinary projects Working knowledge of MS Excel, Word, MS Project, AutoCAD / Civil 3D or MicroStation / OpenRoads, and enterprise project management tools Additional Requirements
Ability and willingness to travel regionally as needed Strong professional ethics, accountability, and decision-making capabilities Experience managing competing priorities and multiple simultaneous projects within budget and schedule constraints Operational discipline with focus on ensuring compliance with project protocols and standards Preferred Qualifications
Master's degree in Civil Engineering, Business Administration, or related field Active leadership roles in industry-relevant professional associations and committees What We Offer
Flexible Schedule: Alta offers a flexible, hybrid work schedule where most employees work from home three days per week. In-office days support our collaborative culture. Compensation: The pay range for this job in Oakland is $175,000-$215,000 annually. Placement within the range is based upon experience, skill-sets, and qualifications. Benefits: Medical, Dental/Vision, Life Insurance, 401(k) match, PTO, Holidays, Paid Parental Leave/Short-Term Disability, Wellness reimbursement, travel benefits, professional development opportunities
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