Engineering Trainee

City of Portland • 1120 SW 5th Ave, OR

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is seeking Engineering Trainees to assist in the design and operation of streets within Portland. This temporary, casual position is ideal for students in a Civil/Transportation Engineering or Planning program looking to apply transportation engineering principles to improve the safety of the city's transportation system. Trainees will apply technical engineering knowledge to solve design, maintenance, improvement, and construction problems related to the City's infrastructure and private development. They will work under the supervision of professional engineers and engineering technicians, receiving guidance and review for accuracy and quality. The role involves interacting with a diverse range of customers, requiring a high level of customer service, initiative, independence, and creativity. Trainees will also exercise sound professional problem-solving skills and actively support PBOT’s Strategic Plan goals. Five positions are available: three in the Traffic Safety Projects Section (TSP) and one in the Signals, Street Lighting, and Intelligent Transportation Systems (SSL&ITS) Division.

Requirements

• Knowledge of engineering/public works terminology, practices, procedures or basic principles.
• Experience with computers and software.
• Ability to interpret and apply information from regulations and/or codes.
• Ability to interact effectively, problem solve, and partner with team members in a diverse workforce.
• Current student in a Civil/Transportation Engineering or Planning program (proof of student status required.)
• Ability to drive on City business on a project-by-project basis.
• Incumbents must possess a valid driver’s license.

Nice To Haves

• Taken coursework in engineering, engineering technology or related field.
• At least one year of traffic engineering work experience or in public works engineering/civil engineering.
• An interest in traffic engineering and multi-modal transportation safety.
• Experience working with Computer-Aided Design software such as: AutoCAD, MicroStation, InRoads/OpenRoads, and/or ArcMap.
• Strong analytical skillset using excel and other geo-spatial tools.
• General productivity suite (Microsoft Office, Google Workspace)
• Ability to work fulltime during the summer and part time during the school year.

Responsibilities

• Conduct field and office review of traffic safety concerns and crashes and make recommendations for potential improvements.
• Evaluate the need for stop signs, compliance with signing standards, or the need for parking removal for visibility at intersections and develop work orders for implementation.
• Learn and apply federal and local codes and standards for evaluating traffic safety requests.
• Review and make traffic safety recommendations as part of Safe Routes to School projects.
• Participate in the evaluation and design of Vision Zero projects.
• Develop plans/work orders for implementation of signs, pavement marking, and traffic calming features.
• Represent PBOT in interactions with the community.
• Assist with the upgrade of PBOT’s traffic signal controllers by converting signal timing, testing, and field deployment.
• Create traffic signal intersection diagrams for intersections configured in PBOT’S new central traffic signal system.
• Update traffic signals and ITS roadside devices on GIS Map and Microsoft Visio Diagram.
• Help evaluate the accuracy of various bicycle, pedestrian, and vehicle detection systems.
• Assist with the evaluation of new emerging traffic sensor technologies.
• Assist with the evaluation of street lighting needs with night drives.
• Use Bluebeam and MicroStation Computer Aided Design (CAD) and other software for design, edits, and measurement calculations.
• Assist with the review of construction submittals.
• Assist with field evaluation of pole conditions on aerial fiber optic communication projects.

Benefits

• This position is not eligible for benefits.
• City of Portland employees who speak one or more languages in addition to English, may be eligible to receive a “language pay differential.”

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree