San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Student Intern Program, Summer 2027 – 5380 Planning Intern (Level 1)

City and County of San Francisco•San Francisco, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Planning Level 1 Internship is part of the SFMTA Planning and Engineering Internship Program. Interns may be placed in the Streets Division, the Taxis, Access, and Mobility Services (TAMS) Subdivision, the Transit Division, or the Finance Division. Duties vary by team and may include transportation planning, community engagement, data collection and analysis, policy research, mapping and spatial analysis, and preparation of reports, presentations, and project visuals. The internship program includes mandatory seminars and field trips, as well as PechaKucha presentations at the end of the summer. The position follows a 40-hour workweek, generally Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM. The work environment is hybrid or traditional, and interns may be expected to work onsite up to five days per week. Interns must be based in the Bay Area for the duration of the internship. Work outside regular hours may be required for fieldwork or outreach events. A flexible schedule may be available with supervisor and division approval. Interns may work up to 1,040 hours in a fiscal year; most positions end at the end of summer, though some may continue into the school year with approval. This is a temporary-exempt, full-time appointment. The role is excluded from the competitive Civil Service examination process and serves at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. Compensation is $37.95 per hour.

Requirements

At the time of application, be enrolled in an accredited university or community college pursuing a degree in City Planning, Environmental Policy, Management, Environmental Studies, Geography, Public Administration, Public Policy, Transportation Planning, Transportation Management, Urban Planning, Urban Studies, an engineering degree, or a related field.
Be currently enrolled and continuing in an associate, undergraduate, or graduate program, or entering or continuing a graduate program in Fall 2027. Students in their second-to-last or last semester who will soon graduate are also encouraged to apply and may be selected within six months of graduation.
No previous experience is necessary.
Submit proof of current enrollment or student status, a resume in PDF format of no more than two pages, and a cover letter in PDF format of no more than two pages. The cover letter must address relevant interests and career goals and give examples related to the desirable qualifications.

Nice To Haves

Interest in public-sector transportation careers, especially public transit, walking, and bicycling.
Understanding of how transportation decisions affect marginalized communities, including people of color, people with low incomes, and people with disabilities.
Experience working with marginalized communities.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively.
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
Ability to adapt to new situations, changing priorities, or unexpected challenges to meet project goals.
Ability to analyze evidence, consider options critically, and draw conclusions from data.
Knowledge of transportation-planning principles, practices, and techniques demonstrated through coursework or work or internship experience.
Applied knowledge of Microsoft Office, ArcGIS, AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, or other software.

Responsibilities

Support community outreach and engagement by attending stakeholder and public meetings, open houses, and public events; soliciting and documenting community feedback through surveys, outreach, and other methods.
Collect and analyze data, potentially including fieldwork, and conduct surveys.
Assist with policy development, policy research, report creation, and funding applications or advocacy, depending on placement.
Conduct geospatial and spatial analyses and create maps using ArcGIS.
Support long-range transportation plans, service planning, capital planning, and project delivery, depending on placement.
Evaluate transportation plans for accessibility impacts and research best practices related to shared-mobility accessibility.
Assist with programs serving seniors and people with disabilities; track data for shuttle, scooter-share, and bike-share permittees; and support commuter shuttle stop planning.
Help design improved taxi stands and signage; build or update public dashboards; combine data sources; write memos; and assess impacts of program rule changes and transportation options.
Prepare presentations, graphics, maps, and other project visuals.
Support grant and funding applications by evaluating funding opportunities and soliciting project proposals from agency teams.
Attend required program seminars and field trips and participate in end-of-summer PechaKucha presentations.