ENGINEER-IN-TRAINING III - Denver, Traffic Operations

New employees to the State will be paid biweekly. There are 26 biweekly pay periods in a year.

“The 2024 Step Pay Program may increase the salary range for employees with time in the class series.”

 

About the Unit
The Traffic Safety & Engineering Services unit exists to provide highway safety and traffic operations-related input for transportation planning and project development to improve operations through multiple programs and projects.  They include Standards, Specifications, reviewing products for CDOT use, Traffic Incident Management, Traffic Modeling, Bottleneck Reduction, Operations Analysis, Safety Crash Analysis, and Field studies.

 

About the Position
The Engineer in Training III will work under the supervision and direction of a licensed Professional Engineer: work fully-operational, non-licensed engineer providing expertise to the unit and Regions for operations, traffic engineering, data collection to assist with asset and program management, and Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O) implementations. This position, under the guidance and supervision of a Professional Engineer, reviews or prepares evaluations for construction projects and highway corridors as requested by the regions.  Assist and oversee the management of operations and safety programs by evaluating, ranking, and selecting projects proposed by local agencies and CDOT Regions. Perform traffic studies, simulation, crash analysis, signal warrant studies, intersection analysis, and traffic operation analysis for safety projects and upon region requests.  
 
Major duties and responsibilities are performed under the supervision of a licensed Professional Engineer and include, but are not limited to the following:

Operations Evaluations  

• A junior subject matter expert conducting research, information collection, plan, specification review, interviews, field reviews, procedures, and processes to complete or administer Operations Evaluations. 
• Reviews projects from a traffic operation engineering perspective to evaluate before and after impacts of operations recommendations. 
• Assisting and conducting assessments, this position discovers patterns on state highways that must be corrected and review safety data to ensure that proposed corrections will improve safety. 
• Consider the impacts of traffic operation improvements on freight, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, commuting, local agencies, zoning, signal timing, planning, and future projects. 
• Provide traffic engineering review of planning, feasibility, system-level, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) studies.
• Perform as an administrator for the Operations Evaluation Web tool and traffic engineering tools.
• Provide advice on how to complete Operations Evaluations.
• Coordinate operation evaluation compliance within the region and provide analysis for all projects requested by region traffic units.

Traffic Operations Engineering and Data Analysis

• Assist in traffic data analysis, database management, and data entry as needed for asset management, The Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2), The Hot Spot Program (HOTSPOTS), Congestion relief, Rural Access Mobility Platform (RAMP), Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery Act (FASTER), and other CDOT or federal programs as required.
• Conduct regional data collection, analysis, and inspection of needs, and relate causality to roadway geometrics, traffic control devices, crash data, intersection operations, turning movements, signals, and traffic operations using highway and traffic engineering principles.   
• Collect and analyze data using available resources and provide innovative solutions to issues. Make recommendations based on available data.
• Assist in Operations, Signals, and Safety data for Colorado, CDOT, and Colorado Local agencies as experience is gained by completing projects and tasks.
• Analyzes the impact of speed and school study engineering reviews in coordination with the Field Regulatory Operation 
• Collaborate with experienced professional engineer personnel to resolve these issues.
• Retrieve historical crash data and review data to identify cash patterns and incorporate those safety findings into the development of project alternatives.  
• Review traffic modeling submissions from consultants for completeness, accuracy, and implementation issues.
• Guidelines such as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Geometric Design Standards, and the Traffic Engineering Handbook are consulted to ensure improvement solutions meet industry standards.   

Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O)  and Engineering Support

• Work closely with the CDOT Regions, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), Maintenance & Operations, Freight, Office of Innovative Mobility (OIM), Department of Transportation Development (DTD), and other CDOT branches to provide traffic engineering and program support as necessary for Transportation Systems Management and Operations Program support.   
• Assist the unit manager on all TSM&O program-related tasks, meetings, coordination, and collaboration for CDOT”s TSM&O implementations.
• Assist in reviewing specifications and standards, reviewing manuals, testing and training materials, composing reports, reviewing studies and plans, and providing essential traffic engineering support as needed.  The position will participate in data collection activities as required.  
• Work with and provide support to other traffic staff on an as-needed basis.
• Assist in developing new traffic programs, and processes for traffic data support, including operations evaluations tools, intersection and interchange control analysis tools, dashboards, excel sheets, and automation to assist regions in project decisions.
• Work with other units in Staff Traffic, OIM, Freight, ITS, and the Division of Maintenance and Operations on projects, coordinating data for various projects, estimating projects, integrating new technology, and assisting in analysis or engineering support.
• Research new technology and TSM&O best practices to help find solutions to CDOT and statewide challenges.

Work Environment:

• Your schedule will be primarily Monday – Friday with opportunity for a flexible schedule.
• After a training period, you may work a hybrid schedule with a combination of in-office and remote work.
• Approximately 10% spent in the field, 90% spent in the office.
• Possible night work for conducting traffic control reviews and field data collection. 
• Regular travel required during work hours for project related activities, site visits, meetings, trainings and conference attendance.
• Required to work outside in all weather conditions, in close proximity to moving traffic, and over variable terrain.
• Required to drive CDOT vehicles.